How To Set Up An Umbrella Rig

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The castable umbrella rig (CUR), also chosen the chandelier rig or Alabama rig, was invented by Andy Poss in 2022. It consists of metal head weighing from 1/2 to 5/8 ounce (14.17 to 17.72g) and a set of flexible wire arms to which other lures tin can be attached to simulate a small school of baitfish.^[1] Not all jurisdictions allow its apply, but if yours does, you'll demand to utilise the right tackle and presentation to make full employ of it.

1
Choose the correct rod. Because the umbrella rig is and so heavy, y'all demand a medium heavy to heavy action rod to handle its weight. Many anglers adopt rods between 7 and 8 feet (2.1 to ii.4m) in length with graphite blanks.^[2]
- You need the boosted length and stout action to heave the weight of the chandelier rig and attached lures, which can exist as much as 4 ounces (1/4 pound, 113.4g), in repeated casts. Too short a rod or too spongy an action, and you'll tire yourself out quickly.
2
Cull the right reel. Many anglers prefer to use baitcasting reels when angling the Alabama rig, as those reels are designed to fish with the heavy lines the rig makes necessary. If you prefer a baitcasting reel, get 1 with a call up ratio of at to the lowest degree 5.5 to 1, or better yet, 6.5 to 1, with brawl-bearing and designed to exist taken apart easily when y'all need to make clean it and a braking arrangement to minimize backlashes. ^[3] ^[4]
- If you prefer a spinning reel, choose ane designed to handle heavy line. You almost want a reel designed for saltwater fishing, but not quite.
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iii
Think heavy line – repeat, HEAVY line. The umbrella rig is not meant for ultralight line-fishing, past any means, and the line you spool your reel with needs to exist heavier than what you'd use when fishing with one lure at a time.
- For a baitcasting reel, choose a braided line of 65 to 80-pound test (30 to 36kg course). Inventor Andy Poss recommends using 100-pound test (45kg form)!^[5]
- For a spinning reel, use a monofilament line of the aforementioned test or class.
iv
Spread out the artillery. While yous demand to go along the arms close together when storing an Alabama rig in your tackle box, when fishing it, the arms should be spread out. Permit enough distance to keep the lures attached to the arms from getting caught on one another just not so far apart as to be easily defenseless on rocks or stumps.
- A tight configuration too more naturally simulates the way a group of baitfish swim.^{[half dozen]}
five
Put a jig head on each arm. If you plan to fish the Alabama rig in relatively open up h2o, yous can use round jig heads. If yous plan to fish the Alabama jig in weeds or castor, use either jig heads with weed guards or heads designed to be fished self-weedless (inserted into the body of the plastic worm or chow they're baited with).
- You don't take to use all heads of the same weight. You can put the lightest heads, such as i/eight ounce (3.55g). at the top, the next heaviest, such as 1/4 ounce (7.09g), at the bottom, and the heaviest, such every bit ane/two ounce (14.17g), in the centre. This will give the illusion of a pocket-size school of baitfish of unlike sizes. Oft, fish will strike at the jig in the heart of the rig.^[7]
- Adhere the jigheads to the arms with either the snaps attached to the ends or with divide rings. Don't use leaders, equally the added length will crusade the jigs to foul around 1 some other during the cast or retrieve.
6
Tip each jig caput with a twist-tail chow or worm. Grubs or worms from four to 6 inches (x to 15 cm) in length with a ribbon or sickle tail volition flutter when retrieved, creating the illusion of swimming baitfish. The tail should be placed and so that information technology curves downwards.
- Where possible, cull colors that match the food fish where you fish. If that'due south not possible, y'all can fall back on the "bright day, bright color; dark twenty-four hour period, dark color" rule.
- If the water is specially dark, you lot may want to substitute a spinnerbait for the eye jig/grub combination.
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1

Look for suitable underwater structure. With the assist of an electronic depth sounder, you tin can find underwater ledges and drop-offs, preferably with comprehend such as stumps, weeds, or gravel. Once yous've established the general lay of the submerged land, you tin can mark your targets with modest buoys.
2
Heave the chandelier. A flick of the wrist but won't practise when casting an umbrella rig. Y'all need to put your shoulder, your forearm, and your upper body into the cast to get the rig and its attached lures out there.
- If you're using a rod with a long handle, yous can use your trailing hand (your left hand if yous normally cast right-handed or your correct hand if you cast left-handed) to whip the handle back as you use your leading mitt to whip the rest of the rod forrad.
3

Let the rig settle to the desired depth. Generally, lures will autumn one foot (30cm) per second. You can count seconds by saying "1001, 1002," etc. until the lure reaches the right depth.
4
Retrieve the umbrella rig with an interrupted steady retrieve. Reel the rig in slowly for ten to 15 seconds, then suspension for a second before resuming the retrieve. Fish will often strike one or more of the lures when they briefly alter management.
- You lot may also get strikes when the rig starts to rise at the moment you're finishing your remember.
- If the speed of your retrieve doesn't work, try increasing or decreasing it.
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Question

Do you demand to use a bait caster for this rig?

Kajal Golam

Customs Respond

Bait casters are used for a wide variety of applications, ranging from casting lures, to surf casting and big game fishing.
Question

What are some good tips to fish in a murky water harbor in NY? I know that there are some 15 pound + striped bass and blues in the harbor.

Use brightly colored lures that the fish can easily encounter. Also try using an attractant smell.

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The name "Alabama rig" is a generalization of the merchandise name "Alabama Rig" used by Isle of man Tackle for their version of the umbrella rig. Other tackle companies manufacture versions called Bait Chaser, the Deadly v, or the Swarm.^[eight]
When fish striking the lures attached to an umbrella rig, they often strike more aggressively than when you fish only a single lure. At showtime, this may have some getting used to.
You can besides expect to have more than than one fish strike at a time. Some anglers have hooked 2, 3, or fifty-fifty iv fish at in one case.
Expect to snag ane or more of the lures attached to a chandelier rig at whatsoever given time. You can often dislodge a snagged rig by passing over and behind the snagged identify and pulling the rig loose from the opposite direction. If this doesn't work, you can endeavour to free the lure by wrapping the line around a dowel or hammer handle and pulling information technology complimentary or by using a weighted "stump knocker" with a number of shower drapery rings attached to information technology.^[ix]

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Bank check the laws of your jurisdiction to make up one's mind whether fishing with an umbrella rig is legal. Most jurisdictions restrict the number of hooks that tin be attached to a unmarried line. Some ascertain a lure equally one hook, regardless of the bodily number of hooks it may accept attached to information technology; a crankbait with two treble hooks would be treated as ane hook. However, because an umbrella rig allows multiple lures to be fished at once, your jurisdiction may regard each lure attached to an umbrella rig equally a separate hook, even if the lure itself may accept multiple hooks.
If you fish in angling tournaments, bank check the rules of your organization as to whether an umbrella rig is allowed. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) does not allow using the umbrella rig in practice or contest during the Bassmaster Classic or in its Bassmaster Elite Series. Other organizations may let its use prior to the tournament merely not during it; in such cases, anglers will edgeless all simply one hook and only count strikes once they learn what size fish are hitting the lures.

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Things You'll Need

Heavy action rod, 7 to 8 feet (2.1 to ii.four m)
Baitcasting or spinning reel
65 to 80-pound test (30 to 36 kg class) line (braided for a baitcasting reel, monofilament for a spinning reel
Jig heads (i/8 to 1/2 ounce/iii.55 to fourteen.17g) tipped with twist-tail grubs or worms
Spinnerbait (optional)
Umbrella/Alabama rig

References

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