Alabama Rig Manifesto: how to fish the Alabama Rig in cold water

7.8 pounds, 48 degree water, crawling an Alabama Rig

My gameplan for Winter 2011-2012 was to become intimate with precision spoon jigging and drop shotting to target those sluggish, cold water bass.  This is all part of my evolution as a kayak angler.  Summer, 2011 was my first taste of targeting, and catching fish, using my electronics.  Triton Mike Bucca calls this "sight fishing" using your electronics.  Yes, I know, I know.  This is a finesse, light tackle approach.  Yes, I am a swimbait head, but I do not forsake all presentations.  I do employ other tactics and techniques not involving big swimbaits.  Remember, plastic worm, pig and jig; more fish, and big fish, have been caught on those lures than anything else.  Ever.  Period. To be a competitive tournament angler I must have a full repertoire at my disposal.

Then, along comes the FLW's Grey Ghost, Paul Elias, to derail my intentions of finesse fishing.  Well, the path to hell was laid with good intentions, as the saying goes, so I have no problems jumping the shark when the opportunity arises.  "Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet" -Seneca, 1st Century Philosopher.  My inspiration for making, and throwing, the Alabama Rig is more so attributed to Matt Peters of Southern Swimbait than Paul Elias.  His video, Alabama Rig Supernova, is required viewing for any want-to-be A-rigger.  I watched it three times in a row, drove to Home Depot, and then began furiously twisting metal in my garage.  Alabama Rig v.1.0.

This technique does, and will, catch fish in cold water.  This is a bottom of the water column approach, that requires contact with structure and the bottom.  The closer you can run the rig to the bottom, the better off you will be.  The disclaimer is that you will get hung up. A lot.  However, the A-rig comes free pretty easily.  It all revolves around your hookset.  You need not jaw jack, FLW style, reel down and cross the fishes eyes.  I find, and so does Matt Peters, that a sweeping, strong hookset does the trick.  You will stick more fish and, more importantly, not wedge your rig into the rock pile, log, or other debris you run afoul of.  When you hang up, do not try to pop it free.  Simply move to the opposite side of the entanglement and pull from the opposite direction.  This works 90% of the time.  Disclaimer aside, I am catching all of my fish off of the bottom.  I am working this extremely slow; we are talking crawling here.  I am dragging this rig along the bottom and it is getting absolutely killed.  Most of these bass are hovering over some sort of structure, usually near a school of baitfish.  They are set up on an ambush point, waiting for a meal to come by.  The A-rig provides the ultimate deception of a breakaway pod of frightened fish, who are suddenly exposed to open water.  They are hugging the bottom just trying to stay alive.  Electronics are a must in this scenario.  I am targeting specific structure, with specific fish, and trying to drag the A-rig past them in hopes of pulling those fish from that ambush point.  So, keep that rig on the bottom.  Let the rig sink completely to the bottom like you are jig fishing.  Begin at a slow retrieve and then work your way down, slower and slower, until the fish show you how slow they want it.  Remember, let that rod load up and pull into the fish hard.  Your not on tv, no FLW style hooksets needed.  Stick with it, don't get discouraged, and this will pay off for you.  "The Double" was my first Alabama Rig fish caught on v.1.0. with Spot Sticker, 1/4 ounce jig heads and 4.5" Shadlicious Strike King swimbaits in a Green Shad pattern.  Good fishing everyone!

"The Double" 7.8 and 5.13