(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Whether you love the castable umbrella rig (aka the “Alabama rig”) or despise it, there’s no doubt that under certain circumstances there’s no other presentation that holds a candle to it. Since it first became known in bass circles less than a decade ago, there have been some tournaments where if you weren’t throwing it, you didn’t have a chance.
“I love throwing the thing,” said sophomore Elite Series pro Shane LeHew. “It’s one of my favorite things to throw.” In fact, he likes it so much that his family sells rigs of their own design through his namesake Shane’s Baits. They offer a variety of sizes and configurations to conform to various states’ regulations, but many of his favorites are lighter and smaller than the ones his colleagues make and fish. “They’re designed to be compact,” he explained. Another way that he differs is when he uses them – just about any time he can.
Asked when they’re at their absolute best, he said, “I think it’s when it gets super, super cold.” A jerkbait might be most anglers’ first choice in that situation, but for LeHew it’s not. He prefers the multi-arm rig. “When you can take that thing and wind it over some brush or grass and keep it super, super slow, you’re going to get five to one bites on it.”
If you put it down when the weather warms up, that’s a mistake. One of his best days on Lake Norman came when there were bedding bass around. He found a group of schooling bass and crushed them while others beat the banks for scraps.
“I think it’s the profile more than anything,” he said about why it’s so deadly.
Because he tends to like smaller rigs, he’ll fish it on a 7’ or 7’3” medium-heavy or heavy rod, something with “a little tip to pull into the fish and not straighten out a hook.” He doesn’t like braid because it causes too many problems on the cast, and usually uses 20-pound fluorocarbon, although sometimes he’ll go up to 25. “I like the control of fluorocarbon. I like the sink rate of it. For me, it’s more manageable.”
He’ll often employ 1/16- or 1/8-ounce heads and 2.5- to 3.5-swimbaits and pitch it around docks. “It’s like throwing a spinnerbait,” he said. His favorite soft plastics are the Berkley Power Swimmer, which holds up better than the competition, especially when used on a screw-in jighead. He typically keeps the colors all in the same general range, although he noted that in smallmouth country it’s well-established that the middle lure should be something different, and usually something bright.
He’s caught up to five fish on a single cast, but said that the toughest thing to learn is to not set the hook when the fish are merely nipping at your lures (especially with dummy heads). Keep reeling until the rod loads up.
If you want to learn some of the other secrets of how LeHew fishes the castable umbrella rig, along with some of the differences among his rigs like the 5th Element and Domin8or feature, check out his full video filmed at this year’s Bassmaster Classic, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
