Monday, October 31, 2011

Alabama Rig - Making Waves and Breaking Records

The Alabama Rig with hollow bodied shad swimbaits

So how often does a new lure take the tournament scene by storm?

Maybe once every few years?

Well last week at the FLW Tour Open event on Lake Guntersville, Paul Elias caught over 100lbs on it in four days.  Breaking RECORDS!

Okay….we might think….one guy got lucky.  Not entirely true….turns out most of the Top 10 guys were throwing it.  Apparently if you didn’t throw it you were left behind!

It just so happens several of the guys not using them had them in their tackle boxes.  Had they known…they too would have been cashing a check.

It turns out the inventor,  Andy Poss,  had made the rounds during the FLW Tour event at Lake Pickwick in May.  Several guys bought them wondering if they would ever get brave enough to throw that monster rig comprised of 5 wires, lead, an assortment of swivels and 5 assorted baits of your choice.  Now you are looking at throwing a $25 lure, plus the 5 lures you snap on.  This rig could be costly if lost. (They  advise people to throw this on 80lb braid to prevent loosing the whole rig.)

So fast forward just one week…..FLW Everstart Championship on Kentucky Lake.  You know this bait was on the minds of all the anglers.  It was blowing up all over the internet on forums and fishing articles.  I heard reports of these rigs going for $100 on BBC and EBay.  People were willing to pay!

Many of the Everstart angler got them directly from the Andy Poss, owner of the Alabama Rig, who made their way to the Championship tournament in hopes the results could be duplicated from the FLW Tour Open event the week before.  They helped the angler get the baits at the typical $25 selling price....instead of being gouged.  Many of the anglers appreciated their efforts and thanked them on stage.

It turns out 8 out of 10 guys in the Top 10 were using them….many of them using them for the first time that week.

Dan Morehead had received his first one back at the FLW Tour event at Pickwick.  He said he knew there would be a time and place for that lure.  He figured it out that week going over water he had fished his entire life……but now throwing a lure he never had used.

Many of the guys were rigging them with hollow body swimbaits and swimming fluke type baits on jig heads ranging from 3/16oz to a 1/2oz.  They said it’s the hardest strike they have ever had….often times catching two fish on one cast!

Within a week the company went into back order status.  Their website had over 40,000 hits in a matter of 4 days after the FLW Tour Open at Guntersville.  Currently you are looking at a 5 week lead time for the baits.  Yes, I ordered mine....hopefully I will have them in time for next tournament season!

Now what is next….the fishing season is wrapping up. 

Old Man Winter is starting to set in on the country...........

When will the next major event be won on this rig?  Only time will tell!

Trent Durst - Bass Bustin Texan

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