...it's way too ungainly and heavy for me. Plus, I think it would only catch idiot bass because it's a wire-y mess and why would any level-headed bass hit something that looks like a tipped silver Christmas tree? Other than that, it might be a good lure. I'll never know.

It was banned by major tournamernt leagues because it was too effective - they work. There are several brands that offer micro-sized rigs that are easier to throw.

Although it's often hard to identify them, IME, level-headed bass

always weigh quite a bit less than the reckless, hot-headed fish I catch .

Especially the ones that smash an A-Rig.

A-Jay

30 minutes ago, Big Swimbait said:

It was banned by major tournamernt leagues because it was too effective - they work.

No doubt, but it just doesn't work in my little boats. I launch with three to eight rods and I tied an A-Rig onto a Heavy action 7' 4" rod. When I wasn't using it, it threatened to tangle with my other rods and when the wind blew me into shore, it tangled with the branches. I think it would be a better fit for a bigger boat.

Have never thrown an A-rig and likely never will.

It's too much going on there.

There's many other effective baits that I don't throw mainly due to tackle overload.

Sorry it didn’t work out for you. They can be a pain to have around but they can also put a bunch of good fish in the boat quickly. A slow reel and heavy rod is my setup. There are always half a dozen in my boat.

I can see where the resistance of one in the water would pull the canoe around quite a bit. And you need to have a setup that can handle it. I hated throwing one until I put it on my 8’ swimbait rod and now it’s a breeze to throw. But tangling and rigging is a pain so they just haven’t factored in for me yet. Maybe this fall.

I've put many a lunker in the boat with the A rig. They flat out work. Yes they are cumbersome and yes they are a pain but you can fill a boat with some good fish. Especially pre and post spawn.

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

it's a wire-y mess and why would any level-headed bass hit something that looks like a tipped silver Christmas tree

Or a chandelier.

I didn't like it either. I'm sure they work, but I can't throw it all day.

A-rig / umbrellas rigs are prohibited in Nebraska. Can only have two hooks per line. I have not used one...my brother has, and fish seem to love it.

I have a couple. I'm sure they work, but I rarely throw it. I imagined it as a Fall bait when they're chasing schooling baitfish. Being limited to 2 hooks doesn't instill too much confidence in me throwing it with most of the baits being dummies either.

There's a bunch of light A-rigs out there. I was very much in the "I hate casting these" club. Then I got a Raid Ghost Wire and used one 6" OSP dolive shad on it with an 1/8oz head. Second most effective bait so far this spring for me. Maybe a fart over an ounce in total weight.

I believe there's others from Geecrack, Ryugi, and other jdm companies.

(They were made for strolling, but work fine as single hook a-rigs).

There's a time and a place for it. Pick that thing back up when the water drops below 55 next fall Katie. That rod I sent you will work well for it. A stout rod takes a lot of the work out of casting it. SLOW roll it with an occasional hard crank. Most bites will come on that speed change.

11 hours ago, Big Swimbait said:

It was banned by major tournamernt leagues because it was too effective - they work.

That's not why it was banned.

It's banned on pro tours because states have different rules about it. It's a patchwork of differing state laws regarding it and pro tours fish in multiple states. So instead of constantly updating the rules, they just prohibit it completely.

Here in MN only one of them can have a hook. The rest are fakes. No advantage to throwing one over a lure like a spinnerbait if you can only have one hook on it.

they flat out catch fish. Hog Farmer/Tactical Bassin make a "mini" and a "micro" rig. They are not cheap.

The TB mini rig isn't all that mini, I usually throw it on a 2oz swimbait rod. The micro is pretty effortless to throw on any medium heavy rod.

It isn't a fun bait to fish a lot of the time, but it's very effective and when they're eating it, it's going to outfish everything else by a wide margin.

Well,,,,being an ulta-light - light tackle fisherman it's doubtful that I'll ever own an A-rig.

That and using what was the original that was developed in the 70's for saltwater fishing, then called the umbrella rig.

They were fished using 300' of 40 lb monel stainless wire and a 100lb mono leader.

These were fished with 4/0 reels and heavy trolling rods. You tied some colored thin wire around the wire to mark depth, I forget what the formula was to how many feet you'd have out to reach a certain depth, maybe 100' for every 10' of depth.

Anyway I brought 2 outfits to use as at the time this was the hot way of striper fishing up here in the NY harbor.

That lasted for 2 trips using them, just reeling them both in to reset your trolling pattern into the tide was a ton of work. I think the last straw was reeling one in after hooking up and it was 2 10lb bluefish, my arms were killing me.

Here's a picture of one of them I still have from the 80's, as I tell my wife, I'm a collector not a hoarder 😛

Cumbersome but effective.

On 5/27/2026 at 7:31 AM, Swamp Girl said:

...it's way too ungainly and heavy for me. Plus, I think it would only catch idiot bass because it's a wire-y mess and why would any level-headed bass hit something that looks like a tipped silver Christmas tree? Other than that, it might be a good lure. I'll never know.

There's some finesse options (Raid Japan Ghost Wire Next Level) with fiber optic or or thin titanium wire if you ever change your mind.

Kinda spendy though.

I got a homemade floating A rig to try recently - the verdict is still out - but it has me intrigued.

I’m honestly impressed you even tried it knowing what little I know about your situation. A small grassy bog where I’m catching 50 fish an hour on t rigs? I wouldn’t ever even dream of tying a chandelier on! To me - as someone who has utterly failed at making them work - they seem like a deeper bigger lake thing where there is less grass and more rock and it seems like they benefit a lot from using FFS with them - again - just my observation.

I have one A rig and it might end up being an actual chandelier in my tackle room before long! 🤣