Ever since the Alabama rig has been introduced there has been a great deal of discussion about how it has changed the world of fishing. Many anglers wonder if it is a fair way to catch fish, some even feel it should be illegal either at the state level or at the tournament level. With the Bassmaster classic coming up, some are questioning how they should treat the Alabama rig.
One of the problems with the Alabama rig is the number of fish hooks, which is zero. The rig itself is merely a shell of structure that allows every angler to set up the rig the way they desire. Because of this, a rig may have 1-20 hooks depending upon the angler. It is possible that fishing regulations could be written to control the number of hooks without making it totally illegal.
The number of hooks allowed could vary for different species. Bass fishing and trout fishing are very different so the regulation on the number of hooks can also be different.
Tennessee has a regulation that was originally designed for the umbrella lure, a lure that came out a few years ago designed for trolling. These lures could also have many hooks. Tennessee, after considering the lure decided to allow it, but regulating the number of hooks that an angler can place on the lure.
The same type of regulation can be made for the Alabama rig. Since the rig can hold five commercial lures, it could allow each lure to have only one hook. That could be a single hook, or one treble hook depending on how restrictive the state wants to be.
The over all concept of the Alabama rig is great. A school of fish instead of just a single fish is a great concept. It should not be illegal but maybe the number of hooks should just be regulated out of fairness and the concern about fowl hooking fish.
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