O
ne of the hottest trends to hit
fishing in recent years has been the
umbrella rig, a.k.a. “Alabama Rig.”
While some tournaments have eliminated its
use, it remains an exciting tool to experiment
with. Best of all, it can really heat up the bass
action when fish seem sluggish in late winter
and early spring.
the effect of a school of shad,” noted Mason.
“But, with this rig, it looks like a school of nine
shad because of the extra flash points.” Mason
throws the Flash Mob Jr. “at least 50 percent
of the time, maybe more” when conditions call
for a multi-rig presentation. He showed off a
set of teeth marks on his swimbaits to confirm
that his initial cast had gained attention.
Last winter, I did some bass-hopping along the
TVA trail with Jimmy Mason. Jimmy, an FLW
and former Bassmaster Elite Series angler who
guides professionally in northern Alabama,
gave me a crash course in multi-rigging on three
famous Tennessee River impoundments: Wilson
Lake, Pickwick Lake and Lake Guntersville.
Umbrella with big flash – In the dirty
water conditions so common to the TVA lakes
following heavy rains, Mason switches to the
YUM Flash Mob, a larger umbrella rig with size
#3 or #4 willowleaf blades. When dam operators
opened floodgates for an extended period on
Pickwick Lake in the winter of 2013, the Flash
Mob really shined, according to Mason. In fact,
he caught several double-digit bass on the rig
that winter. “When I am throwing this rig, I want
to create big profile, so I add five 5-inch Money
Minnows on 3/8-ounce jigs,” said Mason. “When
you are throwing this rig, you definitely feel it!
When they are running a lot of water through the
dam, this rig will catch you a giant bag!”
Here’s how he rigs and fishes them.
Umbrella Rig – Initially designed for
saltwater striped bass, the original umbrella
rig consists of four wires that flare “umbrella”
style from a foam jighead and a fifth that
extends straight back. Mason’s preferred
design is the Yumbrella model from the YUM
line. He fixes jigs with swimbaits or other tailactive soft plastics to snap swivels at the rear
end of each wire. The center wire extends
further back than the other four. He varies his
offerings on the rig, but he most often begins
with four 3.5-inch Yum Money Minnows on the
flared arms and a 5-inch Money Minnow in the
center. “I will vary my colors and place a slightly
different color in the middle,” he explained. “My
favorite color is Foxy Shad, because it matches
the primary bait in these impoundments so well.
I may also throw grubs like the Yum Muy Grub
on the outside, but I’ll still put that 5-inch Money
Minnow in the center.”
Umbrella with a little flash
– Mason’s favorite variation on the basic
umbrella rig is the YUM Flash Mob Jr., a
slightly smaller umbrella-style rig with lighter
wire, shorter arms and a small willowleaf
spinner blade to accompany each outside lure.
“With these umbrella rigs, you are trying to create
Say Boo! – The multi-rig concept has
spawned some variations like the Booyah Boo
Rig that aren’t really multi-rigs at all! The Boo
Rig has only one hook at the end of an extended
wire arm. Four umbrella-style arms spread from
the rig head, but they feature spinners only – no
actual lures or hooks. “Still, you get that same
profile of schooling fish with flash coming off at
multiple po