the over priced "Alabama Rig"

[fishmaster11]

iv herd allot of talk about this alabama rig and once i looked it up its such a simple idea and very easy to make but yet they go for anywhere between $12 up to $35 bucks so i took it as a little project to see if i could make them and well it turned out pretty good i made six of them and it coast me $3 i went to to home depot and got two 25ft coils of steel wire and went to work i only ended up needing one coil so you could make your on for $1.98 here are a couple pics of the ones i made since i live in TN and TWRA put a 3 leg limit on the rig i could only make ones with 3 legs but you get the idea

 

[Jdholmes]

How'd you make the top man?

 

[fishmaster11]

i took a bullet sinker i had and drilled it out just a little so i could fit the wire trough it not sure of the size it was just one of the bigger ones i had it was kinda a test run but it turned out pretty good so i made a few of them once i have a little more time to run to basspro im gonna come up with a "parts list" and maybe a video on how i made them

 

[Jdholmes]

That'd be awesome!

 

[Leelatt]

what size wire did you use, it looks pretty thick, do you think thinner wire would work just as well? I was thinking about how to make one, and you went the same way I would have by using a bullet sinker and drilling it out. How did you get all 3 arms onto just 1 ring? I was thinking about running the arms into a terminal ring and then crimping them down and soldering the bullet sinker to the crimped area of the ring terminal but that would require a rather large bullet sinker.

 

[fishmaster11]

well i used two of the ones i made today and went down to stones river just outside nashville just to try them out. didnt think i would catch much but little did i know before i moved here a few years ago they stocked it with rainbow, so after catching one on just a roster tail i figured why not so put 3 on my alabama rig and it was awesome lol. i brought one in every few cast, considering i had only fished there once before not sure if its always that good or all the hype to the "Alabama rig" is for real either way i like it as far as how i got down to one eye not sure if i could put it into words lol ill post some pics on how i did it

 

[fishmaster11]

i used 16g wire but i think most are 18 maybe 20 but they use spring steel and home depot didnt have any so i got a little thicker the 18g seamed a little weak im going to make some out of spring steel i found a place today i can get some still cheaper than buying a rig 55ft and its only $11 and can make 10 or more out of that much but not sure how soon that will be im gonna try making an acrylic head to hope i can get them up soon

 

[Jim]

nice job man! :beer:

 

[fishmaster11]

ok so here are some pics on how i made them

 

[fishmaster11]

tried to take enough pics to show how i went about it

 

[fishmaster11]

hope these pics help i know its not much to go off of but i think it shows the basic on how to do it for anyone who wants to try im sure there are hundreds of ways it can be done if anyone try and does something diff. let me know im always up for improving an idea

 

[Jim]

Thanks for taking the time to show us! :beer:

I did read that some people are weighing down one of the arms for a consistent pattern in the water. Does that make sense to you guys?

So they put a little lead type weight on one of the arms and then when they throw the rig it in the water that arm is always at the bottom on the retrieve. Am I describing this clearly? :lol:

 

[Proyotehunter]

I designed that years ago when I was about 9 and CA would not allow me to use or market it since we coud not use more than one hook. I kick my self in the arse when I see this since I actually had the idea long before.

 

[bAcKpAiN]

This rig is honestly nothing new, it has been used for eons trolling for stripers. It has just made the spotlight by one dude thrashing a bass tournament with a catchy name to it.


I bet you could buy them for $3/ea in bait shops everywhere a week before Elias won the FLW tournament with one.

 

[fender66]

That's a great job! Awesome thread.

 

[Galveston340]

....good post! My younger Brother made one out of an old wind chime that he was going to trash! If you guys are going to make one for use in Salt Water be sure and use something like stainless strand or bailing wire so it will hold up.