The FLW follows the Lead of the B.A.S.S.

The past two years the FLW has allowed the use of the famed Alabama Rig, with a monstrous win on Guntersville the first year Paul Elias dazzled all comers weighing in giant sacks of fish using this bait. Since the onset we have seen the Alabama rig change and not all of it was good, as pros were fishing with double rigs and baits including up to 20 hooks with flash and changes that the FLW thought would cause Local and State laws to stop this umbrella rig growth! The problem was the local governing bodies never took on the rig in most of the states they were fishing!

As the change kept growing and the bass continued to be hooked by this bait the FLW made a decision to ban the use of all configurations from 2 hooks on and even the playing field on the pro tour going forward into the 2014 season. Meaning one rod, one reel one hook! They have only banned it from the FLW tournaments, not the next level BFL series; we can only hope that will come too. There are some restrictions though as 搖mbrella rigs will be permitted in our other tournament circuits, but with restrictions that limit them to a maximum of five wires outfitted with a maximum of five spinners and five lures, only three of which can have hooks.?br />
Some interesting information and reasons have been giving for the change; the most interesting one to me stated that the bait was forcing many other bait manufacturers out of business, traditional companies that supported many of the latest more conservative baits were struggling to make a living. More importantly the monies donated through sponsorships of these more traditional bait companies was declining with their sales, forcing manufacturers to step up their investment in A-rig growth, stop their sponsor money or go out of business. The actions by the FLW were smart, progressive and good for the bass fishing industry!