6 Proven Tips for Striped Bass Fishing with Umbrella A-Rigs

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Alabama rigs, also called A-rigs and Umbrella rigs, can be a great way to catch striped bass in both fresh and saltwater. This rig became very popular for largemouth bass fishermen years ago and has since found great success for big stripers too.

Can you catch striped bass using an umbrella or A-rig? Umbrella or Alabama rigs mimic a small ball of baitfish swimming in unison together which triggers a predatory response from all species of bass to include big striped bass.

You will want to match the size and appearance of your baits on this rig to match the type of bait your stripers are keying in on at the moment. You can have great success during the winter and spring fishing stripers either casting or trolling using this setup.

Knowing how to rig this setup and fish with it during the optimum times can really amp up your success rate. This can be a deadly rig for big striped bass as well as just about any species of predatory fish in both fresh and saltwater that is keying in on schooled up bait balls. I have used this rig mostly for big largemouth bass in the wintertime myself with really good luck.

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What is an Umbrella or A-Rig?

This rig goes by a variety of names but it essentially acts upon the predatory response of big fish like largemouth bass and stripers. An umbrella rig is a single large swimbait head with 4 up-to 24 flexible wire arms extending back and out from the head.

This rig is designed to mimic a small bait ball of baitfish such as shad, alewives, shiners, and even eels. These large baits can be cast or trolled during times of the year when big fish have baitfish all balled up in small schools.

I find the best success for all species of bass with this setup during the late fall until mid-spring. When the name of the game is presenting the most realistic baits to striped bass you can, few rigs can match the Alabama umbrella rig.

It mimics a fleeing ball of baitfish and few predatory fish can pass that up. Even fish that aren’t hungry can be drawn into a reacting to this prey stimulus passing them by.

Best Seasons for Alabama Rigging Striped Bass

You could catch bass all-year-round throwing or trolling an A-rig. Anytime these fish are keyed in on small pockets of baitfish will yield strong success with this rig.

I have caught largemouth and striped bass in every season using it but I have found the peak success will be found in the winter and spring months.

Late Fall through Late Winter

In late fall, striped bass really start shuffling down into deeper water keying in on schools of shad, alewives, eels, and other bait. This goes for both freshwater and saltwater stripers. This food select is confirmed by a 1973 study performed by Manooch in Oklahoma’s Keystone Reservoir.

These deeper locations will contain warmer water than can be found near the surface. Baitfish will seek out these warmer expanses of water and bring along with them plenty of predators. The key to locating stripers during this season is finding schools of bait using fishing electronics.

It will be a lot harder to catch striped bass, even when trolling if you don’t have electronics on your side. I have found running an A-rig through and around large bait balls in water 15 down to 60+ feet deep is the key.

Stripers will destroy small pockets of fish leaving the main body of the school. Getting your umbrella rig down to 60+ feet of water can seem intimidating and it is a lot easier if you are trolling.

Select heavier swimbait heads in the ½-ounce to ¾-ounce range. Cast or drop your rig over the side and let it descend to the depth you desire.

Keep steady tension on the line and as long as your rig is heavy enough, it will swim on a plane at your desired depth and not tilt upwards.

As I said, it is best to troll for these wintertime striped bass. Casting will be a lot more technical in nature when fishing deeper fish. I find great success using this approach from late fall all the way until the end of winter.

Early to Mid-Spring

After winter releases its grip on the baitfish, striped bass will start schooling up and moving into shallower water near shore. This is the time of year when I find the best success using an A-rig for both largemouths and stripers. This seasonal movement to the head of streams in the spring was confirmed by a study by Combs & Peltz (1982)

That is because this is the time of year when schools of bass will have bait balled up in very small isolated pockets. An Alabama rig will mirror these small pockets of bait perfectly.

Furthermore, since the fish will be in a lot shallower of water, you can catch them by casting or trolling. Again it is key to match the size and species of baitfish you are mimicking but the bite can be awesome.

Because stripers will be schooling up, once you find fish, the action can be very fast and intense. Look for small schools of shad, bunkers, or eels on your sonar and run your rigs right through them. You can also visually look for small schools of shad near the surface.

For a complete guide to how water temperature impacts striped bass fishing, check out this helpful article I wrote.

Recommendations

Trolling Speed

I usually run the boat at 2-4 miles per hour as this allows the rig to run flat at the desired depth I drop it to. It is also a natural swimming speed for an anxious bait ball of fish to be cruising at. Try not to trolling in straight lines.

Slowly S-curve your boat to better mimic the natural swimming patterns of fleeing bait. Also, be very careful when turning your boat around. The longer lead rigs can get tangled if you cut your turn too fast.

Imagine you are driving a triple semi-rig on the highway. Turn your boat accordingly as if you were making a turn with that truck.

Tackle

I like going with a 7-foot to 7’6 medium-heavy action rod with plenty of backbone to handle the powerful runs big cow stripers make.

This rod setup will work well for both trolling and casting. If you are interested primarily in trolling, strap on a trolling with a line counter for more accurate bait placement.

I prefer to use braid for umbrella rigs because it will allow you to really horse the rig through the water and the rig will respond immediately when you drag the retrieve which will collapse and expand the rig.

The lack of stretch will also make hooksets on deeper stripers better. Go with 50 to 65-pound test braided line in black or dark green. I prefer dark green myself.

Successful Lure Options

My own personal favorite lures for A-rigs are large plastic swimbaits. I prefer swimbaits with very soft plastic because it makes the boot-tail flutter less and maintain a steadier tail kick similar to the natural swimming motion of a baitfish.

Keitechs are a favorite of most bass umbrella rig anglers and they are definitely one of my favorites. You can also swap out a swimbait for a spoon as your hooked bait. Try Nichols Ben Parker Magnum Flutter 3.5-ounce spoon if you want a little extra flash.

As I mentioned, having that tailing hooked bait look a little different than the rest of the bait ball is a great thing. Always run smaller teasers and larger hook baits.

Try out 4-inch teasers and 6 to 9-inch hook baits. If you are fishing saltwater and you know they are tracking eels, tie on some eel-imitation hook baits with longer soft plastic teasers.

Regulations

I won’t touch on this topic too much because the laws and regulations differ for every state and I’m sure for different countries as well.

In some states, umbrella rigs are illegal altogether but in most states, the biggest restriction point centers around the number of hooks you can have per rod.

Consult your state’s regulations to ensure you are fully in compliance with local and state law. Most states seem to range from 2-4 hooks allowed which is still ideal for using an A-rig effectively. That just means you will have more teaser unhooked baits than actual hooked target baits.

6 Tips for Running Umbrella Rigs for Stripers

1. Bend the Wires

Most umbrella rigs come out of the packaging with straight wire and a very compact arrangement. I prefer to spread my baits apart as it makes bass hit more and also reduces the chance of a tangle.

Bend your teaser wires out at a 45-degree angle away from the head. How you do it is vital though. Do not bend the wire right behind the head.

Doing this will weaken the resin bond and could cause the wire to pull off under tension. Instead, bend the wire with pliers about a ½ inch back from the head. This is the safest place to bend the wire and maintain its integrity.

2. Don’t Use the Same Presentation for All A-Rig Baits

A common mistake I see a lot of umbrella rig fishermen make is they use the same baits for all the connections on the rig. In my opinion, this reduces their hookup ratio and overall success. Stripers really key in on the biggest or off-looking member of the group.

I like to put my smallest teaser baits up in the front without hooks and my largest baits in the trail and bottom positions. Just like any predator, stripers will key in on the straggler, especially if it is bigger or looks different than the rest of the bait ball.

3. Make the Hooked Baits the Most Appealing

From my experience fishing for all species of bass using A-rigs, 8 times out of 10 the hooked bait at the back or on the bottom of the rig draw the attacks.

Because of this, I recommend putting your biggest hooked bait in that trail position and your 2^nd biggest bait in that bottom position.

Stripers will key in on the juiciest target among the group and they love the bigger baits. You could also incorporate a slightly different looking bait in these trail positions too as stripers will key in on the bait that draws their eye most.

You can have good luck, believe it or not, with a chartreuse bait in that trail or bottom position.

4. Experiment with Teaser Blades

I really like throwing or trolling umbrella rigs with blades under most situations. It adds more flash and really helps catch both largemouth and striped bass’s attention. The flash mimics that school of baitfish pulsating through the water.

The only time I won’t add teaser blades is if the water is very clear. I feel the extra flash in these conditions is simply too much and will seem unnatural to sharp-eyed stripers.

Small silver willow blades are my favorite and I always select umbrella rigs that have attachments that the front where I can attach these blades to. I also prefer silver blades unless the water is really muddy, then I will try golden blades.

5. Swap Out Stock Terminal Tackle on Alabama Rigs

A lot of anglers simply use the umbrella rigs “as is” right out of the packaging. I have found the stock terminal tackle (swivels, split rings, and centering pins) are not the best quality. Frankly, I have lost bass because of these stock pieces.

Instead, I recommend swapping the stock crap out with some high-quality terminal tackle instead. I’m a big fan of Owner HyperWire split rings in the size 4 or 5-range. I really like the SPRO power swivels for the hooked baits as they provide a ton of strength for handling powerful stripers.

Lesser swivels could fail on you when that striper starts peeling line. I also like Owner centering pins to screw into the noses of your teaser soft-plastics.

6. Make the Umbrella Close and Ungulate

Most striper fishermen simply go with steady retrieves that do catch fish. But if you want to really get the stripers’ attention, put some rod drags into your retrieve.

Using as light wire umbrella rigs as you can safely get away with on these powerful fish, any faster motion than the steady retrieve will cause the umbrella’s arms to collapse.

I love to have a steady retrieve and incorporate some brief faster rod drags. This will cause that grouping of baits to collapse and then widen just like a normal of bait would in response to a predator following them.

Special Thanks

I want to give a special mention to Darren Enns with FishinMoney.com. My striped bass fishing experience is very limited compared to his knowledge.

He provided much of the valuable information I used to create this article. If you are serious about striped bass fishing, you need to check out his site. He’s a great guy with a real passion for educating people on fishing.