Riggin the A-Rig

[Travis Swift]

Hey Bill I want you to throw maybe a smaller modified Arig on Taney on the bluff bank across from Phil's place and see maybe if some giant brown trout would want to play? 

[176champion]

Do you have to use braided line for the A-rig...asking out of curiosity.

[Bill Babler]

There are a lot of folks that throw it on mono.  15 to 40 pound test.  That  mono is very heavy and big diameter however and you can throw much heaver pound test braid that is much smaller diameter.  For the most part I will use slick 8 or a coated 8 strand braid in the 30 to 65 pound test that is very small in diameter.  It throws much, much further and is a lot easier to get unhung without breaking the line. 

Lew's now has a very good braid and lots of us are throwing it on topwater as well as on the Rig.   Only draw back is braid tends to pull down into itself on the spool.  I usually peel off a layer or two as soon as I get it loose from a hang up to make sure it is not stuck into itself.

[abkeenan]

31 minutes ago, 176champion said:

Do you have to use braided line for the A-rig...asking out of curiosity.

No you do not HAVE to. I myself do not like dealing with braided line. It obviously has it's advantages such as small diameter, superior strength, no stretch and you can pull it off just about anything you snag. I started out throwing A-Rigs on 65# Power Pro but that was in the A-Rig craze infancy where you HAD to have a 7'10 XXH broom stick, 6500 round reel and 1/4oz jigheads on the 5 arms. Since then there has been a lot of streamlining of the A-Rigs with many different varieties to choose from such as head material, amount of wire arms, willow leave blades and dummy baits. I have scaled back and now throw my A-Rigs on a 7' MH rod, low profile reel, 20lb InvizX Seaguar and 3 arms with 3 willow blades. Going from the original style of A-Rig with 5 heads plus weight of line tie head to what I use now with the 3 willow arms probably took me from about 4-5 ounces to around 2 ounces. Thus I can downsize in gear that I am throwing it on and I just like Fluoro better than braid like I said. I've had no issues with the 20# InvizX and am still able to pull off of any snag and can even bend out the stout hooks on the 3" Storm Wild Eye Shads I use on my rigs to get the whole deal back.

[176champion]

Thanks Guy's....lot of info here...

I using spinning reels at the moment on medium 7 foot ugly sticks but sounds like i need to break out my deep sea equipment to use the A-rig....lol (being sarcastic)

[abkeenan]

Just now, 176champion said:

Thanks Guy's....lot of info here...

I using spinning reels at the moment on medium 7 foot ugly sticks but sounds like i need to break out my deep sea equipment to use the A-rig....lol (being sarcastic)

Yeah, that is not going to be the optimal setup for an A-rig. Throwing an A-Rig on spinning gear sounds like a nightmare. One, you just don't have the cranking power that you would on a baitcaster. Two, the thought of having a wind knot or line twist while flinging the rigs just sounds like mess waiting to happen. You don't have to go out and spend a fortune just to have a specific dedicated rod/reel setup for A-Rigs. My A-Rig combo is a 7' MH (leaning towards the H side) and Lew's Speed Spool in a 6:4:1. I can throw heavy jigs, big flutter spoons and also mid size 1-2oz swimbaits on that setup so you do not have to be one dimensional. You could easily get away with spending around $150 to have nice multi-purpose setup for bigger and heavier presentations. Lot's of closeouts on rods and reels now at end of year or inventory turnover for incoming 2016 models. Sportsman Outfitters has killer deals on Lew's reels and other gear. Bill has the "nuts" on his A-Rig setup and you won't find a more perfect pair than what he is using but not everyone wants to spend $400+ on a outfit.

[Bill Babler]

I do have 3 A-Rig set-ups on Spinning gear for those clients that just cannot throw casters.  I am using 7' 6" St. Croix MH or a 7' Cara T7 MH heavy spinning rod.  For the reels, you got to be pretty careful here as Ab's said.  No way I'm putting any of my very top end Shimano or Daiwa reels on them.  I have all mine geared up with Lew's 4000 series gold spinning reels.  Usually use 30 pound Lew's braid on these.

I go pretty lite on the rig, most often using a Flash Mob Jr.   Be very careful that you don't engage the reel with the reel handle and make sure the bait hits the water before engaging the reel in any fashion, or you will just tear the guts out of them. Pigsticker also makes a really lite Rig I think on a 1/4 oz frame, so it also works well on a spinning rod.  This combo is just a flat white bass killer.

Beck is the complete opposite, he is using 5000 series Shimano Sustains on his and 7'6" Daiwa rods.  That is pretty much going to eat up a $600.00 bill.  He can also use the spinning reels in salt as he has moved to Florida for the Winter months so it comes as a duel purpose reel for him.

Again, for us the technique has evolved so much we can dedicate equipment to it.  If I were throwing it 2 or 3 days a month for only part of the year, it would be a different story.  I'm throwing it 4 or 5 days a week in season, so the equipment is more important to me.

[bobby b.]

I found that I can throw it using an old Daiwa Millionaire (cica 1970s) baitcaster on a Fenwick 7 1/2 ft. flippin rod.  (This tells you how old I am.)  The rod has a long handle for holding on with two hands.  The reel seems to be built to take the load.  The lack of the modern fancy braking systems are not a problem as long as you hit the thumb brake hard as the thing hits the water.  The bait is so big and heavy and seems to move through the air in slow motion.  

Bobby

 

 

[Bill Babler]

Bobby, that looks like a very good rig.  A long handled two hander is what you are looking for, just like that.  Another trick that I have found that is really helpful in getting distance on that deal is to fill the spool to just as full as you can get it and then keep that braid sprayed with any of the line treatment products.  I think there are at least 10 of them out there today, but Reel Magic was the first and it works great for me.  It is just flat amazing to see how much further it throws when you slick it up with that stuff.

I know ZanDam uses it or something he sponsors and he sprays all his rod guides with it also.  He claims it makes the rods throw further and helps with ice up in cold temps.  Being from Michigan, he knows about cold weather fishing.

[dtrs5kprs]

If you can handle them any of the old school round reels are a nice fit. 5500, millionaire, couple of older shimanos similar to the Calcutta but not as high end. Should be well under $100, especially if you can find a clean used one.

Love the metal threads on that old flipper.