Although Jeff Thomas revels in the early morning topwater bite at Shearon Harris, he said deep bass still are available, and a new lure that hit the market last fall excited Harris regulars long before July and August heat arrived.
“They (had) really good success with Alabama rigs at Harris (in the spring),” Thomas said, “and it’s only going to get better as the summer gets here and bass get offshore on humps.”
The Alabama rig burst onto the bass-fishing scene last October when veteran pro Paul Elias won a national tournament on Alabama’s Guntersvile Lake with an Alabama rig, a smaller version of the “umbrella rig” that’s been trolled for landlocked stripers and offshore gamefish for years.
N.C. State University’s BassPack fishing team was the first group to adopt the Alabama rig, using it to win several tournaments last fall, assembling their own versions that were particular effective on Lake Gaston.
Harris, with its expansive underwater vegetation, mirrors Gaston’s habitat.
Anglers use mostly 3-arm or 5-arm Alabama rigs to pull three or five soft-plastic lures that resemble a school of baitfish. They make long casts toward shorelines, then retrieve the rig just fast enough so the baits “tick” the top of the grass. Largemouths often slam them, and double hookups aren’t unusual.
“The Alabamarig is a natural for Harris lake,” Thomas said.
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