St. Clair Fishing Report

When Paul Elias won the Lake Guntersville, Alabama FLW Bass Tournament in October, he created a controversy not seen in the professional bass fishing ranks in many years.  Elias won the tournament using an Alabama Rig.  An Alabama Rig is a mess of a set up.  It features a plastic fish head trailing up to five baits each with its own hook.  Striped bass anglers have been using a similar “umbrella rig” for years.  Following Elias’ tournament victory, dozens of professional and amateur anglers lined up at bait stores and went online to purchase the Alabama Rig.

We’ve heard that anglers throughout southeast Michigan can’t wait to fish the Alabama Rig in their home waters – including Lake St. Clair.  We wanted to know if a rig like this is actually legal in Michigan?  So we consulted the 2011 Michigan Fishing Guide.  Here’s what we found on page 6 of the Guide:

Hook and Line Fishing: Fish so taken must be hooked in the mouth. Fish not hooked in the mouth must be returned to the water immediately. No more than three lines per person (including tip-ups) nor more than six hooks or lures may be used. All hooks attached to an artificial bait or “night crawler harness” are counted as one hook. Hooks must be baited or attached to an artificial bait. You may use any number of hooks on one line for taking smelt in recognized smelt waters…

Reading this, it looks like the Alabama Rig is legal to use in Michigan waters.

But…is there ample room in the interpretation of the rules to make the Rig illegal?  Is it just plain silly to fling five lures at a time despite its success rate?  Is there a moral or otherwise reason anglers in Michigan should avoid the Alabama Rig especially in the spring when bass are on their beds and a good angler could hook more than one bass per cast?

What do you think?  Are Alabama Rigs legal in Michigan?   Please leave a comment below.