So if you're in the bass fishing world whether its as a tournament fisherman or of the casual sorts youve probably heard about the alabama rig. Its this crazy deal that allows you to fish with multiple baits at once so as to mimic a school of bait fish. It certainly has its place in the fishing world but I highly doubt its the magic bait that everyone thinks it is. However.... I could totally be wrong and it could be everything its being hyped up to be, I mean these deals are selling on ebay right now for $50, $60, $70. That seems crazy but even I am proof that if something is legit, people will pay for it.
I now need to tell you that I am usually the last person in the world to fall for a gimmick or even a threat of a gimmick. I have always let everyone else fall over themselves to use something that seems like a gimmick before I would allow myself to look like, what I feel, is a moron. Not saying that someone using an alabama rig is a moron but I never want anyone to think that. Right or wrong, fads are something Ive never jumped on. When everyone was "popping collars" on there polo shirts I was like "that looks ridiculous, I dont care if Kanye West is doing it" and thats sort of how I feel about fishing gear. If it looks ridiculous or if I think someone will think I look ridiculous doing it, chances are, Im not going to do it. I like doing the things I like doing and an infomercial is the last place Im going to buy baits from.
And now to the last bit of the story. Back when I was in high school, I used to fish farm ponds around my home town with my best friend growing up, Scott Rawlings, AKA the Weasel. The weasel was content with his zebco 33 and ugly stick but not me. I saw what the pros were using, I knew that using that gear was like trying to tell a mechanic to use chinese tools. In fact, I hadnt used a spincast real since I was 12 years old. I thought I knew what I was doing and most of the time, I caught alot of bass. Then comes the day the weasel busted out the magic lure, the BANJO MINNOW. Prob the biggest gimmick bait ever created. I laughed at him, told him that it was junk and that no way he would outfish me with the infomercial bait. Needless to say, I got smoked that day. It was almost unfair, it felt like he was using live shiners while I was heaving a fluke around. I want to say he outfished me at a 4 to 1 clip but it probably was worse then that and even now, I still refuse to use a banjo minnow.
As it turns out, the banjo minnow has major major drawbacks but if you throw that thing into a farm pond, chances are your gonna wreck some fish. The moral of the story is that alot of baits, whether they are a gimmick or not, have a time and a place where they will shine. Do you have the balls to throw something that may make you look like an idiot? I certainly dont but if it becomes a mainstream technique, chances are, I will fold and start doing it like everyone else, but it usually takes alot to convince me to do so.
S.T.P.
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