An afternoon with Mark Zona about A Rigs

[keithdog]

Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on a seminar by Mark Zona at our local BPS. It was supposed to be about fishing jigs in northern waters. I was very interrested in that, but at show time, he changed the subject to fishing A Rigs. I wasn't happy about that . Neither were a few other guys who were there for the jig talk. But it turned out to be very interresting. First off, Mark made it clear that he didn't know what side of the isle to stand on in regard to whether the A Rig should be legal. He has deep reservations regarding the A Rig. He explained that for the past year he has been using the A Rig extensively after witnessing first hand just how effective the rig is. Frightenly so. Over and over he has been fishing on the water with various pros when the bass would strike at nothing, and as soon as the A Rig was employed, they would load the boat like flicking a switch. He emphasized that the A Rig may be without a doubt the most effective fishing rig ever devised. Bass will come to life and smash into that thing when nothing else will even draw any interrest. And THAT is what has Zona so concerned. One point was that it is not a sporting way to catch bass. He said once a bass gets hooked in the rig, it's like pulling a boot back to the boat. The bass won't fight like they would normally do. He has seen first hand many many bass caught by himself and others he fishes with that have probably been mortally wounded by the A Rig. He said he has no doubts, many of the bass they released died. The reason for this lies in the rigs design. When a bass hits one of the 5 swimbaits, 90% of the time, several of the remaining jigs will become impaled into the basses body as he struggles to escape. Often the loose jigs are getting impaled inside the basses gills causing heavy bleeding. For those of us who pratice catch and release in order to sustain the bass population, this fact alone should cause us to think long and hard about using this rig. Another worry is in the mindset of many fisherman who keep what they catch and do not pratice catch and release. Many of those folks will also keep "everything" they catch, and exceed their daily limit. They essentially are poachers. Unlike most bass fisherman who take great pains to enjoy and protect the resources, the fact is, there are a lot of guys and gals who will take home as many fish as they can catch. Zona worries that if those folks start throwing the A Rig, they could decimate an entire lakes population. That is just how effective this rig can be. He worries the A Rig will be, by far, the most effective way to catch fish of many species. He said no other technique can compare in it's effectivness. And there is danger of misuse in that. Plus, even if C&R is practiced, bass mortality will likely soar due to injury. After all this was said and done, he talked about tackle and something he discovered. It takes large heavy rods and reels with very strong gearing and lower ratios. He explained that most of the bass reels we are all used to using will not hold up to the punishment the a rig will put to the reel. There are reels being designed right now that are specifically made for fishing the a rig. Most of the reels on the market that are capable of working this rig, according to Zona, are the round casting reels, not the low profile. There are a couple low profile that might hold up, but only a couple. Sorry, I don't remember exactly which ones he was refering to. He recommended the larger round Garcia ABU reels, like the 6000 size for now untill some of these newer reels are introduced. He also said the a rig is being designed in smaller versions for guys who fish for perch and other smaller species. NOW, here is something I really found interresting. Those of us who have studied preditors already know that a preditor will seek out that one victom who appears to be weak, sick, or unusual in some way. Mark discovered something about using the A Rig purely by accident. He was using the A Rig one day with 5 swimbaits, all the same color and size. As the day ran on, he ran out of that color, and when he had to replace one of the swimbait bodies, he was forced to use a different color. Now he had 4 swimbaits of one color, and a lone 5th swimbait of a different color. From that point on, 99% of the bass he caught came on that one oddball colored swimbait. So he started experimenting with various colors, always with 4 of one color and 1 of another. Regardless of colors, nearly every strike would come on that one odd colored swimbait! The bass always zeroed in on what it percieved to be that one prey that was different from all the others. Which makes me think. If this is true, and we want to use the a rig without fataly injuring the bass we catch, why not clip the hook pints off the other four like colored swimbaits, using them as an attractor, and just leave the one hook in that swimbait of another color? You can use the rig with success without danger of mortally wounding a bass you want to release. Thats something to think about I believe. Lastly, I'll end this very long post with a tidbit of inside info Mark shared with us. According to Zona, Skeet Reese was using the a rig for 2 years before it ever became public. LOL What a big suprise huh?

[nofearengineer]

Good write-up Keith.

About only having one hooked lure. Guys who troll for striped bass have been doing this for a long time. Called an umbrella rig, it's a regulation in many striper fisheries...only one of the lures can have a hook.

So yes, your idea will definitely work!

[joedog]

keithdog, good read thanks.

[kennethdaysale]

The issue of how many baits with hooks aside I do like the idea of having one "oddball" in the mix.

[Mumpy]

Just to play Devil's Advocate here. I think money is influencing some of these speeches these Pro's are giving against the A-Rig.

I totally disagree with him about the People who catch and keep and keep "Everything" concept. Just simply Ask yourself, How many people do you see on the lake that keeps every bass they catch? How often do you see people pulling their boats out of the Lake and they kept 5 Bass or more? I can honestly say, in a good 20+ years of Bass Fishing I've probably met one person at the Docks that had a live well with Bass in it and was taking them home. Decimate a Lake? I doubt that very seriously, sounds to me more like he was throwing a Scare speech out there to TRY and get them Banned.

I also disagree with him putting a 90% rating on these fish being mortally wounded by the A-Rig. How many Bass have you caught on the A-Rig, How many were hooked in the Gills and were bleeding? 90%? LORD NO, maybe 10% but guess what, I get 10% fishing a senko worm.

This may not be the case here, but something in me makes me think a few of these Pro's are voicing their opinion because their is money involved somewhere or another.

[islandbass]

Mumpy,

Those are indeed salient points you have brought to light on the other side, especially about how the opinions of pros might very well be influenced as such.

There is also no doubt that at least in my neck of the woods, we have people that catch and keep everything they catch and it is sickening, legal size or not. The A-Rig would be a heaven sent gift for these shady folks. They are out there and they have no qualms doing so either.

Personally I won't use the A-rig. It's not my style nor my cup of tea. If the A-rig is an edge and it seems to be, it's one I don't want. With that said, if it's legal to use by all means, go ahead.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

Just to play Devil's Advocate here. I think money is influencing some of these speeches these Pro's are giving against the A-Rig.

I totally disagree with him about the People who catch and keep and keep "Everything" concept. Just simply Ask yourself, How many people do you see on the lake that keeps every bass they catch? How often do you see people pulling their boats out of the Lake and they kept 5 Bass or more? I can honestly say, in a good 20+ years of Bass Fishing I've probably met one person at the Docks that had a live well with Bass in it and was taking them home. Decimate a Lake? I doubt that very seriously, sounds to me more like he was throwing a Scare speech out there to TRY and get them Banned.

I also disagree with him putting a 90% rating on these fish being mortally wounded by the A-Rig. How many Bass have you caught on the A-Rig, How many were hooked in the Gills and were bleeding? 90%? LORD NO, maybe 10% but guess what, I get 10% fishing a senko worm.

This may not be the case here, but something in me makes me think a few of these Pro's are voicing their opinion because their is money involved somewhere or another.

Well, Mark started out by saying he was not advocating for or against the rig, and explained he is still using it. He shared his tips about how to use it. But he also wanted to express his reservations. He was in no way telling anyone not to use it. But he wanted to share his concerns as well. Myself, I really don't go around looking inside anyones livewells. But I have seen live bait fisherman many times with fish baskets full of fish, including lots of undersized immature bass. It's probably due to the lakes I fish being small, under 100 acres, and there are not many bass boats to be found. Mostly it's guys in rowboats bobber fishing for panfish. Like I said, most true bass fisherman won't do that. But you have other non bass fishing anglers out there who could care less and they just might see the A Rig as their best way to load the basket. As for the 90% of bass caught by the A Rig. He didn't say that 90% were mortally wounded. He said 90 % of the bass were impaled by some of the other swimbait jigs on the rig. SOME of those were gill hooked. I probably could have made that clearer in my post. But he did say he was sure he saw bass released that he was sure would not survive. Any time a fish has multiple injuries, common sense tells you chances of survival are reduced. I also don't believe the A Rig is going to decimate any lakes, but I do believe that it has the potential to cause serious damage to a lakes bass population if everyone starts throwing it.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

The issue of how many baits with hooks aside I do like the idea of having one "oddball" in the mix.

Yet you choose to post....here.....

On the subject of the A rig, I'll never use it. At some point, things just get unfair. What comes next? Gill nets for all?

Keith, it's a shame that Zona didn't do the jig discussion. He knows his jigs.....probably dances a few as well, knowing him.

When he had his World's Greatest Fishing Show, he was fishing jigs in a river, in the Torch Lake chain in Fall, and tearin em up.

Seems like you and the other attendees would have benefited more from the jig talk

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by Mumpy

Just to play Devil's Advocate here. I think money is influencing some of these speeches these Pro's are giving against the A-Rig.

I totally disagree with him about the People who catch and keep and keep "Everything" concept. Just simply Ask yourself, How many people do you see on the lake that keeps every bass they catch? How often do you see people pulling their boats out of the Lake and they kept 5 Bass or more? I can honestly say, in a good 20+ years of Bass Fishing I've probably met one person at the Docks that had a live well with Bass in it and was taking them home. Decimate a Lake? I doubt that very seriously, sounds to me more like he was throwing a Scare speech out there to TRY and get them Banned.

I also disagree with him putting a 90% rating on these fish being mortally wounded by the A-Rig. How many Bass have you caught on the A-Rig, How many were hooked in the Gills and were bleeding? 90%? LORD NO, maybe 10% but guess what, I get 10% fishing a senko worm.

This may not be the case here, but something in me makes me think a few of these Pro's are voicing their opinion because their is money involved somewhere or another.

Maybe I'm smarter than most, but if I were keeping more than the 5 fish limit, do you think you, or anyone else would see it?

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by MallenManson

Yet you choose to post....here.....

On the subject of the A rig, I'll never use it. At some point, things just get unfair. What comes next? Gill nets for all?

Keith, it's a shame that Zona didn't do the jig discussion. He knows his jigs.....probably dances a few as well, knowing him.

When he had his World's Greatest Fishing Show, he was fishing jigs in a river, in the Torch Lake chain in Fall, and tearin em up.

Seems like you and the other attendees would have benefited more from the jig talk

Interresting as it was, I wouldn't have gone had I known he wasn't going to talk jigs. The guy in front of me was PISSED! Jigs is something I'm interrested in learning more about. But oh well. At least he puts on a very entertaining seminar. He could talk about the benefits of a 7 foot oar over a 6 1/2 foot oar and still make it fun to listen to.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by keithdog

Interresting as it was, I wouldn't have gone had I known he wasn't going to talk jigs. The guy in front of me was PISSED! Jigs is something I'm interrested in learning more about. But oh well. At least he puts on a very entertaining seminar. He could talk about the benefits of a 7 foot oar over a 6 1/2 foot oar and still make it fun to listen to.

No doubt! He's a complete fool, although in an oddly good way.
I would love to sit in on a jig discussion with him.

I never did hear why, but the name of his tv show has changed from world's greates fishing show to awesome fishing show or somethin.

The 2 biggest things I've learned from his show:
He's afraid of clowns
He makes out with sturgeon

[nobass]

good info keith. i do not think i would ever use one. i think it wijj be just a matter of time till all staes make them illlegal to use