With the release of the 2014 FLW Tour rules on Wednesday, the umbrella rig era at pro bass fishing’s highest level of competition has come to an end. After gathering feedback from anglers and weighing other variables, such as fish care and public relations backlash, FLW decided to ban umbrella rigs at the Tour level beginning next year. Anglers in all FLW-sanctioned tournaments were able to use the rigs since they came on the scene at the 2011 Lake Guntersville FLW Tour Open, but going forward the multi-arm baits will be allowed in EverStart Series and BFL events with strict limitations placed on number of wires, blades and hooks.
While there’s no telling if the ban could be lifted or modified in the future, one thing is for certain: One of the most polarizing products and techniques to ever hit the major tournament scene presently has no place in the sport’s top leagues. And it appears the anglers were the driving force behind the move.
Survey Results Loomed Large
Bill Taylor, who’s worked as the FLW Tour tournament director since 2001, called the process by which the organization reviewed the umbrella rig issue “deliberate” and included input from a number of FLW officials as well as data from FLW’s annual angler survey. He said after Paul Elias won at Guntersville in the fall of 2011 with a version of the rig Andy Poss later licensed to Mann’s Bait Company called the Alabama Rig, it forced the organization to step back and evaluate its options.
“When it first came out, we were like, ‘Uh oh, what’s this deal,'” Taylor told BassFan in a phone interview. “Our team met for several days after that Guntersville tournament and decided to take a stance and see how it all progressed and what would happen to the fisheries and how the states would react. We took a wait and see approach and we’re glad we did. It proved us right in many ways.” Read the rest for this BASSFAN article – do you agree?