IGFA rejects Striper caught on Alabama rig

This story is a few months old but I haven’t seen it discussed here. The angler missed out on a million dollar prize because of the ruling…

http://www.gofishn.com/gofishn/igfa-rejects-record-striped-bass-caught-on-alabama-rig-angler-loses-1-million/

I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…

Alabama rigs seem to be causing a lot of rule interpretation issues. Tennessee has a pending rule change for 2013 that would alter their “one hook” ruling. Currently you can use an umbrella but it can only have one lure. One iteration of the new legislation would allow three. There is a lot of discussion and public input going on right now.

joby wetzel

Regardless of the IGFA ruling, the catch was DQ’d by Arkansas because it was in violation of that state’s regulation regarding multiple hooks. The article is a bit short on details but if the catch was illegal I don’t know why the IGFA even considered it in the first place.
Alabama and/or umbrella rig rules vary widely state to state as does the interpretation of what constitutes “multiple hooks”. What happened to this guy is unfortunate to say the least but maybe some consistency will come as a result.


War Eagle 754 Ducks Unlimited - Yamaha 75