Umbrella Rigs-Help

Hey Guys, I'm wanting one or two umbrella rigs for striper fishing at Cumberland. I've emailed the guys at Cumberland Pro and got no answer, so I guess I'll have to make my own.

Do any of you guys have luck with homemade umbrella rigs, I've seen the frames at Bass Pro and the like. Do you just make leaders out of your normal fishing line (17-20lb test) and some jigs (what oz.?) or do I need to use some type of leaders to connect the jigs to the frame?

I've seen some from I think it is panther martin at a shop in Lexington, but they have swim baits instead of jigs.

Anybody try swimbaits instead of jigs?

Any help or instructions would be appreciated

Cumberland Pro has them both rigged or not. Do a search for SeeinStripes, I got alot of info about U rigs there.

This is a web article I posted a couple years back on U-rigs.

Andrew

Umbrella rigs can be very useful tools when trolling for Hybrids and Stripers as they simulate a school of baitfish. Bucktail jigs with plastic trailers make good lures for use on U-rigs. Other good choices for lures are sassy shad. Umbrellas can be used while flatlining and with downriggers. There are a number of styles on the market. These vary in the number of arms (3 and 4 are most common) and the weight of the rig. Two lures can be attached to each arm and one additional lure in the center. To make the umbrellas easier to rig, we often attach a snap swivel to each of the lure attachment points on the arms. For Hybrids, we typically set up the umbrella with 1/4 oz jigs on the outside arms and a 3/8 oz jig in the center. For Stripers, we'll up this to 1/2 oz on the outside arms and 1 oz in the center. To better simulate a school of baitfish, we use all the same color jigs and trailers. The center jig is attached to a 2 foot leader while the rest of the jigs are attached directly to the U-rig. The leader should be of lighter test line than that of the reel you are using. This way, if you hang up you can usually pull the whole rig loose and only lose one jig.
The umbrella causes increased tension so fighting a fish is somewhat harder. For this reason, many people will use a heavier rod and line than usual for trolling. We find the umbrellas to be most useful when the fish are somewhat scattered. If they are schooled up real well, we prefer a single jig. If you are fishing in cloudy water, you can also attach spinner blades in place of the inner jigs on the umbrella to create more flash and vibration in the water.

To use the rig, place it into the water carefully and be sure all jigs are tracking correctly. Then let your line out slowly, so it doesn't sink to fast or tangle. When trolling with umbrellas, we usually run one off each side of the boat. A different color is used on each side. We advise against putting too many rigs in the water at a time as they will tangle. Any turns that you make should be wide. Troll in a s-shaped pattern and run the rig slightly above the depth where the fish are suspended. When you are making the slow s-shaped turns, the inside rig will sink slightly while the outside rig will raise up. You can also trigger a strike by slowing down then speeding up every once in a while. This causes the rigs to act like scared baitfish.

One additional concern with using umbrella rigs is that it is not uncommon to hook into multiple Hybrids or Stripers on the same rig. For this reason, we do not recommend using the umbrella rigs when Hybrids and Stripers are schooling real well. This is especially true during the hot summer months or when running the umbrellas off downriggers. Under such conditions, one risks hooking multiple fish and going over their limit. This results in fish being released that will most likely die within 48 hours of being released. One other way to set up the U-rig is to use teasers on the outside arms of the rig and spinner blades attached by way of a swivel to the center arms. The only jig with a hook would be the center jig that is run off the trailer. You'll still get all of the fish catching attention as a regular U-rig, but avoid multiple hook ups. Note that the center jig is typically the one that gets hit first anyway.

Hey Andrew! Do you know where a guy might find some 1st. class Bucktail Striper jig's? :) :) :)

Dave,

Soon, very soon :)

Andrew

[QUOTE=apb;314399]Dave,

Soon, very soon :)

Andrew[/QUOTE]
Thank's Andrew! You know how to find me.

Dave.