Each state sets its own limits on hooks and lures per line and per angler. Read your state agency’s current fishing regulations before you tie one on.
Missouri’s rule
Missouri Department of Conservation groups the Alabama rig with umbrella and similar rigs. It says they may be fished so long as they use only three lures or baits. The remaining attachment points can carry similar baits with their hooks removed, or hookless attractors such as spinner blades, and the rig is intended to be fished with a rod and reel.
Missouri’s definition of pole and line is tackle with not more than 3 hooks with bait or lures attached, and it counts each bait or lure as a hook. Its example: you cannot fish five hooks on a pole and line. To comply you would clip the hooks off two baits, or replace two hooked baits with hookless baits or attractors.
Other states
Other states set their own rules. Texas, for example, makes it unlawful to fish with more than 100 hooks on all devices combined in fresh water, and its “pole and line” definition includes rod and reel. Because rules differ and change, read your state agency’s regulation booklet or call the agency before you fish an Alabama rig.
Competition and record rules
IGFA’s angling rules for records say that only one lure containing hooks may be used at a time. That is a record rule, not a state fishing law.
For rigs that work with one lure and no hook-count questions, see the Texas rig and drop shot rig.
Sources
- International angling rules, IGFA
- Fishing regulations, Missouri Department of Conservation
- Legal devices for fish, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Fishing regulations (PDF), Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
- Freshwater fishing creel and size limits, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources