“It looks like a whole school of shad swimming in the water, which is why I think it`s so effective,” he said. “I`ve caught up to five stripers at the same time on a single screen, and doubles and triples are pretty common.” It`s important to know your state`s hook laws when fishing for an umbrella. Not all states allow you to use 5 brackets legally. “We captured daylight from the stripers on these umbrella platforms, so I wondered if they could work on freshwater stripers,” Briggs said. “I wasn`t sure because Anna is quite clear and the fish are worked hard enough. When you look at an umbrella, it`s not very subtle. I`m a little surprised that it doesn`t scare the fish. Arizona, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota and Vermont all have a 2-hook limit on the Alabama platforms. It turned out that it didn`t matter. That was almost 15 years ago and Briggs now relies on umbrellas, not only when stripes actively eat shad near the surface, but also when they kiss the ground or hold it somewhere in between. Only rod, coil and hand lines within 500 meters below the dam are allowed. It is illegal to catch fish at walkers dam.

Umbrella platforms are just over two crossed wires with two loops on each arm. The wires are connected in the middle to form an X, and there is an additional loop in the middle of these crossed wires. Briggs attaches a foot-length leader to each noose and a soft plastic bait to each leader, giving the fish nine different baits on the same line. “I`m going to put three or four colors on the same umbrella to see which one the fish prefers. When I catch fish in a certain color, I change all my baits for that color. Most of the time, however, I use pearl white or chartreuse,” he said, adding that it was important to use the same baits in each eye. “If you use different weights on the same umbrella, it won`t work true. The whole platform is going to run and it`s really going to ruin your line. Some states limit fishermen to a single bait or a certain number of hooks, so check your local regulations to make sure it`s legal to use nine baits at once. If not, simply cut the hooks of eight baits and leave the middle bait alone. Some fishermen drop this middle bait on a longer guide to give the fish an obvious target, Briggs said. Califonia, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming all have a 3-hook limit on the Alabama platforms.

The chartered captains of the Chesapeake Bay may have been the first fishermen to discover the effectiveness of umbrella platforms for striped bass, but Glenn Briggs is a quick study. As a guide to Lake Anna in central Virginia, Briggs is constantly looking for effective ways to get his clients on the fish. A trip to the bay made him think. It took Briggs a season or two to figure out exactly how to use these platforms most effectively, but he eventually learned to troll so that the baits stayed close to the ground without pulling them. Sometimes, however, he pulls the bait a little higher when he marks stripes from the bottom on his Lowrance Depth Finder. Briggs said it will go up to take a bait, but they won`t fall. That`s why it`s important to pay attention to your search for depth when trolling. Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia all have a 5-hook limit or no limit on alabama`s platforms. Hours of operation for fishing, as well as fishing hours, fishing methods and size, possession and door limits, as well as hunting and falling on lakes, ponds, streams or access points to vessels owned by the Ministry, must comply with the regulations of the Commission, unless otherwise excluded from the rules published by the Director or his representative. These posted rules must be posted at any lake, pond, stream or boat access point, in which case the posted rules are in effect.