Due to the high volume of phone calls regarding the state’s complicated rules surrounding the Alabama rig, The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission has announced a change in regulations that will go into effect on March 1, 2013.
Anglers may only use three hooks on each rod—the hooks can be any size, with both single and treble hooks permitted for use. While treble hooks will be legal, it will still be illegal to use three crankbaits on a single cast that are rigged with two hooks each.
Five lures may still be used on Alabama rigs, but only three of them can have hooks. Anglers with three hooks or less on their line will be perfectly legal. Anything more than three hooks will be against the law.
The TFWC has also voted to decrease the minimum length limit for Pickwick’s smallmouth bass from 18-inches to 15-inches. With both Alabama and Mississippi expected to do the same, length regulations will become simpler for Pickwick anglers fishing near state lines.
For more information, please visit www.tn.gov/twra/.
