Drop Shot Rig ?

[Jim B]

Does anyone here fish a drop shot? I am trying to learn it and i need some pointers. One is what size line is the best? I played with it thie weekend on Winni and all i had spooled was 10# test on my spinning reels and i found i cant cast it very far. Also what is the proper way to work it? do you drag it like a carolina rig? i did get some bites on it and i lost most of them. I have heard not to set the hook with the little circle hooks you just reel. Is that true? I landed a few smallies on it but they were all tiny.

 

[Greg Duggan]

Jim,

i swear by the drop shot rig and it has become one of my go to baits during every tourny.



i use 8 to 10lb triliene XL. i set up the palamar not with a 10" tag end.

i only use owner #2 extra wide gap offset worm hooks, not a big fan of the cicle hooks.

i also use xps drop shot weights i like the egg shape weights when in the weeds and the finess weights when near rocks, they don't seem to get hung up as much as the others.

i set the weight no more than 8" away from the hook. my two favorite baits are zoom baby brush hogs in greenpumpkin and Yum craw fish in the same color. i have used this around docks, drop offs, rip rap. pretty much every were. i picked up the last two fish in my tourny at webster lake around docks with a 6.5" culprit redshad worm.



cast out the rig and let it fall like a c rig. pick up the slack with out moving the weight off the bottom. i slowly drag the weight a few feet at a time. i also like to lighty shake the rod tip to add a little movement to the bait.( i do this while i am leting it sit between dragging it e few feet) a lot of times i will get hit right after i give it a shake. usually it is a soft bite bite, so it is important to keep incontact with the rig. i don't like to c rig. i find it very borring, i have grown to love the drop shot and it has won a couple of tournys for me.

good luck with it.



GregD

 

[Donald Fruge]

Hey Greg,



Do you have a picture or a link to an illustration of the drop shot rig? I was always under the impression that it was fished vertically over the side of the boat.



I watched the pro do it on tv one time. There was a guy from japan (kawasaki or something like that) using it and was doing quite well with it.

 

[Greg Duggan]

BASS magizine has run quite few articals latley that show it the way i use it.

when i first tried it early last yr i didn't even get a bite, i did some research and talked with one of the guys in my club. he showed me that i actually riged it backwards. i had it set up like c rig. i also got a tip from a local tackle shop about the short tag end. most guys fish it with 12" or more. i only rig with 6-8" at most. he also turned me on to the baby brush hogs. the first time i used it in a tourny i boated close to 20 fish that day, my partner boated around 12. we weighed in a combined 32lbs with 10 fish. we were culling 3+ lbers.

from then on i fish it all the time. i never thought it could be used around docks and swim platforms. but i proved that it was very deadly just about everywhere i tried it. i will look for some illistrations and and post them.



GregD

 

[Casey Campbell]

Try this link, wolfcount.
http://www.bassresource.com/features/drop-shot.html

 

[Donald Fruge]

Thanks Septik,



I am going to try it next time out.

I am thinking about trying this with the a wacky rigged worm, fished vertically next to some standing timber.

Looks like a good way to get the wacky worm down where the fish are deep.



Wolf

 

[David Jordan]

I use #1 owner blood circle hooks. Placing the hook down, Tie a palamar not and re route the loose end back down thru the hook eye. The hook should be horzontal with the barb facing up. I use the pinch type 1/8 to 1/4 oz sinkers depending on the depth and wind. For worms I use 4" or 3" slider, ringworms, or Zoom drop shot worms.

Nose hook or wacky hook the worm

Set the sinker 6 to 18" off the bottom. 12" is a good place to start. I use 6 to 8# green bas pro mono on a 6' bass pro smallmouth spinning rod. Don't try to cast this thing a mile. Just 20 to 60 feet out is fine. Go to a spot where you know that the fish are close to cover. Cast out and hold the line tight. You can shake it ever so slightly. Some days that helps. If the boat is rocking at all don't bother to shake it. Wait 30 seconds and move the bait a foot or 2 wait again. If you feel anything weird, lift the rod, no big hook sets here and real the line while lifting. Drop shoting is now my favorite go to method it works everywhere and will load the boat

 

[David Jordan]

See my latest message, My son just caught a 5#-12oz toad yesterday. No fancy equipment needed. Just a spinning rod and a 4" worm. Buy lots of sinkers because you will loose alot of them in the rocks. For a 8 hour T bing at least 20 1/8 oz sinkers, 20 worms and a 8 pack of hooks

Make sure your ready to be very busy, you will catch alot of fish. This method can produce a nice bag. don't be surprized when you catch a toad. You'll have your hand full if you hook a 4# or larger bass. Learning to back reel will really help get those toads to the boat.



I use a shimano stradic st2000FG reel and a Bass pro Billy Westmoreland smallmouth BW60MS 6' light jig spinning rod.





Dave

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I like a 7' med action spinning rod with 8 lb test or 10 lb depending on what kind of water/structure I'm fishing. You can drag it, but usually, I just drop it, and let the weight hit the bottom. Then just lift the bait until I feel the weight and drop it again. Most of the strikes come on the initial fall, when the weight hits the bottom, the residual kinetic energy left in the line transfers to the bait and it POPS forward very erratically. I always knew that it happened, but it took Gary Klein explaining to to me to understand why. Once it's on the bottom, I just lift and drop the bait. Often the fish will smash it pretty quickly. Then I just crank it up and recast.

I don't fish a dropshot as much as I used to as I am trying to master the c-rig, so I'm a little out of practice with it. A good one to ask is Mark K, he is a dropshot fanatic and did some seminars on it this past spring.

 

[Jim B]

Thanks guys, It sounds like 10# should be fine for what im doing. I may have had the leader too long, i will try to shorten it.



Rob i like the technique you mentioned, the area i was trying to fish is perfect for a vertical presenatation. I will have to try it some more this weekend in my tourney if my largies dont hold up. If you want to learn how to fish a c-rig we should get together, i can show you how to fish it. Its my main go to presentation for deep smallies(followed closely by the spider jig).

 

[Greg Duggan]

jim,

were are you fishing this weekend?



GregD

 

[Jim B]

Greg my club has a two day on Winni this weekend. I found some good largies last sat, i just hope they are still there....

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

What kind of water clarity do you need for drop-shotting?

I have heard it is a clear water technique.

Would three feet visibilty be fine?

 

[Greg Duggan]

if it was one of my local lakes i would have tried to share a little drop shot info. but as you know i don't have any luck on Winni.

good luck with the tourny, try the baby brush hogs in green pumpkin. i have great luck with them on the drop shot,



Velcro,

i have used it in both clear and ice tea colored water but never anyhting like 3' visibility.



GregD