Steveo....you are in my world now!! I even converted Carlos to a dropshotter!! Where to begin?.....Weights, if in rocks, I use either the BPS cylinder type (cheap and fair quality) or Quick Drop which are a little more expensive but are very high quality. I lose a lot less but after all is said and done it is about the same. I use 1/4 oz 95% of the time. Sometimes on St Clair I step up a size. The Quick Drop are made with a very high quality "harp" and swivel and it makes a huge difference. Cheap harps cut your line and cheap swivels don't allow the weight to roll through rocks/cover. I really like the Quick drops the best of everything I have tried. They are teardrop and I have had the same weight on for multiple trips even when fishing rocks/timber. They are made by a fellow Yamamoto pro-staffer (Marc Mercantino)who fishes the Columbia river out West for smallies and he was having a problem finding a quality weight so he made his own. Make no mistake I am finesse fishing with a DS. 6-8 lb mono on a spinning setup with a 6'8" rod, medium action/fast tip. Gamakatsu has just come out with a special dropshot hook built on a swivel to eliminate line twist. My problem is that I use a Gamakatsu #1 (not 1.0) EWG hook and Texas rig my baits. That is contrary to the standard nose hook with a dropshot hook. Both work but in cover, you will snag up a lot more with an exposed hook. I use the Yamamoto kut-tail and pro-senko (5 inch) almost exclusively. Once you get the hang of it, it will be hard to put down.
