Thanks for the details, Tom. The drop shot technique is probably the slowest and last to catch with most folks. It's way too much like panfishing with a cricket, and way too radical a departure from casting and winding all day. Pour it on, fella. Everyone here needs to figure it out and add it to their arsenal if they want to be sure to put fish in the livewell.
I've taught drop shot to maybe as many as a thousand campers over the years, having no boat to fish from. No drop shot rules prohibit use of a float. Around here hydrilla packs the shoreline around most of the campgrounds, so if there isn't a piece of water on the inside weedline, it's vital to get a lure out to the outside weedline. The rig is set a safe distance off bottom using the float. Drop shotting is really about the same technique man has used for millennia, only mostly with a live earthworm or cricket. My first panfishing began with an identical rig, using a cane pole. Sinker on bottom, hook tied a ways up. The difference now is the use of artificial lures. That was unthinkable for many years after the Creme worm came along.
That rig is a heavy hitter for me in winter, and after cold fronts in spring through fall when nobody else is catching bass nosing down into deeper comfort. There are times a bass will only bite a finesse lure, sometimes no larger than a 3" curlytail grub that stays put and barely shows signs of life. If crayfish are not scurrying around on bottom the bass will know that and they won't pay a lot of attention to a bottom-bounced jig. They will be suspended and looking up from concealment of a stump, rock, or clump of vegetation.
From a boat I do recommend, as Tom said, a sinking line like fluorocarbon. But from the bank you don't want line that settles down and gets involved in branches, draping over sharp rocks. For that braid or a tough mono line is better. When you are lowering a drop shot straight down you want it to get there quickly, and fishing deep calls for the most sensitive sinking line- fluoro.
You need a rod with lots of sensitivity to drop shot, about 6'10". Action (amount of rod flex) needs to be medium light to medium (fast taper at the end), yet the tip end 8" needs to be very flexible. Power needs to be ML for 4-8# line in as deep as 25' in open water. There is no yanking to set the hook. You just start reeling and slowly lifting the rod. I prefer the cranking power of a low speed baitcaster since when drop shotting the larger bass are more inclined to bite deep. You can use a spinning rig too, but line twist is really bothersome to me. The bait doesn't spin, but the reel just has line twist built-in.
You can fish a drop shot like a T-rigged worm from boat to shore, dragging it like a C-rig. If a lot of cover could be a problem you'd need a heavier power rod and heavier line. I use up to 12# line in water over 25' deep vertically or whenever casting it around heavy cover. 6-8# line weight is best for vertical drop shotting.
Jim
