[bigtex]

I have come to a conclusion that the Drop Shot is not for me. I fish mainly off the banks in private ponds and with that this rig is not even close to being effective. Oh well, maybe I can try it at a lake if I ever get to go. LOL

It didn't hurt to try.

 

[joe]

I feel ya Bigtex! I have tried from the bank and out of the boat with no luck. I see other guys use it and have seen a few fish caught but not me. All I caught was snot grass!!!!
-Joe

 

[Jared]

Well, I guess I should speak up with you guys... lol Its not caught squat for me either. I have just assumed it's been the fact that I am fishing in water 5 foot deep or less all year long in the bodies of water I fish around my area. I hear that people fish it in shallow water but there is just so many more productive ways for the shallow water bite around my area.

 

[imonembad]

Me either, but it drives me to no end!!

 

[oldschool]

Every presentation has it's place. Drop shot requires specific line, hooks and soft plastics to be successful. Reading your posts the type of water you fish and the locations you maybe applying this technique may not be the best choice. First you need the correct hook for shallow water weed lines breaks and that would be an Owner off set drop shot hook size 1/0 to allow you to Texas rig the worm. The next item you need is a small 6" finesse worm, Roboworm Aarons magic (UUGH) and 1/4 oz., tungsten or brass drop shot weight (OOCH) then believe or not 8 to 10 lb fluorocarbon line (WHOOH) spinning or med/light rod (Can you believe this!!). Now that we have you all rigged up you need to drop this rig where you have metered bass and let the weight stay on the bottom while you slightly jiggle the worm (Oh my god!) until that 9 lb bass rips the rod out of your hand.
TY

 

[Big Bass Rich]

Drop shotting is one of my top tactics for smallmouth.. but I also have trouble getting the largemouths to hit one. Even when fishing them at 15-20 feet I just always do better with a jig/pig or a jigging spoon.

 

[oldschool]

Drop shotting is one of my top tactics for smallmouth.. but I also have trouble getting the largemouths to hit one. Even when fishing them at 15-20 feet I just always do better with a jig/pig or a jigging spoon.

There is no real difference presenting a drop shot to smallies, spots or largemouth. The presentation is identical, the location and style of worm, tube or grub is different. During the cold water periods when the water column temperature is below 55 degrees, most bass switch to eating baitfish because the crawdads have started to hibernate. Smallies and spots will tend to target crawdad size and color combinations for a longer period because they were a major factor in the diet. So you need to locate largemouth near structure to be successful with drop shotting and use baitfish profile soft plastics like 6" shad or perch colors. Brass-Trix flash minnows are great cold water tube type bait for drop shotting. Use a #1 Owner mosquito or Gamakatsu hook and nose hook your soft plastics. Also try to work up hill more than down hill for LMB.

 

[mary dean]

I have only tried it a couple of times. It doesn't feel comfortable yet.

 

[hi steel basser]

I fish for spots alot, deep clear water, and have yet to catch a drop shot fish. I fully intend to get out on the lake soon with nothing but drop shot tackle and really learn this technique, but for now my fool-proof lure is the shaky head.

 

[Ouachita]

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

 

[dave0331_69]

I havent had any luck with the drop-shot yet but i make it a point to try it once and a while. But then again im having trouble with the whole finesse thing anyway. Dave

 

[oldschool]

I havent had any luck with the drop-shot yet but i make it a point to try it once and a while. But then again im having trouble with the whole finesse thing anyway.  Dave

Dave, Every presentation technique does not need to be mastered to catch bass. As I mentioned in the post discussion on colors, you can get by with a few choices. However you also limit your opportunities to catch bass when the bass are not responding to your choice of lure presentation. Not catching bass when others are is what motivates us to try new things, it is fun and one of the things that make bass fishing the sport it is.
The most important thing to remember with finesse fishing is to use light line and tackle that is appropriate. I have taught a lot of kids to catch bass on spinning tackle using the slip shot presentation. Slip shot is very similar to Carolina rig, except you use a 1/8 oz.,mojo tubular shaped weight, a small round BB shot or C-stopper to hold the weight up the line about 24", a size 1 Gamakatsu rubber worm hook and a 5 1/2" curl tail finesse worn. You use this rig with a 6 1/2' medium fast action spinning rod and, 8 lb. mono. From shore you cast out and let the weight rest on the bottom, then drag the weight about 2 feet by lifting the rod, reel in the slack and repeat. From a boat you can drift this rig slowly along the bottom or cast and retrieve as described for shore fishing. Drop shotting is very similar, except the weight is at the end of the line and you fish it more vertical with the same tackle. Then there are spider jigs etc. This time of year go to the first major point up by the dam and work the rig up hill, from deep to shallow. Good luck with whatever presentation makes it happen for you.
Tom

 

[danielt]

I too hate the drop shot but I have also come to the conclusion that it is pointless with out your electronics. Especially at a new lake make sure your electronics are working properly otherwise you make be shooting in the dark. Well at least if you are out in 20ft+ deep water.

 

[oldschool]

If you are serious about learning how to finesse fish or use your electronics to locate bass, try Don Iovino's book http;//www.iovino.com/donbook.htm
Don is a friend of mine and he knows his stuff, hall of fame fisherman.
Tom

 

[hi steel basser]

:bowdown: :dance01: Thanx for the tip, old school, ty, whatever your real name is. I just got back here from ordering the book. Man, the more you talk about fishin, the more I learn.

 

[danielt]

:bowdown: :dance01: Thanx for the tip, old school, ty, whatever your real name is.  I just got back here from ordering the book. Man, the more you talk about fishin, the more I learn.

"ty" from the bass insider forum?

 

[hi steel basser]

Yessir, he be hear live an in da flesh!!! The amazing Bass ENCYCLOPEDIA. I really just wanna suck up enough to get in his boat one day.

 

[Ouachita]

Danielt, I bass fished through the 60s to the 80's the old fashioned way, "reading the water" without any electronics. We never dreamed of such a thing. I did make a viewing tube that helped some, a plastic tube with a glass pane glued to one end. It was held under water, and I could make out stumps, rocks, etc, rarely any sizeable fish. Finally I got a flasher and learned to use it on my own, nobody to teach me. Then came the paper graph FFers, and then the "holy grail" LED screens. Gray scale was so appreciated back then. But color screens...the ultimate.

There are many anglers still doing quite well without electronics. They just know where to go find fish because they've fished those magic holes for decades.

There is no need to fish "blind". It's a matter of finding bass habitat that has a lot of "furniture" and the presence of baitfish. Out in the open lake, sure, you'd need electronics, the reason so many anglers still carry an aversion to fishing deep even with fine electronics. But you CAN find a weedline without electronics. That's a great place to expect bass, especially where the line is broken up, irregular, having points and cuts. Other lures like jigs can help telegraph what's on bottom. rocks, weeds, mud, gravel, stumps. All the better to find any of that next to a weedline. You can look up and study the land drainage and rock outcrops, then figure that drainage or rock ridge continues down into the lake. Great. Get fishing! Found a laydown on a steep shoreline? Fish it. Your jig just suddenly fell maybe 8'? You have a ledge or stump hole. Fish it. Anything you find out of the ordinary is a fine place to put a drop shot. Bass like "different".

With that said, definitely a modern sonar is so much better for locating both hidden habitat and fish. There's just no comparison. But with or without, keep "reading" the water. Study it and the land above it. "Read" the signals a bottom bouncing lure sends up the line. Consult a good lake contour map while you're at it.

Jim

 

[Ouachita]

I'm taking credit for recruiting Tom. ;D so I get in the boat with him firstest.

I've really appreciated his knowledge and approach and always learn something new from him every read. Ya'll listen up and ASK QUESTIONS. Get involved. You are going to gain a treasure of information and benefit from many years of measured experience. He's "old school", but has kept up with "new school" too.

Jim

 

[danielt]

Ouachita, great info! Like I said this mostly applies for me at new lakes and of course I use the electronics to find depth/change/deep cover rather than fish. But if you are new to a lake and don't have any electronics on board what do you recommend? When you are so far away from the shore line the water surface is all the same. Would you just putt putt around with your bait out waiting to hit something then fish that area? For me drop shot + new lake + open water = lost at sea! without the depth finder that is...