At the beginning of this fishing season I chose to dedicate a lot of my finesse fishing to the drop shot. I have been limited to drop shotting from the banks and occasionally when I get out on a boat. Last week I was given the opportunity to fish Lake Bomoseen in Vermont. I knew the lake from prior tournaments and I decided to dedicate a majority of my time to working a drop shot no matter what! I just wanted to get a real good sense for the presentation at various depth and through various pieces of cover/structure. I wanted a drop shot which was versatile across all conditions so I chose to rig up with the following setup
Rod: Rapsody Drop’ Em rod. 6’10” MH XF Tip.
Line: Seaguar InvizX 8’lb test
Hook: VMC 2/0 Spinshot
Lure: Strike King finesse worm. Green Pumpkin with red fleck.
Weight: varied but ranged from 1/8 – ½ oz. Hanging around 9" from the hook.
Lessons Learned
1 – Shallow drop-shotting – Rock
You need to use the lightest weight possible and try and keep the presentation moving a bit more. Almost imagine you are ticking the rocks one at a time. With weights heavier than 1/8 I found myself getting hung up much more often. Caught 2 fish using this method. (Sidebar: This was something I learned on this forum. … Thanks!!!)
In an effort to save $$ I would tie an overhand knot around my weight. When I did get hung up I would lose the whole rig instead. I switched over to pinching the weight on and just crimping the weight a little more to get a solid hold on the line. When I was hung-up I would lose the weight and keep the rest of the rig.
2 – Shallow drop shotting – submerged grass, weed edges
I generally would use a Mojo rig for something like this . I rigged the weedless drop-shot on purpose to work it and see what happens. I found that the 2/0 spinshot actually made it through the grass better than I thought. I bet a traditional 2/0 tied on the “old fashioned drop-shot way” would be better. The spinshot did get weeds a lot of the time. The 1/8 oz weight also made it through easy as long as it was the long slender model. It is quite the workout popping it through the weeds but it did work out for 2 more catches. That includes my biggest largemouth at almost 3 lbs.
3 – Pitching to targets (shallow)
According to Gene’s advanced drop shot video a shorter leader was preferable in this situation. Being lazy and wanting to keep the same rig I actually did something different. I “pitched” the weight to the cover and gave the lure a little more slack to ensure it fell more vertical. Pitching under an overhanging tree was good for one more bass.
4 – Deep Drop shot (30+ feet)
We used part of the day to try and catch some deep water smallmouth. We found some submerged humps with the electronics and marked fish. I had to use ½ oz weights to keep bottom contact. Maybe in time I can lighten that up but I needed the weight to help me feel the bottom. We could never keep the boat on top of the hump so we struggled to catch a fish. My buddy had a strike but his hesitation kept him from setting the hook. Zero fish, not even a nibble for me.
I found it difficult in deeper waters to feel the bottom with a cast and drag method. Jigging it was much easier. If we could control the boat over those humps life would have been much easier. J
Not sure how much help this will be for everyone but it was worth posting to get feedback on other things I could have tried. As always your feedback/suggestions are always appreciated.