Best Smallie Dropshot Baits

[bronzewb22]

I just recently bought a new dropshot setup and have been using it for largemouth in clear, eastern massachusetts lakes and ponds. I have a 7'2" shimano cumara paired with a shimano stradic ci4 2500. Its spooled up with 6lb maxima flouro. Ive had great success with roboworms, zippers, and flukes in just about every color, but i know from past experience that i will likely need to downsize and throw some less conspicuous baits to the smallies i plan to fish in western maine. I have extensive experience with smallmouth, but have never dropshotted for them. Any suggestions as to which baits are most productive? Ive been wondering about the new missile craws, or any dropshot specific craw imitations, but dont know where to start. Ill be fishing rock piles in 3-30 feet of crystal clear water.

[Crestliner2008]

Try a 3" Sluggo nose hooked, as well as some of the Case Helgrammites.

[Will Wetline]

The Missile Baits Drop Craw in watermelon/red nose hooked on a size 4 VMC Spinshot hook took two 3 1/2 lb. smallies out of clear, rocky Massachusetts water for me this spring.

I've been using Lunker City's 3" Slug Gos successfully for smallies for years, mostly C-rigged, but this year found they worked just fine drop shot. Love their rainbow trout color.

[A-Jay]

I've been doing well nose hooking a 3.5" Big Bites Baits Dean Rojas Fight Frog ~

A-Jay

[Lund Explorer]

Gulp Minnows.

But I've been rigging two baits on the same line using SpinShot Hooks. A 4" (#2 size hook) on top with a 2 1/2" (#8 size hook) on the bottom.

[mod479]

Lots of good ideas have been posted, I prefer robo worms of all colors, but if all else fails try:

3" senko/dinger nose hooked

4" senko/dinger wacky rigged

Sounds strange, but I've caught some nice smallies wacky rigging it, give yourself a long tail end below the hook when you tie up the rig, so it has some extra distance to fall and shimmy.

[bronzewb22]

Thanks so much to all of these suggestions. I'll be stocking up from *** soon, and am looking into the vmc spinshots. Has anyone had problems with the bait action and/or setting the hook while using spinshots? thats my only concern really

[mod479]

I decided to give the spinshots a try this season, here is my take on them: (I usually use gammie DS hooks)

The good:

-easy to tie up and get a rig put together if you arent so sure about tying a palomar.

-Decent quality hook right out of the package.

-The design of the hook limits line twisting, so you dont have to use a barrel swivel... but makes for a new problem (more on that in "The bad")

The bad:

-Visibility of the shaft which goes through the hook eyelet. ( I fish superclear waters, and this sort of thing bothers me)

- Tangles....The shaft inheriently ends up wrapped with line when you hook up...and this ends up ruining your expensive fluorocarbon. If you dont mind re-tying, its not a big deal, I like my rigs to be perfect as you never know when big mama might be prowling around....

-The hook: From my experiences this spring and summer, this hook is moderately sharp out of the package, but dulls very quickly when you start fishing in cover. Also, using a #4, I had one big smallmouth make a run at the boat and bend that hook about 20 degrees back. Never had that happen with a gammie hook...yet.

Final verdict: Great hook for someone looking to try drop shotting out, They are certainly easy to use and have caught quite a few fish with them, but I have better luck tying a hook on the old fashion way...so I use them more now for fishing perch with livebait.

[roadwarrior]

Slug-Go or fluke

[iabass8]

I like taking zoom finese worms and cutting them in half length wise and nose hook them. Really good action for casting a drop shot.

[IMPACT01]

I use robo worms late spring spawn out I use pumpkin punisher and then darker greens or Aaron's majic through late summer .

Another great abut are yammimoto 3 inch swimming minnow in baby bass color. Great tail action....

[cueball]

Strike King Elaztech/Z-Man 4" Finesse Worm. Smallmouths will often hit again if you miss or there is more than one fish looking at your bait. With these worms your very rarely have the bait pulled off, so if you miss a fish you can keep fishing rather than have to reel in and re-bait.

[Steve K]

Cross tail shads by Jackall work great in Wisconsin waters also Poor Boy's Erie Darter Jr's.

[Fishing Rhino]

Strike King Elaztech/Z-Man 4" Finesse Worm. Smallmouths will often hit again if you miss or there is more than one fish looking at your bait. With these worms your very rarely have the bait pulled off, so if you miss a fish you can keep fishing rather than have to reel in and re-bait.

The SK 4" finesse ElaZtech worm is hard to beat as a drop shot bait or a shaky head. They are just about indestructible. My favorite color has been coppertruese with watermelon red flake, or pumpkin red flake not far behind.

Another excellent drop shot bait that very few seem to mention is the Yamamoto Flappin Hog. It is probably too bulky to fit into the finess category, but I have caught a ton of fish, including smallmouth using it on a drop shot rig. Watermelon w/Black and Red flake seems to work anywhere. Their biggest downside is they are quite fragile.

[A-Jay]

I've been fishing the vmc spin shot drop shot hook this season and I like them.

From what I noticed, here's some additional feedback; your results may vary ~

They do drastically reduce line twist.

I fish very clear open water with this hook - I have not noticed a reduction is bites with this hook.

The hook is sharp out of the package and stay sharp - as I do not fish this hook / rig is cover.

I have not had any line tangling issues with this rig, any more than with a traditional drop shot set up.

I will add that I do not use fluorocarbon line (for reasons I will not get into here)

As stated, I fish mostly open water with this rig so I can use light line and a light drag setting.

With that said, I have not had this vmc spin shot hook straighten out.

On a separate / somewhat different note.

Drop shot is always thought of as a finesse , small bait technique. And there is no doubt that it is very effective that way.

But I've been having good results using a bit larger profile bait. Baits like the small version/size of some of the more popular creature baits. (4" power hawg, 3.5" Big Bite Fighting Frog, the small Lake fork Magic Shad - to name a few) Match the hook to the baits size if course. But even so, the small hook and open water allows the use of very light line which I think translates into more bites.

Also using a bit larger bait has induced a bit bigger bass and reduces the number of dinks.

A-Jay

[Backwoodsbasser]

I like the zippers and zman finesse floating wormz. But my newest drop shot bait that had been killing it is strike king dream shot. It's the bait that jvd won the green bay challenge on catching monster smallies and that's exactly what its been doing for me

[central.PA.bass]

I like Power Team Lures JP Hammer Shad and Finicky Ticklers

The new Berkely Twitchtail Minnows work great as well.

GYCB 4" Senkos Nosehooked catch a lot of fish for me also.

ALWAYS use a 1/0 or #1 Gamakatsu Splitshot/Dropshot hook

[iabass8]

I like the zippers and zman finesse floating wormz. But my newest drop shot bait that had been killing it is strike king dream shot. It's the bait that jvd won the green bay challenge on catching monster smallies and that's exactly what its been doing for me

i just picked some of those up too. fish seem to just love them.

[luresonly]

Roboworm straight-tails and Evolve VibraGRUBs are king... anywhere I dropshot. If the fish are finnicky, I start with a Roboworm... if they seem keyed in on baitfish... I immediately switch to a vibragrub... I have my own method for dropshotting evolve vibragrubs with slow and steady lifting of the rod with intermittent twitches... kills 'em. First Post! Great forum!

[rowyourboat]

helgapede by river rock baits

[dmk801]

Try a chomper 4 inch watermelon drop shot worm great bait

[rooster123]

A Sniper snub in Sand color

[jenga]

A-Jay, I have also used the VMC hook this year and I think we fish similar waters. I have had about 4 or 5 break on me. I was fishing the Lk.St.Clair River and my buddy was using a vmc and I watched it bend in half. I like the idea but I will not buy them any more.