Drop Shot From The Bank?

[BassAssassin726]

Anyone have any experience fishing a  drop shot from the bank? The fish are all finicky this time of year in my local quarry lakes and I want to start fishing some finesse tactics. Never fished a drop **** before but I know the basics. But does it work well and is it effective from the bank? I would think being lower to the water would mess up the presentation. If anyone has any input on this I'd love to hear it. Also, what line, weight and baits work best for you as well. Thanks!

[Mccallister25]

About a month or so ago, I used a DS rig for my first time. I also fish exclusively from the bank. My very first cast I ended up getting a fish.. Granted, it was less than a pound, but a fish none the less. I havent really used a drop shot that much since. I like the rig, but the few times Iv thrown it, Iv had very little luck. Its probably a lot better as a verticle presentation from a boat.

[BassAssassin726]

By the way the one lake is a few acres big, clear water, really deep in some spots. The other is a bit smaller, dirty water, rocky bottom. They dump big dug up chunks of concrete in the smaller one. 

[lmbfisherman]

I've had a lot of success from the bank, as long as you know where the fish are holding it would be effective.  I usually cast it towards cover..etc, just last Sunday I caught 6 largies using the dropshot from the bank (local quarry). 

[BassAssassin726]

Yea I always thought of it as better suited for a boat. But Im watching video of this past weekends Elite Series event and they're casting drop shot rigs all the time so I don't know.

[Dingah]

i use it all the time, my pond is crystal clear and the fish can see you moving, but with the drop shot ive caught even the most finicky fish on it,and to answer your question, no being lower to the water does not affect anything IMO, but this is one of the best rigs that i throw and i mainly fish off the bank. Ive caught a good deal of 3 lbrs on this rig, its very productive and the bass cant seem to pass up such an easy meal shaking in front of their nose!

 

good luck 

-Tully

[Brian6428]

I think it would be fine to use from the bank. I would just suggest using a strong knot (palomar) to tie on your hook and and a weaker knot  to tie the line to the sinker. This way if your sinker gets stuck you only lose the sinker, not the whole rig.

 

Brian

[alexandboi]

I use it from the shore all the time, and it seems to work pretty well for me. Although I try to make the leader(from the hook to sinker) a bit longer that way the lure will suspend and not drag against the bottom. 

[BassAssassin726]

Any good suggestions for baits and sinkers?

[Felix77]

I like the drop shot if there are weeds to keep the bait over otherwise I like the mojo from the bank.

[alexandboi]

For sinkers I personally use the round ones more often, no specific brand. My two top producers are a 4.5" roboworm and a 3" bento minnow. Although it seems like I've been having a lot more luck fishing the bento minnow as a jerkbait, nose hooked... 

[BassAssassin726]

Do the baits have to be floating baits? Or can i use a normal worm or something?

[alexandboi]

They don't have to be floating baits. You can pretty much use anything. Just experiment and see what works best for you.

[Hattrick7]

Drop shotting from the bank is pretty deadly especially when the bite is really tough. The lake I fish I like to throw crankbaits a lot but when nothing's biting I always go with the dropshot.

I think leader length of the weight makes a big difference. That's something that you're gonna have to find that sweet spot. Try a 12-14" leader. If you're not getting any bites cut the leader down an inch until you find that sweet spot.

Also, make sure your hook is pointing the right way. This usually requires you to thread the leader back through the eye.

I like roboworms. 6 and 4.5" straight tail. I've even caught one with a senko wacky rigged. This is where it can get expensive because you can experiment with whatever plastics you want to try. I use bold bass and Aaron's magic for roboworms and the bass can't handle them.

Weights I use the simple round ones for dropshotting. No knot needed very easy.

Check out glenn's dropshot vid. Very good starting point. Good luck!

[Crestliner2008]

I drop shot from the bank on a regular basis, especially when I'm only going out for a couple of hours or so and not taking the boat. I use 10# test PowerPro for my main line. I tie on a #8 Spro PowerSwivel. To that I attach a 2' section of 8# test fluorocarbon. I like the SpinShot off-set worm hooks for this application, although I would NOT recommend their "drop shot" hook (have lost way too many fish using that hook!). The lower section of the leader to the sinker is usually a 1 1/2' - 2' piece of 4# test fluoro, to facilitate break-offs when (not if) you get hung up. And I always use a pencil style sinker to try to avoid hanging the bottom; but it's inevitable!

 

Baits are endless. Anything will work. I especially like beaver style baits in this application, but worms, tubes, Fin-S Fish....just about anything will get you bit at one time or another. And do not be afraid to cast paralleling the back up close to cover. Sometimes I get bit with the swivel showing!

[prjavelin]

About a month or so ago, I used a DS rig for my first time. I also fish exclusively from the bank. My very first cast I ended up getting a fish.. Granted, it was less than a pound, but a fish none the less. I havent really used a drop shot that much since. I like the rig, but the few times Iv thrown it, Iv had very little luck. Its probably a lot better as a verticle presentation from a boat.

wrong. If you watch the video from aaron martens(one of the best in the world using a DS) you can hear him talk about casting drop shot and how effective it can be. this is the first thing I will suggest to the TS. watch that video first. 

[indianabasshunter]

Try the Berkley Twitchtail Minnow. It will catch anything that swims. I've caught 50" muskee and 3 inch perch on it as well as numerous bass. Another good soft plastic to try is the Zoom Z Drop. These are very durable and cheap. As mentioned just about any plastic will get bit sooner or later. The bite is usually light and happens often while the rig is falling to the bottom. Keep a close eye on your line with this technique.

[pbizzle]

At Wal-Mart you can buy some curly tail zoom grubs for like a dollar for 15 pack of 4 inch grubs. They're in a plastic box and all it says is panfish love em... I've been successful rigging those on a drop shot and just dragging it in. Nothing huge but I did get a good sized gill. Any grub would do but those are the cheapest I could find. I'm also fishing from the bank.