Struggling With The Drop Shot

[Felix77]

Last year my goal was to learn the drop shot.  It was overpowered by the mojo rig which has been very successful for me.  To date I have had marginal success on the drop shot and I am wondering how the people on this forum fish the drop shot.

 

My general approach with the drop shot is to fish a weight heavy enough to keep bottom contact and drag/twitch the lure back.  3/16oz in 10 FOW or less for example.  My weight is generally between 6 - 12" long.  

 

I feel like I should killing them on this technique and for some reason it isn't happening.  Just looking for some ideas.

 

Thanks

[Tartan34]

I fish it around holes.  I'll throw to the top of the hole, then work it down the slope slowly...or do the opposite and work it up the slope.  

[A-Jay]

Try a line (or Leader) in the 4 or 6lb class. A 6" to 10" dropped is good.

 

Make long casts - and try fishing the rig like it was live bait.  In other words, don't do anything with it - let the bait fish itself;  Just cast it out, let it set, move a few feet, let it sit, move it a few feet, let it sit & so on back to the boat.

 

And one final tip and this one is money - Use a nose hooked, curly tail, 4 inch Berkley Power worm - in Green Pumpkin with the tail dipped Chartreuse.

 

You'll be glad you did.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

[J Francho]

3/16 oz.? From the back of the boat? That's not enough to take the bow out of fluoro, and keep the bait pinned in place, especially if you're not in control of the boat. I start at 1/2 oz. The tag can be as short as 6", or as long as 3'. Usually around 12-18".

[Felix77]

3/16 oz.? From the back of the boat? That's not enough to take the bow out of fluoro, and keep the bait pinned in place, especially if you're not in control of the boat. I start at 1/2 oz. The tag can be as short as 6", or as long as 3'. Usually around 12-18".

Never thought of that.  Will definitely have to give that a try.

[Hyrule Bass]

i use 1oz weights on all my drop shots. distance from hook to weight is about 12 - 18 inches

[Dwight Hottle]

If your fishing big rock like the great lakes you might want to try a 18" drop so the bait isn't hidden by the rock.

[speed craw]

What baits are you using on the dropshot? I generally stay 3 /16 ths or lighter on 6 - 8 lb test line if im around cover 10 lbs. . I typically start with a 12 inch tag end but there is no right or wrong answer as the bass will tell you.

[BuckMaxx]

I fish wacky senkos more the anything else on a ds. Dont be affraid to throw anything you would throw otherwise!

[ChrisD46]

Nose hooked roboworms and draw the line tight enough so the worm is not laying on the bottom - let your subtle rod tip movements / water current move the worm ...Google how KVD fishes a drop shot in a pool with a snappy horizontal retrieve (different take on a drop shot for sure as an option) ...Aaron Martins has good advice as well ...Amart IS a drop shot bait !!

[Avalonjohn44]

Last year my goal was to learn the drop shot.  It was overpowered by the mojo rig which has been very successful for me.  To date I have had marginal success on the drop shot and I am wondering how the people on this forum fish the drop shot.

 

My general approach with the drop shot is to fish a weight heavy enough to keep bottom contact and drag/twitch the lure back.  3/16oz in 10 FOW or less for example.  My weight is generally between 6 - 12" long.  

 

I feel like I should killing them on this technique and for some reason it isn't happening.  Just looking for some ideas.

 

Thanks

 

Feel your pain, I am struggling with it too.  I keep varying my presentation, line size, depth, weight size, and bait. Eventually I hope to stumble upon that magic combination or just have it 'click' into place. I have tried it several outings, so far 6 bites, 2 fish... I am down to 6lb mono and don't feel too comfortable going down to 4... I am trying floro this weekend, and hope this does the trick.

[Felix77]

Try a line (or Leader) in the 4 or 6lb class. A 6" to 10" dropped is good.

 

Make long casts - and try fishing the rig like it was live bait.  In other words, don't do anything with it - let the bait fish itself;  Just cast it out, let it set, move a few feet, let it sit, move it a few feet, let it sit & so on back to the boat.

 

And one final tip and this one is money - Use a nose hooked, curly tail, 4 inch Berkley Power worm - in Green Pumpkin with the tail dipped Chartreuse.

 

You'll be glad you did.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

Picked up a pack at BassPro today.  I will let you know how it works out. 

[Felix77]

What baits are you using on the dropshot? I generally stay 3 /16 ths or lighter on 6 - 8 lb test line if im around cover 10 lbs. . I typically start with a 12 inch tag end but there is no right or wrong answer as the bass will tell you.

Roboworm, dreamshot, zoom finesse worm

[speed craw]

Your fishing the right baits , but what test line are you using ? Keep in mind your going to have and play with the tag lengths . I have fished them short as 3 inches as that was the only way I got bit. I love fishing mine vertically in cover if I can find it . I like to start with a longer tag end as I feel I have greater control of raising the bait up and kill it and just let it float down , awsome rigged wacky . Other times I will find current and let it sit and it will flick its tail like a fleeing minnow. Other times I will literally just leave in place for sometimes up to 2 minutes if I feel that fish are in the area. To me I think of it as a bass is forced to just stare at it getting ticked or hungry .

[jonnyblazex]

  _{The key is to find the correct structure, whether it be deep water rock piles and humps, or weedbeds, manmade structure, or on the edges of weedbeds in deeper water.  I have had the best luck with the drop shot in water 10 feet to 25 feet of water, as long as you can find the structure, you have a good shot at it.  I use a small size 2 Gamakatsu drop shot hook, and very very rarely loose a fish on it, and have hammered some decent largemouth and smallmouth on it.  One smallie was even caught on a drop to a 25ft deep rock pile, and it was a really, really fun fight.  I use medium weight spinning tackle, and 6 to 8lb fluorocarbon line.  Use a sweep hookset, and don't have your drag cranked down all the way, you want the fish to pull a little line on a hard run.  For baits I use small flukes, 4.5in roboworms, and if all else fails, a small tube WILL do the trick on the dropshot.  I use weights from 3/16oz mostly, or 1/4 oz in really deep water, or really high winds.  Remember, Drop shot is supposed to be finesse, if you use 1 oz weight, you could go deep sea fishing in 200ft of water and be okay, besides that, the fish will come off easier when shaking, with the heavy weight pulling down on the retrieve.  Keep at the drop shot, and you will gain faith in it.}

[JeziHogg]

Try a smaller bait until you gain confidence - I'll almost always get a limit using a 3" twitch tail minnow.

[WRB]

Drop shot work better the more vertical you fish it. If you are casting over 30' away in 10' of water, the split shot rig or slip shot rig is a better choice.

1/4 oz weight on 6 lb Fluoro, 3/8 oz with 8 lb and use a nose hooked 4 1/2" to 6" finesse worm with Owner size 1 mosquito hook, or #5133 size 1/0 weedless hooked 5" to 6" finesse worms like Roboworms.

Cast, let the weight hit the bottom and slowly shake it several times before moving it about 12" and repeat.

Distance between the weight and hook varies depending on where the bass want it, 12" is a good starting place.

My guess is you are fishing it too fast and in the wrong type of bottom structure. Meter the bass and know they are there and what depth of water they are in, before trying a drop shot rig. If you are covering a larger area, use the other rigs.

Tom

[Felix77]

Your fishing the right baits , but what test line are you using ? Keep in mind your going to have and play with the tag lengths . I have fished them short as 3 inches as that was the only way I got bit. I love fishing mine vertically in cover if I can find it . I like to start with a longer tag end as I feel I have greater control of raising the bait up and kill it and just let it float down , awsome rigged wacky . Other times I will find current and let it sit and it will flick its tail like a fleeing minnow. Other times I will literally just leave in place for sometimes up to 2 minutes if I feel that fish are in the area. To me I think of it as a bass is forced to just stare at it getting ticked or hungry .

8lb Fluoro

[Hyrule Bass]

honestly, line size isnt going to matter so much as you think, ive caught bass drop shotting 25lb mono. common misconception is a drop shot has to be a finesse light tackle technique but it doesnt, it can be anything you make it...

[airborne_angler]

I fish DS alot and have found that they attract all kinds of fish. In one outing I have caught Green Sunfish, Bluegill, Bass and even Trout.

It's not too difficult to fish. I cast it out, feed line so it drops straight down, once on the bottom I take up the slack and begin a slow twitch of the rod tip. Reel up the slack and drag it a little and start over.

Sometimes I'll drop my rod tip and let the bait fall(kill it). Then count a few seconds and sharply take the slack out of the line by lifting the rod tip. Sometimes that will create a reaction strike.

I've also been stuck in a rock...I've pulled and pulled trying to free my rig, when the weight pulled free and the worm took off I've had fish attack it...like anything you just gotta keep trying it to get comfortable.

[Felix77]

Update:  I dedicated the entire weekend to fishing the drop shot.  Taking the tips from this post I was able to catch a bunch of bass.  In brief here is what I did which made the difference for me ...

 

1 - Leader length.  My lengths were too short.  I lengthened to about a foot.

2 - Weight - I was using too light a weight.  I up'd it to 1/4 oz - 3/8oz based on depth.  This ensured that #1 - I can clearly feel the weight, #2 - allowed me to lose slack in the line when I reeled it tight.

3 - Presentation - Having lost the slack I can tell that I am working the worm and not the weight.  Dragging the weight when i am ready to move the lure.

4 - hook set - There is "none".  When I went out on friday each time I thought I got a bite I would go to "set the hook".  I lost more than I caught.  I watched a video on the drop shot and remembered the reel and put pressure method.  The next 2 days I missed just one.

 

The bite was really tough.  I would feel pressure and not a "tick" on the line most of the time.

 

Thanks to ALL who posted.

 

Oh and by the way ... I used the small Power Worm dipped in chartreuse dye.  Caught ALL my fish on that.  

[Felix77]

Try a line (or Leader) in the 4 or 6lb class. A 6" to 10" dropped is good.

 

Make long casts - and try fishing the rig like it was live bait.  In other words, don't do anything with it - let the bait fish itself;  Just cast it out, let it set, move a few feet, let it sit, move it a few feet, let it sit & so on back to the boat.

 

And one final tip and this one is money - Use a nose hooked, curly tail, 4 inch Berkley Power worm - in Green Pumpkin with the tail dipped Chartreuse.

 

You'll be glad you did.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

 

I posted an update.  I used this worm all weekend and caught more fish drop shotting than any other time combined.  This certainly was a part of the equation to get me over the hump.  Thank you!!!

[frogflogger]

I once dropshotted 4" yum vibra king tubes with 1 oz weight and 50# braid in 2' - 3' depths on the big O - kind of a punch drop shot - it worked better that day than the usual punch baits - I could hold the tube off the bottom under the mats.

[A-Jay]

I posted an update.  I used this worm all weekend and caught more fish drop shotting than any other time combined.  This certainly was a part of the equation to get me over the hump.  Thank you!!!

 

That is Fantastic ~ !

 

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Good work!