Fishing The Drop Shot

[Scott F]

I'm curious as to where and how you guys fish a drop shot. I'm NOT talking about which bait, which rod or what lines you choose, but in what conditions you fish it. Do you make long casts and work it back to the boat slowly, do you cast it out and barely move it or what? How deep or how shallow do you use it?

[WRB]

I fish the drop shot when targeting bass that I know exactly where they are holding, at the depth and will not respond to other presentations....it's a last resort presentation for me.

Tom

[Fisher-O-men]

I only use it when I want to catch fish.  It shines when you let the weight stay stationary and shake the slack.  Sometimes I will pull it along until it hits something, and then I shake it.  When I say shake I mean just twitching the tip of the rod ever so slightly, with periods of deadstick.

[Slade House]

I agree with Tom (yet again) .  it's the hail mary play.  I usually don't pull it out till after the morning bite has stopped or never started and its really tough fishing. I think prespawn and spawn are the best drop shot times in my book, and sometimes in august.    That being said, lately when i've seen shad being chased by bass on the surface ive thrown a drop shot right into the mix, BUT they never seem bite hard enough for me to set the hook.

 

They're are guys at the lake i fish at who will day in day out catch 10 or more nice fish from the shore drop shotting a roboworm margarita mutilator.  every single time they go out.   

 

Here are some of the best drop shot baits i think out there.  

The Reins Co. Bubbling Shaker in the new Morning dawn       

Missle bait fuse craw 4.4 in green pumpkin purple or green pumkin red  both of these baits i consider big bass drop shot baits.  

and Roboworm Hologram shad , aarons pro magic (best during spawn), oxblood red flake , in the 4 inch and 6inch regular  and many more colors are sick 

 

Here are two drop shot baits that people rave about and i think are complete garbage

Jackall Crosstail shad (doesn't work period)

jackall  clone fry

 

on that  I fish it with braid to 6lb fluorcarbon leader using a fast action 6-6 spinning rod preferablly on a smaller spool spinning reel.  I typically take the bait im using and go one and a half bait lengths from the hook to the weight (which use tungsten or don't but use the clynder style weights.  

[ClackerBuzz]

i've been a drop shot student the last 2 seasons.  my weight selection might answer some of ur questions.

 

1/16 weight:  this is very light weight but i'm using it for: a more vertical approach in shallow water; in pressured water; on calm days; blue bird skies; around weeds.  i'm more likely to T-rig my worm weedless b/c it won't hang up in weeds if i do move horizontally. i like pitching short cast in/at outside weed lines with this approach and coaxing a bass out of the salad.  i'm not looking to 'feel' the bottom. just make very little splash, dead stick and let the bait do the work for skittish fish.

usually fishing under 10 ft

 

1/8 oz weight:  my most common weight. i'll make further casts and more horizontal movements with 1/8 and 1/4 oz.  looking to feel bottom for rocks. i will drag quickly while in mud/sediment while maintaining bottom contact but slow down/dead stick the rig once it's in rocks.  you def lose sensitivity the deeper you go...and the more windy it is. 1/8 is great for 10-15 ft on calm/semi windy days.  1/16 and 1/8 hang up far less in rocks.

 

1/4 oz weight:  best for getting down faster in deep water or remaining on the bottom in windy conditions.  horizontal movements snag more. no problem working it over pea gravel but it hangs up in rocks so use the rod tip to lift it over rocks.  i like using a larger piece of plastic to slow down the fall...and attract bigger fish. a 5 or 6" wacky senko slows down the fall a lot and does a good job keeping the baitfish away. good for 20 ft+ and keeping the bait on the bottom while ur boat is getting rocked by wind.

 

you could up all these weights to 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 depending on the size of ur lake, boat and conditions you fish.

 

overall the DS is my middle ground/tool between a weightless senko and a jig.

 

the DS is a much better choice than a jig or shaky head when there is algae on bottom.  the worm stays clean even when the weight gets covered in scum. and the hook up ratio is much better w/ DS on windy days b/c the bass doesn't feel lead in his mouth so they hold longer/literally hook themselves.

Edited September 22, 2014 by ClackerBuzz

[ww2farmer]

 There are two dropshot rods rigged up and on my front deck almost all the time. One is spinning rig with light line, and the other is for "power shotting".  Both presentations get the call when things like big jigs, creature baits, cranking, and even wacky rigging are not effective for me.

[corn-on-the-rob]

Drop shot is my favorite set up. It can work anytime, anywhere. The time where it shines most to me is the obvious deeper water structure (8-50ft rock piles or anything really), and when you are fishing off of the cover.

 

-you can fish the cover with a drop shot but I usually have determined that I am not producing fishing shallow to the cover when I grab drop shot

 

-have you ever been sitting in 5 ft of water working shallow cover that is in 0-3ft but notice you are marking some fish beneath you? back off then fish the edge of the cover into the slightly deeper water with the drop shot

 

-The water doesn't have to be "deep" to be off shore. In my opinion for drop shot, off shore is any water that is beyond the cover you are fishing. And if just a flat bank or rip-rap then just a foot or two away from the bank is off shore to me.

 

-Drop shot can be effective even in really shallow water and this technique can really shine on tough days or high pressured lakes. It still works in dirty water so don't be discouraged and think you need clear conditions.

[Sam]

Fish it like a finesse worm.

 

Casting it out.

Dropping it straight down.

Putting it in wood.

Skip it under docks and piers.

[mod479]

I fish it all the time. I pitch it to docks, laydowns, weed patches. Cast it to rock piles, drag it around with the wind, drop it below the transducer when I see something. Use the right hook and its just as snagless as most presentations. Working it...well you can get pretty creative. One thing I have had some luck doing is getting a light weight, 1/16 or 1/8oz tungsten weight and rig the hook so you have a longer tag end. Cast this ahead of cruising fish and swim it back. Drop it when they start following so they dont grab just the tail. Robo straight tail worms work good for this technique, rig them straight as can be or they will spin and cause line twist. This is not the conventional way to fish this rig, but it works especially when you know fish are shallow or suspending at a given depth.  

 

Conventional wisdom says: Rig a heavy weight you can easily feel, cast to an area you know holds fish, let it hit bottom and fly your bait like a flag and wait for the bite. No shaking. This will work, but not everytime.

 

Shake the slack, dead stick it, twitch it close to bottom on slack line, drop and raise violently (stroking), hop it....lots of way this rig will work. Some of my biggest bass had the bait in their mouths before I even got slack out of the line...hit it on the fall. This more often when using a small swimbait or curly tail grub (little dipper/swing impact). They work too. Experiment and prosper.          

[FlipSide]

I fish it about 90% of the time I'm fishing. As mentioned earlier its really up to you how you fish it, IMO it can be fished pretty much anywhere in any situation