Dropshot Hooks/minnow Style Bait

[brgbassmaster]

Ok guys im from michigan and have never dropshotted in my life been bassin for 15 yrs. Well now that im in arizona everyone dropshots. I really dont want to throw the fairy wand since im a power fisherman. But since im going to have to get over that whats the size of hooks you tend to use? I have 4/0 circle, 2/0 circle and size 1 circle think those are good? Also since im going back to michigan on leave in a month what is your favorite minnow style bait to put on a dropshot hook? My buddies have been killing the smallies at st clair and burt and mullet back home. And im used to throwing jerks, traps, cranks, spinnerbaits for smallies and dont want to be left in the dust lol. They are throwing robos alot but i want to try a gobie or minnow style bait. Thanks

[Big Bait Fishing]

try the Owner wacky hook (green ones ) in size 1 or 1/0 , depending on bait size

[Senko lover]

I really like VMC spinhshot hooks. 

[gardnerjigman]

That seems completely backwards to me! I would think being from Michigan and bass fishing for 15 years you would have a drop shot rigged at all times. Now that you live in Arizona you are picking up a drop shot? Blows my mind!

[WRB]

What lakes in AZ and what rod, reel, line do you plan to use???

If you are using 6 lb FC with 4 1/2" to 6" Robowoms, nose hooked with exposed point or rigged Aaron Martins style a size 1 Owner mosquito or Gamakatsu drop shot hook works good. If you plan to use the hook weedless skin hooked than the Owner #5133 size 1/0 for 6" Roboworms. Basstrix Flashtrix minnow is a excellent drop shot bait, nose hooked, exposed point.

You will need drop shot weights, the 1/8 mojo style cylinder are good in rocky areas.

Tom

[poisonokie]

I really like VMC spinhshot hooks. 

Yeah, man. Those seem kind of hokey but they work great. Very sharp and durable, and you can tie a san Diego jam to it with fluoro and not have to worry about your Palomar knot holding. The only bad thing is that you have to tie another knot for your drop line, so it takes a bit longer to rig. Gama makes a version with a quick connect like on your dropshot weights, but they are expensive and the hooks dont stand out correctly.

[Big Bait Fishing]

That seems completely backwards to me! I would think being from Michigan and bass fishing for 15 years you would have a drop shot rigged at all times. Now that you live in Arizona you are picking up a drop shot? Blows my mind!

good point , i would assume fishing for smallmouth in deep water , the go to rig would be the drop shot for suspended smallmouth  

[blckshirt98]

I mostly use a size 4 Owner Mosquito since I like to buy the bulk Pro Packs.  The Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot hooks also work well in a size 4 or 2.  I like the smaller hooks because I don't have too many weedy lakes around here and like to nose hook everything.  I wouldn't use a circle hook for dropshotting!

 

For minnow style baits the Basstrix Flashtrix are awesome but pricey.  The *** Bento minnows are also awesome, but also pricey.  A really effective shad style bait that's done well for me has been the Jackall Crosstail Shad.  Not the fancy Super Crosstail, just the plain old Crosstail that are $6 a pack.  My go-to bait is the Molix Sator Worm - that'll catch anything in the water from bass to crappie to bluegill.  If you want something super cheap look into the new Yum Kill Shot and Warning Shot, but for those I'd use a larger hook, like a Size 1, since those baits are pretty large in the nose area.

[MIbassyaker]

I haven't lived here long enough to know how exactly how the rules have changed, but I think drop shot used to be illegal in MI. It's still not legal everywhere. IIRC, it's based on a concern about salmon being snagged.

 

From http://www.eregulations.com/michigan/fishing/lawful-methods/ :

 

Drop-shotting: The practice of having a weight suspended below a hook that is tied directly to the main fishing line is lawful on inland lakes, Great Lakes and Great Lakes Connecting Waters only. This gear may not be used on rivers, streams or drowned river mouth lakes.

 

 

Further clarification about the history of this rule from native Michiganders needed!

[Master Bait'r]

Gama split shots and bento minnows fo sho!

Not that I'm good at drop shotting but those are my tools of choice when I do it.

[brgbassmaster]

Thanks guys. And actually i tourney fished for 3 yrs in mi and 4 in new mexico also. Just never picked it up. My friends just started using it in the last couple yrs. But in michigan the smallies you dont have to fish deep clear water. You can go fish flats or points or rock piles with spinnerbaits, jerks, topwater, tubes all that in 4ft of water almost yr around. The 4 in my profile pic were caught in 6fow in october. All on tubes. We got 33 that day.

[MrBigFishSC]

I also like and use the spin shot hooks to eliminate line twist. Mostly I use a #2 hook with a 1/4 oz tungsten weight. I think a #2 is the best overall size rather than a #1. I don't use a lot of minnow baits but have tried just about everything on a drop shot. I tend to go with 4" senkos or french fry worms but use the dream shot bait a lot as well. Prefer something that has good wiggle and action without a lot of shaking.

I don't fish in 30 feet of water mostly 8-15 and the water has some color.

Suggest picking up several types of baits and try them out. I always start by seeing the action in shallow water and then translating that to the deeper presentation.

[kickerfish1]

Hooks - I use a size 1 or 2 VMC spinshot

Weights - 3/16 to a 1/4 oz cylinder style

Baits (Roboworm)- straight tail roboworms FX sculpins, and alive shads

Baits (Jackall) - I-shad and cross tail shad

Pick colors that fit your taste and water clarity. If you can't get bit on these baits you probably won't get bit with anything else. Years of drop shot experimenting has led me to Jackall and Roboworm almost exclusively. That is not to say you couldn't pick any plastic bait and drop shot it, but these are my most consistent producers year round and on different lakes.

[FinCulture]

I've got Gamakatsu octopus hooks for my drop-shotting needs, as well as 1/8 oz VMC dropshot weights.

[WRB]

I've got Gamakatsu octopus hooks for my drop-shotting needs, as well as 1/8 oz VMC dropshot weights.

Practice tying the hook using a Palomar knot so the hook rides upright. If you hold the hook with the point facing away from you point up; run the line through the hook eye so the end comes out on the point side, then double it and run the one back through the eye so the main line and tag end is facing opposite the hooks into.

Finnish the knot with the standard overhand loop, hook bend through the loop, lightly snug up knot wet knot and pull the tag end tight. The hook point should be upright, if it isn't, run the tag end down through the hook eye from the main line side, this will rotate the knot and hook point upwards.

Tom