Drop shotting?

[juicebass]

I see a lot of the pros caching fish with drop shots.

Ive never really tried it other Than a couple times and I didn't catch anything.

My question is how long do u cast it out and wait for a bite? Do the fish locate the drop short or do I have to locate the fish then use the drop shot?

can it be use near weeds and pads? Usually I will use a senko or jig/plastics around these kinds of structures.

im just wondering for the slow days if I should toss out a drop shot and read a magazine waiting for bass to bite..? Or do u recast it often/keep moving to find fish? I find it boring and hard to just leave a bait sit and not do anything... But if I catch fish then, I don't care what technique I use!

thanks for ur input!

[J Francho]

Ever fish a jig vertically?  It's like that, but with less movement.  Pay attention, bites can be really light.  Take a spin through our articles and videos - there literally TONS of stuff on drop shotting there.

[juicebass]

Thanks !

[blckshirt98]

Whatever bait you use, cast it out right in front of you and watch the action if you do nothing, if you barely twitch the rod tip, or if you make more pronounced rod sweeps.  Most of the time barely twitching the rod will be enough to make the bait come alive.  Once you see the action of your setup, use it anywhere a prey like that would entice a bass - usually a small baitfish about a foot off the bottom.  As a shore guy I usually fish my dropshot close to shore, and barely twitch the rod tip.  Sometimes I'll let a bait sit out there for 4-5 minutes before recasting.

[Ads7633]

One thing to remember when drop shotting is that it can be fished in a wide variety of ways.From literally not moving your arm at all and letting the water and wind do the work to more agressive approaches. Someone recommended fishing it like a texas rig every once in a while, and I've caught a lot of fish that way. While the drop shot is best suited for light line and small lures, you can fish it with more aggressive presentations and/or larger baits. So experiment on a given day using it in a variety of methods as opposed to the simple vertical slow twitch that you see most people doing, this will help you get a feel for what the fish want.

[Glenn]

 

 

[juicebass]

11 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

Whatever bait you use, cast it out right in front of you and watch the action if you do nothing, if you barely twitch the rod tip, or if you make more pronounced rod sweeps.  Most of the time barely twitching the rod will be enough to make the bait come alive.  Once you see the action of your setup, use it anywhere a prey like that would entice a bass - usually a small baitfish about a foot off the bottom.  As a shore guy I usually fish my dropshot close to shore, and barely twitch the rod tip.  Sometimes I'll let a bait sit out there for 4-5 minutes before recasting.

perfect great reply! thanks

 

[kcdinkerz]

I use a drop shot where I know there is fish. Most of the time I'm working it pretty slow so I wouldn't consider it a search bait.

[WIGuide]

I wouldn't call it a search bait by any means. I usually will fish it close to a high percentage target, or at least in an area that I feel confident that there's fish. I'm not a big fan of soaking it in an area for an extended period of time. I'll give it 10-30 seconds in a spot and then I'll slowly drag it back a few feet and then repeat. Since I tend to fish mine close to high percentage targets, I'm not going to have it in the water for 5 minutes per cast, I'll do the stop-drag-repeat two or three times before I reel in.  

[Choporoz]

Do many of you typically texpose the plastic when drop shotting?  I rarely do, because I have very little confidence in hooking up drop shot without exposed hook point.  However, I've read a fair amount lately suggesting it.  I take my chances with the timber, but wonder if I should be less worried about hook setting and hide the point.

[J Francho]

15 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Do many of you typically texpose the plastic when drop shotting?  I rarely do, because I have very little confidence in hooking up drop shot without exposed hook point.  However, I've read a fair amount lately suggesting it.  I take my chances with the timber, but wonder if I should be less worried about hook setting and hide the point.

The Owner Down Shot hooks are GREAT for this.  I don't have any issue with 6# fluoro and a ML/XF rod.  If I'm using it weeds or timber, I step up to a M (my Pinnacle is closer to a MH, see: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/pinnacle-DHC5-performa-review.html)  with 15-20# braid and an 8# leader.  Feel a bite and whack them with a wrist-flick set.  If you're drag is set up right, you won't have an issue.

[blckshirt98]

35 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Do many of you typically texpose the plastic when drop shotting?  I rarely do, because I have very little confidence in hooking up drop shot without exposed hook point.  However, I've read a fair amount lately suggesting it.  I take my chances with the timber, but wonder if I should be less worried about hook setting and hide the point.

I'll nose hook it 95% of the time because I think it gives the bait the most action with little to no movement of the rod.  If there's some junk in the water where I think I might get hung up I'll put the hook halfway into the plastic and start pushing the hook through towards the center of the nose of the bait, but stop just before the tip of the hook comes out of the plastic.  Also keep in mind I like using small size 2 or 4 hooks.  I know a lot of people probably like to use larger hooks (I think Aaron Martens uses a 1/0) so texposing might be a better weedless option if you're using the larger hooks.

[Raul]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

Do many of you typically texpose the plastic when drop shotting?  I rarely do, because I have very little confidence in hooking up drop shot without exposed hook point.  However, I've read a fair amount lately suggesting it.  I take my chances with the timber, but wonder if I should be less worried about hook setting and hide the point.

I fish here, I don´t think it´s a good idea to dropshot with an exposed hook, whaddya think ?

[J Francho]

I'd skip the DS altogether, and use this, Raul:

Michigan Cricket