Drop Shotting Questions

[Dschouest42]

I am not the brightest bulb on the tree. Things like finesse fishing are new to me. With the hot water here and some pressured areas I am fishing, I think drop shotting will be a way for me to put more weight in my kayak. So I have two questions:

1.) How long do you leave the leader from the weight to the hook? I am fishing in about 3-6 feet of water, so I am assuming about 8-10 feet of line between?

2.) How do you deal with fishing in weeds or around moss/algae?

[Hot Rod Johnson]

If you are fishing in about 3 to 6 feet of water I would tie the dropshot hook 12" above the weight.

[CenCal fisher]

I would start with a two foot tag end between the weight and hook then move your weight around to see what the fish prefer. Get some dropshot weights that you don't have to tie on so you can shorten or lengthen the tag end as you please. 

 

skip to about 5 minutes to see how to make a drop shot weedless 

 

[JustJames]

To me depend on how far Im gonna cast out, but mostly from bank fishing, I will cast within 15-20ft and most of the time I got bite within 10 feet from bank. With that said I leave tag end less than 12" sometime 6". I fish drop shot pretty fast as searching tool for bass. I do a lot of hopping the plastic.

Lately I use a lot of Zman plastic which float on dropshot, so I have to modified my dropshot as short as half an inch on tag end(just like jika rig). The two pics show Z-man plastic with my modified dropshot rig.

as to use drop shot in weed, i narmally use gamakatsu ewg size#2 and hook just like regular weedless style.

[Crestliner2008]

Start with the distance fairly short (8") to start with in the spring. Then as the season progresses into summer/fall, extend it longer, say around 1 1/2' - between sinker & hook. A lot depends on the water clarity too, as well as weed growth. You need to keep your bait above the weeds, but not far from them. Good Luck!

[blckshirt98]

I usually start out with about 12-15" from weight to hook because I'm casting from shore and with the angle of the line the bait will still be sitting only about 6" off the bottom.  If you're dropping straight down shorten it up, if you're casting out start out with more than you think you need and just move the drop shot weight up the line if you think you need to shorten it.

As for weeds/moss you're kind of screwed there.  I nose-hook my dropshot plastics so they catch any weeds/moss in the water.  If there's weeds I'll be cautious about moving the bait too much and re-cast fairly often if I feel I hooked onto some weeds.  You can always texspose the hook so it doesn't catch onto the weeds as much.  Moss is another issue altogether and I have no solutions.  The moss will get on your plastic, your hook, your dropshot weight, your braid/fluoro knot and you'll spend more time cleaning than fishing.  On top of that I saw an Aaron Martens video where he said bass will freak out and avoid your bait if they see any bit of weeds/moss on your dropshot bait.  So weeds you might be able to work around depending on how dense it is, moss you might want to try a different option.

[J Francho]

You won't be fishing vertically in 3-5 FOW.  Here is an article I wrote a few years back about using drop shot for shallow, bedding fish.  Throw out the bits about waiting for it to commit, and simply fish it in high percentage ambush points.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot-bedding-bass.html

For hooks, You can use weedless DS hooks from Owner:

They work great.  For weights, I'd go with skinny pencil weights in the weeds.  Gently popping the weight off the weeds often triggers a bite, especially right at the deep side of the weed edge.

[Airman4754]

My leader distance is based on two things; water temperature and bottom growth. Usually two feet is as long as I will go, but if the grass on bottom is two feet then I need to go longer. 

Middle of summer is two feet, middle of winter is six inches. Everything else is kind of experimental until you find what they want. 

[primetime]

I like the Owner Down shot hooks...Really easy to set up and sharp. I like the set up above, I find I have to really concentrate on not over working the bait when I drop shot, and also not swing too hard out of habit.  

[Hot Rod Johnson]

In the Shad based lakes I like to use 4 1/2" and 6 " Roboworm - Straight Tail Worms in Prizm Shad, SXE Shad and Purple Punisher. The Roboworm - Rebarb Hook is great because it keeps your worm or soft plastic bait straight, and prevents it from sliding down the hook. My dropshot weight of choice is Reins - TG Down Shot Sinker because they are a perfect choice for vertical fishing a drop shot, as the unique tear drop shape allows greater bottom contact. Reins - TG Slim Down Shot Sinker has a unique shape which snag much less than other designs, plus they are also one of the smallest weights. In my opinion I believe that Hi-Vis Yellow Sunline - TX-1 Braid in 14 pounds as a backer line tied to 7 pound Sunline - Shooter Finesse Special is the way to go... You can't go wrong with the information that you have received from this thread.