Drop Shot question

[baldbassguy33]

New to drop shotting and had a question I'm hoping someone can answer for me.

 

Why flourocarbon for the line?  If the idea is to suspend the bait off the bottom, wouldn't mono make more sense?  Everything on the rig sinks.  Wouldn't it all just pile up on the bottom?

[J Francho]

This article by my friend, RichZ will help explain things.

 

http://www.richz.com/fishing/blog/?page_id=552

 

You want there to be DIRECT contact between the hook and the rod tip.  Fluoro eliminates the bow in the line, is very dense, and therefore more sensitive.  You do not present baits on a slack line, so line wouldn't pile up at the bottom.  I've had success using mono, co-polymers, and even braid with various leaders.  My preference for deep vertical presentations is fluoro.

[reerok]

J Francho sums it up well.  One more reason is that flouro is nearly invisible under water and with drop shot being such a slow presentation, invisibility is very important.  

[Comfortably Numb]

I use 15# braid with a short three foot 8-10# flouro leader. Much better feel especially in deeper water. I also always use a 3/8 weight. Easy to keep bottom contact and drops fast when using electronics and dropping straight down to fish you mark.

[fishwizzard]

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

This article by my friend, RichZ will help explain things.

 

http://www.richz.com/fishing/blog/?page_id=552

 

Welp, there went an hour and a half reading that guy's blog.  He has some good ideas and is really really clear when presenting them.  I know videos are the way of the future, but I will always prefer text with pictures.  

[J Francho]

Rich has been a fishing writer for around 40 years.

[padon]

he used to write some good articles for in-fisherman. shame he doesn't contribute there anymore.

[J Francho]

He's just overcome some major health issues.  All is well now, though.  He even bought a brand new boat!

[WRB]

FC has less drag in water than any other type of line meaning it cuts through the water better than mono or copolymer lines. Less drag results in less line bow is true, how you get line bow with 30' of line that has a weight on the end is questionable when vertically fishing a drop shot rig, unless there is current.

Drop shot is a rig that prefer to use FC line but the catch rate per hour is the same for me using small diameter mono line. The thought low light refraction improves strike ratios when bass fishing doesn't hold water.  Equal diameter line, mono vs FC, I haven't been able to notice any difference over a 20 year period.

What I can garrantee you is FC isn't as strong as premium mono regarding knot strength or abrasion resistance, this equals knot failures and fact with FC line.

After 20 years of trying to convince myself FC is worth the cost and knot issues I have given it up.

Tom

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

 

What I can garrantee you is FC isn't as strong as premium mono regarding knot strength or abrasion resistance, this equals knot failures and fact with FC line.

 

I'll gladly concede the knot strength, but there is more than enough unbiased data and experience to argue the two line types are at least equal in abrasion resistance (generally speaking), and most objective reviews give the nod to fluoro in this category, especially under 'real world' conditions after nylons have had a chance to absorb waster.

[WRB]

Nylon actually strengthens after it absorbs water, most plastics that are hygroscopic polymers weaken or unzip after water absorbsion. What helps FC is it's hard surface skin finish whereas Nylon tends to be softer. What helps Nylon is it's notch strength characteristic verses FC retaining a higher strength after being abraided.

Hard surface Nylon line is more abrasive resistant than FC and has equal memory issues.

There isn't a panacea regarding fishing line, you make your choice. Maxima Ultragreen is a hard surface small diameter copolymer line, the negative is it's memory and the reason I only use 5 to 8lb test, then go with Sunline Shooter Armilo Defier for larger diameters.

I tried all the premium FC from Sunline, Seaguar and Toray and all make excellent FC line, I am done with the random knot failures.

It is what it is.

Tom

[Team9nine]

Since you brought it up, I'll also take the other side of the strength argument and state that nylon fishing lines actually decrease in strength after water absorption, some rather significantly. But I get the big picture; fluorocarbon doesn't work in your arsenal, but it does fine in mine. As you said, it is what it is.

[WRB]

Peace,

When we process Nylons filaments or tubing after the hot extruding process the finished filament is cooled and cross linked by a water immersion bath. I agree not all Polyimdes are equal. 

I really like FC for both drop shot and jig/worm bottom contact presentations, just tired of breaking off a few big bass at random times. If I make a mistake it's on me, if the line fails for no apparent reason and this only happens with FC, then it's the line.

Tom

[MIbassyaker]

8 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

 

Welp, there went an hour and a half reading that guy's blog.  He has some good ideas and is really really clear when presenting them.  I know videos are the way of the future, but I will always prefer text with pictures.  

 

8 hours ago, J Francho said:

Rich has been a fishing writer for around 40 years.

 

8 hours ago, padon said:

he used to write some good articles for in-fisherman. shame he doesn't contribute there anymore.

 

Whoa, that's Rich Zaleski. I have one of his old books and numerous of his articles. Didn't know about his blog -- nice to see he still has a lot to say.

[TOXIC]

Line use is a personal choice, science be dammed!!   Personally, since I am a finesse fisherman for the most part, so I was disenfranchised by FC early on....terrible memory......bad knot characteristics.........etc....  I am still a major mono user.  I have limited my FS usage to baitcasters where I can spool larger test than really needed of FC and use it for my deep cranking applications because of its sinking properties that help those deep cranks get a little deeper.  I am not a believer in line shyness since I catch smallmouth in gin clear water on 35lb test green braid, so that FC property is lost on me as well.  

[Boomstick]

I honestly usually use mono for my drop shots because it's what I have spooled up on my lighter reel and just use a slightly heavier weight line straight and down but with FC because it sinks it would have an advantage of keeping the line straight with less weight.

[baldbassguy33]

Wow.  So much great info, thank you guys.  Where I had gone wrong was fishing it on a slack line.  I was fishing like a weightless senko and wasn't keeping tension between my rod and the hook. 

[WRB]

It's a controlled slack line presentation. Feel the weight hit bottom, lower the rod tip a few inches to create some slack and very lightly shake the rod tip is the standard finesse technique. You can also keep the tight or the weight off the bottom and lightly shake the rod tip for suspended bass or sliding the weight presentations.

Tom

[Ktho]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

It's a controlled slack line presentation. Feel the weight hit bottom, lower the rod tip a few inches to create some slack and very lightly shake the rod tip is the standard finesse technique. You can also keep the tight or the weight off the bottom and lightly shake the rod tip for suspended bass or sliding the weight presentations.

Tom

 

 

This is the money right here. Takes some getting used to and the right hook with the right plastics but shaking the slack on light line is the way to go. My favorite is a 4" bubbling shaker and a #2 gama or a 5in/6in bubbling shaker or roboworm with a 2/0 straight shank worm hook. It's deadly effective for Bass of any size and something I always have tied on. In SoCal at least if you aren't drop shotting can it be said you're really trying? I don't think so.

[islandbass]

58 minutes ago, WRB said:

It's a controlled slack line presentation. Feel the weight hit bottom, lower the rod tip a few inches to create some slack and very lightly shake the rod tip is the standard finesse technique. You can also keep the tight or the weight off the bottom and lightly shake the rod tip for suspended bass or sliding the weight presentations.

Tom

Indeed.  I call that "controlled slack" you describe "semi-slack" when I try to describe it to people or in pieces I've written about the drop shot but your term seems to me more descriptive and accurate.

[JustJames]

20 minutes ago, Ktho said:

 

 

This is the money right here. Takes some getting used to and the right hook with the right plastics but shaking the slack on light line is the way to go. My favorite is a 4" bubbling shaker and a #2 game or a 5in/6in bubbling shaker or roboworm with a 2/0 straight shank worm hook. It's deadly effective for Bass of any size and something I always have tied on. In SoCal at least if you aren't drop shotting can it be said you're really trying? I don't think so.

Try that with Zman TRD or turbo craw, you will be surprise.

[J Francho]

For what Tom describes, I find a sinking bait works best.  I don't often use that presentation, but something like a Shad Shaped Worm from GYCB works well.  Most of the time, I let the water currents provide the action, and use a floating bait.  That gentle current makes the the plat tail on a Roboworm wobble up an down.  Crosstail Shad orient in the current, with a slight side to side movement. That's why I start at 1/2 oz.  I want the the entire rig to remain in place.  I don't often get bit on the initial drop.  Usually it takes a few moments before I see a fish in the cone approaching my bait.  If it turns away, I do a very quick lift and drop, raising the weight about 19" off the bottom, and let it settle.  All of which is done on a tight line.  The only time I really do a semi slack line presentation is when I use the drop shot to expedite a wacky senko to deeper water.  In that case, I might use a 6' (that's feet!) drop line.  I let it drop, once the weight hits bottom, I add enough slack to let the senko fall to the bottom, like it would normally rigged in shallow water.  Saves the pain of watching water boil as your senko slowly sinks in 30' of water. So, in a sense, that presentation does just what the OP asked about.  It's no big deal though, since the line that piles on the bottom is the tag end of the rig.

 

There's some stuff in there I hesitate to share.  It's been learned over the course of drop shotting, or some earlier form of the rig before it was a "new rig from Japan lol," for over 30 years.