Drop shot question.

[Bucky205]

I've been trying to drop shot for a while, mostly when it's slow.  I'm using a 1/8 oz weight with a finesse worm 12" to 48" above it on a 1/0 hook. I am slowly hopping and twitching it back to the boat. I have yet to catch a bass drop shotting and rapidly losing any confidence in it. I know they are there I can catch them on a Senko rigged wacky just letting it sink.  What am I doing wrong? Why not just Carolina rig if I want to suspend off the bottom?

[padon]

I'm not a drop shot expert So I'll let someone more knowledgeable answer that .however I will tell you that a Carolina rig does not suspend your bait off bottom unless you use a floating bait like z man or something.I used to be under that assumption too until I tested some Carolina rigged baits in my in ground pool.the pretty much stay on bottom except when hopped.

[Todd2]

Yup....@Padon pretty much nailed it...C Rigs, Split Shot, and Mojo rigs usually just drag the lure on the bottom. This works a lot of the time and is an excellent presentation.

 

The drop shot Will suspend the lure off the bottom. You might be overworking it. Light shaking on semi slack line with dead sticking mixed in for a while. Drag a little, repeat.

[islandbass]

First, there’s no “wrong” way to fish it. However, I think it would behoove you to mix it up a bit. Incorporate a little bit of dragging and dead time. 

 

Unless conditions dictate otherwise, 12” is my minimum with the happy medium somewhere just over 12” (like 18”) to no more than 2’. 

 

Also, if the bite is tough, line choice can be a factor. Go as light as you can get away with — 6# is my starting point if I can get away with it. Trying other plastics, colors, shapes, etc. won’t hurt either. Just about any plastic can be put on a ds rig. 

Among my most productive but limited to these:

Roboworms

3” senkos

sniper snubs (local bait that’s a smallie killer)

 

And one key to drop shotting is to learn how to impart action to the lure without moving the weight on a controlled slack line. You will be amazed at how the slightest movement of the line will impart life into your bait. To me, this is one of the things that separates it from other presentations. 

 

And one other thing I’ve learned. It doesn’t matter how awesome my presentation is... it won’t catch fish where they are not. It was a tough pill to swallow. 

[CroakHunter]

I picked up a drop shot for the first time this year and learned the hard way that it is possible to over work a drop shot. Most of the time I cast it out, let the weight hit bottom, let the worm sink as long as I can stand, then, without moving the weight, pick up the worm off the bottom, slightly shake it on slack line, and let the worm fall again. I do not like fishing this way at all, but I force myself to fish a drop shot a few times a year to knock the rust off in case I have to resort to it during a tournament.

[tander]

What CroakHunter said, you probably working it too fast and trying to put too much action.

[WRB]

Think putting the soft plastic at the same level the bass are at. If you meter the bass with sonar and you see the the marks near the bottom, then your hook and soft plastic should be at the same depth and that is usually less than 12" for active feeders.

Tom

[papajoe222]

I would venture to say that you're fishing where the fish aren't. By that I mean you're likely fishing below or above the fish and we all know that under tough conditions, bass won't move far to take a bait.  Yes, you may be over working the rig, but I'd venture that your leader length has a lot more to do with your lack of success. If you aren't sure where the fish are in relation to the bottom, you need to adjust your leader length until they tell you that you have it right.

[Bluebasser86]

3 hours ago, islandbass said:

And one key to drop shotting is to learn how to impart action to the lure without moving the weight on a controlled slack line. You will be amazed at how the slightest movement of the line will impart life into your bait. To me, this is one of the things that separates it from other presentations. 

This is one of the things I've learned I was doing wrong with a dropshot. I had to start thinking of my sinker as an anchor. It's just there to hold the bait in place, not to be moved along the bottom. My goal is to shake the bait while keeping the sinker in place. I've been much more successful this year with a dropshot than I have in previous years since I made that change.

 

You say a senko works in the areas you're fishing. One of my best dropshot baits this year has been a wacky rigged 4" senko, or a 5" slim senko. Something you might give a try and see how it works for you.

[Bucky205]

I appreciate it, everyone.  I'm going to keep trying it occasionally and see if it gets better.  I need to catch a few fish on it to get some confidence in it.  It's about as exciting as watching paint dry.  Hard to spend time throwing it when you have more confidence in other baits.

[WRB]

26 minutes ago, Bucky205 said:

I appreciate it, everyone.  I'm going to keep trying it occasionally and see if it gets better.  I need to catch a few fish on it to get some confidence in it.  It's about as exciting as watching paint dry.  Hard to spend time throwing it when you have more confidence in other baits.

Define your drop shot set up, rod/reel, line, hooks size and type plus soft plastics you are using? You did say 1/8 oz weight and size 1/0 hook that suggest light tackle and line?

As noted above most everyone over fishes a drop shot with too much rod movement.

I do not drop shot unless I know the bass are where I am fishing and what depth they holding in. Drop shot is a poor presentation to locate bass because you don't move it a lot. 

I fish the slip shot rig more often then drop shot because I can cast and drag along the bottom at different depths and angles like uphill, down hill up and over points, paralell etc. Slip shot rig is made up using a pegged glass bead or Carolina Keeper to stop a cyclinder mojo weight usually 1/8 oz, 5 to 8 lb mono/coploy line, light wire worm hook* and finesse worms that tend to float. The weight stopper is on the main line about 24" to 36" up from the hook. Simply cast and drag the weight along the bottom very slowly covering the area you are fishing.

* Roboworm Rebarb hooks were designed for split or slip shot rigs, I prefer using Owner #5133 size 1 or or 1/0 depending on the worm body diameter, weedless skin hooked.

For drop shot I use the same hook if weedless rigged or size 1 mosquito hook for Aaron Martens style nose or wacky hooked worm.

Tom

[Bucky205]

40 minutes ago, WRB said:

Define your drop shot set up, rod/reel, line, hooks size and type plus soft plastics you are using?

1

Using 6'6" Berkley IM6 M/L F, 6# fluorocarbon, Shimano Spyrex, 1/8 oz drop shot weight, 1/0 Owner circle with a weed guard, tried a variety of different finesse worms 4-5"  Have rigged them Texas with a worm hook, through the nose, and wacky with the circle hooks.

 

[WRB]

27 minutes ago, Bucky205 said:

Using 6'6" Berkley IM6 M/L F, 6# fluorocarbon, Shimano Spyrex, 1/8 oz drop shot weight, 1/0 Owner circle with a weed guard, tried a variety of different finesse worms 4-5"  Have rigged them Texas with a worm hook, through the nose, and wacky with the circle hooks.

 

Never heard of a Owner circle hook with weed gaurd? Owner #5172 weedless wacky hook has a weed gaurd, maybe that is what you met.

You can use FC line with a slip shot, the tends to drag on the bottom more than mono/coploy line.

Are fishing from a boat or shore?

Tom

[J Francho]

RichZ's article should help you out:

 

http://www.richz.com/fishing/articles/dropshot.html

 

Personally, I'd recommend smaller hooks (#1 or #2) and a heavier weight (1/2 oz.).

[Bucky205]

Not sure who made the hooks.  Is the reason the technique seems to suck so bad is their not Owners?

 

[BasserJim]

For a regular 4-5 inch finesse worm, a 1/0 hook is WAY big.