I Keep Gut Hooking Fish on the Drop Shot Rig

[radiozephyr]

Hello and thanks for clicking on this. I've recently found a post for this very topic (posted back in 2013), but the thread didn't have near the detail I was hoping for. So that's why I'm here.

 

I've gut hooked three of my last five catches, which means I must be doing something wrong. Two of them swallowed the hook point deep and I was not able to remove it. Those fish were bleeding quite a bit ?

 

Based on the aforementioned thread, I'm guessing it's a bite detection issue. On all three of these fish, I didn't realize I had a fish until I started reeling to make my next cast.

 

Here's how I'm working the rig: Cast out, let the weight and worm fall on slack line, close the bail and deadstick for about 15 seconds. Then, after reeling in a tiny bit of slack (if any at all), gently lift the rod tip to remove most of the slack. Set the rod tip back down, gently lift again, down again. I'll keep doing this, periodically deadsticking, until I'm confident there's no fish in that spot. All of this lifting and dropping occurs on a slack or slightly slack line.

 

The first 7 or 8 fish I caught on the drop shot were all perfect hook sets, right in the lip. With those fish, I was lifting the rod tip far enough to remove all of the slack, sometimes even lifting the weight off the bottom just a tad. But, I noticed I was catching more fish by leaving some slack in the line. I think it makes for a more natural presentation. So I guess my question is: How much slack should I be leaving in the line when I'm working this rig??

 

My setup is: Spinning reel spooled with straight braid on a medium power, fast action rod. Size 1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu drop shot hook. 5" Zoom worm, nose hooked. 1/8 or 1/4 oz cylinder weight.

 

Final note: I've only been fishing for about 4 months. I've tried Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, weightless plastics, pig and jigs, various crank baits, spinner baits, buzz baits, topwaters (frogs, poppers, jointed minnows, etc)... The ONLY rig I've landed fish on is the drop shot. It seems that every beginner has that one rig that works for them, and this one is mine. I really don't want to abandon it. I do however plan on switching to barbless hooks and learning the behind-the-gill hook removal technique. Thank you all for taking the time to read this very long post. Any feedback at all is greatly appreciated!

 

[NHBull]

Do you know how to remove hooks via going through the gills?  If not, Learning to will make life much easier.

I don't leave slack in the line and instead of dead-sticking, do a very slow retrieve 

[BoatSquirrel]

As soon as the bait hits the water, watch the line.  As soon as the bait stops falling, lift and feel.  Anyone there?  Dropshotting is a process of lifting, dropping, and checking if there is a fish on the other end.  Sounds like you are waiting too long to check if a fish is on and giving them the time to swallow it.  Most of the fish I catch on a DS eat it on the initial fall and are on as soon as I pick it up.  Hope that helps man.

[JustJames]

58 minutes ago, radiozephyr said:

Here's how I'm working the rig: Cast out, let the weight and worm fall on slack line, close the bail and deadstick for about 15 seconds!

 

15 seconds is pretty long time and a lot of time bass would hit the lure on the drop. Like @BoatSquirrelmentioned watch the line, but sometime watch the line is not possible so I don’t let lure fall completely on slack line.

After lure hit water, I’ll close the bail and lift the rod to almost 90 degree with my finger on the line. If I feel tension while falling, meaning the weight is not on bottom yet, if I feel anything different like more tension, slight tab or no tension at unexpected, I’ll set the hook. Once the weight hit bottom, I’ll lower my rod tip in the meantime start reeling in slowly to maintain tension with the weight, it will take awhile for all braid to sink.

 

How much slack line? Depend on how long your tag end and how far you cast. If you have two feet tag end and cast about 20 yds, you probably have around a foot gap between the lure and bottom. I normally only use less than a foot tag end, so only semi slack and my lure should dance along bottom.

[billmac]

You could try a circle hook and just reel to set it.

[WRB]

Boat or shore angler?

[Todd2]

2 hours ago, radiozephyr said:

 All of this lifting and dropping occurs on a slack or slightly slack line.

 

My setup is: Spinning reel spooled with straight braid 

IMO... limp braid isn't the most sensitive line on slack line. Great on tight line though. 

[papajoe222]

I'm just guessing here as I have no idea of your skill level, or equipment.

I teach a lot of 5-9yr olds how to fish using both live bait and lures. Two things I teach them that will reduce gut hooked fish are to let the bait fall while keeping tension on the line. That means closing the bail, or turning the reel handle when the bait hits the water. Not a second or two later. The other is to watch that line where it enters the water. I have them using hi visibility, yellow braid as a main line so that any twitch or jump in the line is easy to see.

If you're not doing these two things, I suggest you start.  If you are, then I recommend using fluoro, or braid with a leader to increase sensitivity. Keep tension on the line without raising the weight off the bottom.  As a last resort, switch to circle hooks and do as suggested, reel set with the rod tip up.

[islandbass]

I can only guess you have too much slack. 0 tension means zero feel, any line, even braid. 

 

When you drop shot, you don’t want a slack line, and I can’t think of an application that calls for it. 

 

I call it for lack of a better description, semi-slack line. This is what I want. This a a point between the ds weight and my rod tip that the line is “loose” but I can still feel the weight if I pull back 1’ or less. Any more slack than that and you’re not going to feel it even if you had an NRX and worse, if they take and swim toward you. 

 

Keep at it. Experience in this department is the best teacher bar none. 

[WRB]

I have been fishing the drop shot rig since the late 80's about 30 years and never gut hooked a bass using it. This could be because I only use the drop shot rig vertically fishing from a boat and I don't use braid.

So I will guess the op is a bank angler and casting the drop shot rig. When you have slack line you loose all contact with the lure and only takes a LMB bass less then a second to engulf your lure and swallow it on slack line. 

I don't know when anglers started to cast and retreive the drop shot rig, it wasn't intended to be fished horizontal but lots of anglers do it. My suggestion is use the slip shot rig ( finesse C-rig) when casting.

The problem of gut hooking is lack of strike detection. To remedy strike detection is to keep in contact with your lure. Don't cast and let it fall uncontrolled, always watch the line. I watch the V the line cuts in the water for a strike detector, if it stops of jumps before hitting bottom that is a strike, set the hook.

If you can't feel your weight it's too light, change to a heavier weight.

Shake slightly slack line to jiggle the worm agianst the weight when drop shotting and keep in contact with the weight, the hook is above it.

Tom

[Hammer 4]

Totally agree with WRB..I fish local park lakes a bunch, and I've used the drop shot for many years, never gut hooked a fish..I'll second using either the slip shot, or a split shot. The key is both watching your line and keeping contact with the line, use your finger when it's on the fall, as soon as it stops, keep the line Taught, No slack. I will usually give a tiny lift on the rod, just in case I get bit on the fall. This is regardless of the hook you use.

[TnRiver46]

I can't even hook a fish in the mouth with a drop shot, much less the gut 

[radiozephyr]

On 8/28/2019 at 5:43 PM, BoatSquirrel said:

Sounds like you are waiting too long to check if a fish is on and giving them the time to swallow it.

I think you may be spot on with this. I typically lift, drop, lift, drop, wait wait wait, repeat. I think I'll try lift, drop, lift, drop, lift and feel on a tight line. Thanks brotha!

On 8/28/2019 at 5:35 PM, NHBull said:

Do you know how to remove hooks via going through the gills?

I just learned about this technique and I've seen a couple videos on how its done. I'll definitely give it a try next time! Are barbless hooks a must for it to work well?

[radiozephyr]

On 8/28/2019 at 6:39 PM, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

After lure hit water, I’ll close the bail and lift the rod to almost 90 degree with my finger on the line. If I feel tension while falling, meaning the weight is not on bottom yet, if I feel anything different like more tension, slight tab or no tension at unexpected, I’ll set the hook. Once the weight hit bottom, I’ll lower my rod tip in the meantime start reeling in slowly to maintain tension with the weight, it will take awhile for all braid to sink.

It sounds like you pretty much keep as little slack in the line as possible throughout the whole process. I'll give this a try! Thank you

On 8/28/2019 at 7:02 PM, billmac said:

You could try a circle hook and just reel to set it.

I really like the Gamakatsu drop shot hooks. I don't even really "set" the hook with them, I just kinda sweep the rod to one side when I feel a fish. I think the main issue is that I'm not feeling the fish early enough.

On 8/28/2019 at 7:20 PM, WRB said:

Boat or shore angler?

Both. But in pretty much all cases, I cast the rig out, typically pretty far. I've never tried vertically jigging right beneath the boat, mainly because I dunno how to efficiently locate deep structure and don't have a fish finder.

[radiozephyr]

23 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

let the bait fall while keeping tension on the line. That means closing the bail, or turning the reel handle when the bait hits the water. Not a second or two later. The other is to watch that line where it enters the water. Keep tension on the line without raising the weight off the bottom.

I'm definitely going to start keeping tension in the line when the bait is on its initial fall. But, some slack is inevitably going to occur when you drop the rod tip, provided the weight stays on the bottom. I think the main issue is that I'm leaving the slack for too long without feeling for a fish, or leaving too much slack and being unable to feel a fish. Thanks for the reply!

[radiozephyr]

23 hours ago, islandbass said:

This a a point between the ds weight and my rod tip that the line is “loose” but I can still feel the weight if I pull back 1’ or less. Any more slack than that and you’re not going to feel it even if you had an NRX and worse, if they take and swim toward you.

It sounds like when you work the bait, you don't do any large lift and drop movements. You basically keep the bait at such a depth where there's one inch of slack in the line and wiggle it around?

[radiozephyr]

23 hours ago, WRB said:

I don't know when anglers started to cast and retreive the drop shot rig, it wasn't intended to be fished horizontal but lots of anglers do it. My suggestion is use the slip shot rig ( finesse C-rig) when casting.

The problem of gut hooking is lack of strike detection. To remedy strike detection is to keep in contact with your lure. Don't cast and let it fall uncontrolled, always watch the line. I watch the V the line cuts in the water for a strike detector, if it stops of jumps before hitting bottom that is a strike, set the hook.

If you can't feel your weight it's too light, change to a heavier weight.

Shake slightly slack line to jiggle the worm agianst the weight when drop shotting and keep in contact with the weight, the hook is above it.

Thanks Tom! I've never tried fishing the drop shot vertically. It works very well for me when casting it out, but I'll give the intended approach a try next time I'm in my kayak. My only concern is that the paddling or the boat itself may scare fish away. I have no fish finder and I'm not efficient at finding deep structure, so I tend to fish in about 10' or less where the high percentage areas are detectable from the surface. As for the slip shot rig, never heard of it but I'll look into it!

 

Strike detection is definitely my issue, and I think it's a product of the way I work the rig. Instead of keeping the bait suspended and jiggling, I have MUCH more success when I lift and sink, lift and sink. Almost like hopping a football jig, but stationary. I think it allows for coverage of a larger portion of the water column and creates that finesse-like falling action that bass love. So, I'm thinking my best fix is to remove enough slack such that I'm able to feel for fish when I lift and to feel for fish more often rather than deadsticking on slack line for extended periods. Thoughts?

20 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

The key is both watching your line and keeping contact with the line, use your finger when it's on the fall, as soon as it stops, keep the line Taught, No slack. I will usually give a tiny lift on the rod, just in case I get bit on the fall. This is regardless of the hook you use.

I've always watched the line, but I think I've been leaving so much slack on the initial fall that I wouldn't be able to see the line jump anyway. I'm definitely going to remedy that, as well as start keeping my finger on the line.

 

As for keeping the line taught line, see my reply to WRB. I may be working the drop shot in an unconventional way, but I've found that it definitely catches fish! Thanks for the reply!

14 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I can't even hook a fish in the mouth with a drop shot, much less the gut 

Lmao. It's the only d**n thing I've caught fish on. ?

[WRB]

Slip shot rig is made up of the following components;

tubular cyclinder (mojo) wreight, 1/8 oz.

Carolina Keeper*

Glass faceted bead, 7 or 8mm

Owner 5133 or Roboworm Rebard worm hook, size 1 or 1/0

Floating finesse worms, I use Roboworms or Iovino 4 1/2 0" to 6" curl tails or straight tails.

* you can rubber peg the glass bead in lieu of the Carolina Keeper.

Length between the hook and weight about 24" to 30". 

You cast this rig and retreive along the bottom somewhat like you are doing with the drop shot. This will not soLve gut hooking unless you use nose hooked worms with circle hooks.

Tom      

PS, Catt suggested Double Z floating worms, haven't treid them but they look good.

[islandbass]

First, there is no “wrong” way to work the drop shot. You can do that. What I was trying to convey is that the lift and hop is not the only way. In other words, don’t limit yourself to just this mode. 

 

Wiggle/jiggle is also not the only option yet for some reason, and I was in this boat and also had this initial perception, that with the DS the wiggle-n-jiggle it to death was THE option...  but it isn’t. 

 

I like to experiment and try things especially when trying new techniques so fortunately for me, the wiggle-n-jiggle it to death method as the only method was short lived. 

 

Find yourself some fairly shallow and clear water, maybe 3-5’ deep and drop it down for purely observational purposes. Remove the slack in the line but do not allow the weight to move from its position. You can do this by moving the rod such that you move the line or sometimes reeling up the unneeded slack.  Keep your eye on the bait. 

 

Now release the tension a little by dropping the rod enough to release a little tension from the line. If you watched closely enough and if the bait you chose has a good action, you might be surprised at how much action resulted from such a little movement imparted to the line. Try this again and be mindful not to move the weight again. 

 

You can can do this multiple times in a row or less frequently.

 

Some other things you can employ:

 

Dead stick it with tension on the line. 

 

Dead stick it with minimal tension on the line. 

 

A floating bait will suspend or sink a smidgeon then suspend.

 

A sinking bait will eventually land on the ground. You can add enough tension to raise it off the ground and release it to let it descend again. Talk about being able to keep the bait in a particularl spot with ease. Even better if that spot is a strike zone and where other lures, once moved, are “out of the zone”

 

Maybe you can wiggle-jiggle it to death now. 

 

You drag it and paused it a couple if times. Why don’t you pop it next time or maybe the next two times?

 

I am not against the wiggle-jiggle at all but I have learned that it is not the only way and of all the methods, has probably been the least productive. Not ineffective, because it has worked, just least productive. 

 

One thing about pop up and drop method and I do use it. Because, the fish can take it on the fall, we can miss the take if the slack is sufficient. In this scenario, it’s not much different from other baits taken on the descent. In this scenario we have to be super vigilant. 

 

When we leave the weight in place, IMHO, we have a slightly better chance on a semi-slack line or even fully slack line (which we don’t want) to better react, because when the fish takes, it does not matter which direction it travels after the take. Why? Because the fish will eventually and usually quickly remove the the slack from the line and when they tighten the line, we will feel their input and or/the weight move. This means fish on. Why? Because if we didn’t make the weight move, and we know that the weight won’t move on it’s own (except in strong current), then it is a fish that moved the weight or is giving the feedback of a take. Well, hopefully it isn’t a turtle...

 

I love the DS so much that I try not to make it my go to but rather, my last resort, lol. 

 

Bass, trout, bluegills, pumpkin seeds, catfish, tilapia, a wide variety of saltwater fish in Mexico whose names I don’t know have been caught with the drop shot.  

 

Vary it. Mix it up. Go get it done and remember that you chances to feel the bite or take are best when you have sufficient tension on your line to feel it. 

 

My humble $0.10. 

[islandbass]

@WRB: I hear you on never gut hooking a fish with the DS. I never have either, and I drop shot from the bank/shore 100%. 

 

I am not saying that what you said is not true, because there are probably shore anglers that may gut one. 

 

I did share with the OP what I do from the bank and maybe that can help the OP to minimize gut hooking. I did reread his post and I think his extra long time of the dead stick with slack line might be the culprit. 

 

[Hammer 4]

55 minutes ago, islandbass said:

@WRB: I hear you on never gut hooking a fish with the DS. I never have either, and I drop shot from the bank/shore 100%. 

 

I am not saying that what you said is not true, because there are probably shore anglers that may gut one. 

 

I did share with the OP what I do from the bank and maybe that can help the OP to minimize gut hooking. I did reread his post and I think his extra long time of the dead stick with slack line might be the culprit. 

 

I did share with the OP what I do from the bank and maybe that can help the OP to minimize gut hooking. I did reread his post and I think his extra long time of the dead stick with slack line might be the culprit. 

 

 

As a long time shore guy, I tend to agree re: the slack line. You can dead stick as long as you wish, but Not on slack line.

 

While I'm at it...making super long cast's with say heavy jigs, or lighter jigs with trailers especially, almost any bait really, in shallow water is hard to detect a bite. I've seen a few guys do that and gut hook bass..Lucky for the fish, I had forcipes to get the hook out without any damage. Just thought I'd toss that in..

[WRB]

It's nearly impossible to hold a rod with one hand and not slightly move it, you all may call this dead sticking but the drop shot soft plastic is moving and small movements signal life to a bass watching. 

Most anglers over fish a drop shot, it's a suttle finesse presentation. If you want to cast and hop something back use the Texas rig or a jig.

Tom

[billmac]

A little off topic, but when I got back into fishing last year, and learned about the popularity of the drop shot rig, I was amazed to see a technique I've used for decades with live bait.

[Todd2]

6 hours ago, WRB said:

 

Most anglers over fish a drop shot, it's a suttle finesse presentation. If you want to cast and hop something back use the Texas rig or a jig.

Tom

I normally don't like to impose restrictions on working a certain lure a certain way but my experience with the drop shot echoes what Tom has seen. The less I work it, the more fish I catch. One big caveat..there has to be fish around...duh....lol

[J Francho]

The beauty of a drop shot is the direct connection from the tip of your rod to the hook.  Add slack into that equation, and you lose all the advantage.  As Tom said, the bait will move, even when you are dead sticking.  There is current in most bodies of water, even deep lakes, and the bait will orient and quiver in place.  Consider a 2D graph, as it will open up all kinds of water to fish.  On Erie and Ontario, I start around 17-20', often as deep as 40'.  No way I'd do that fishing blind.

 

Here's a good hook up: https://photos.smugmug.com/Family/Fishing-Journal/i-4Kv6V94/0/b087d1fb/X2/20101113-ErieWithNoel-06-X2.jpg