I struggle with the dropshot.

[TriStateBassin106]

It's my kryptonite, I can't get a single bite with it. In my neck of the woods I've always thrown the ned rig or wacky rig when things get finicky, only bass I've caught on the dropshot was a nice 2lber on a bed during the spawn with the pink roboworm, anyone else struggle with the drop shot? 

[Log Catcher]

I have caught very little on a dropshot. Haven't used one in several years now. Someday I might try it again.

[Sissyfishing]

Never did anything on it either split shot or Texas rig much better

[WRB]

If you are not catching bass on the drop shot rig it's becuase you are fishing where the bass are not locate. Like shooting in the dark you can't hit the target. 

Drop shot is a precise finesse presentation, like you did in the bass bed. Put the worm in front of their nose and a high % of the time they strike and hook themselves.

Most anglers new to drop shot over fish it putting too much action into the presetation, "less is better".

I don't get out the drop shot rig unless the bass are there and meter them on sonar 1st.

This way I know where and how deep they located. If bass are suspend more then a few feet off the bottom drop shot isn't a good choice for me. If blind casting a area I use the slip shot rig.

Tom

 

 

[Fishin' Fool]

1 hour ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

It's my kryptonite, I can't get a single bite with it. In my neck of the woods I've always thrown the ned rig or wacky rig when things get finicky, only bass I've caught on the dropshot was a nice 2lber on a bed during the spawn with the pink roboworm, anyone else struggle with the drop shot? 

Go fish it on Lk St Clair from mid-May on. If you watched that BASS tournament on St Clair most of those guys were catching those fish on a drop shot. It really is an easy technique but you have to have confidence to fish it.

[TnRiver46]

I caught some bass on drop shot the first time I ever tried it, then again I have never tried it while bank fishing. I’ve seen a dock in a lot of your pics, maybe try dropping it straight down next to the dock posts? 

[ww2farmer]

Your either not around bass or your fishing it too fast or your not doing something else "right"

 

I catch 1000's of bass a year on a dropshot, and the #1 mistake I see people making  who claim to struggle with it is they shake/move/hop/twitch it too much.

 

Hold that thing in place, and try to NOT impart any action to. Let the bait hover and quiver in their faces. The most I move it is to ever so subtly clench my grip when I'm holding the rod, and occasionally I'll just move my wrist very very little. Try that in some ultra clear shallow water, and you'll see how much that transmits a little "shimmy' to the bait while it's hanging there.

 

The #2 mistake I see, is the dropper length. Keep it around 12", OR SHORTER. Everyone I see with super long lengths between the hook and sinker struggles. Are there rare times where having the hook 2 or 3 feet above the sinker is the answer?....probably, but it's the exception and not the rule.

 

 

[Glenn]

9 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

Hold that thing in place, and try to NOT impart any action to. Let the bait hover and quiver in their faces. The most I move it is to ever so subtly clench my grip when I'm holding the rod, and occasionally I'll just move my wrist very very little. Try that in some ultra clear shallow water, and you'll see how much that transmits a little "shimmy' to the bait while it's hanging there.

Truth.  This video reaffirms that, plus a lot more kibbles of info...

 

 

[TriStateBassin106]

42 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I caught some bass on drop shot the first time I ever tried it, then again I have never tried it while bank fishing. I’ve seen a dock in a lot of your pics, maybe try dropping it straight down next to the dock posts? 

That's my main lake which isn't very deep and heavily stained, there isn't many places I fish round here where bass use their sight primarily. But as the water cools and the lake clears up I might re toss it.

 

[BrianMDTX]

I haven’t had any success with it. But I’m fishing ponds that are max 7’ deep, so I don’t know how well a dropshot rig works in that environment. 

[Bird]

Never threw a DS in stained water but it's a very effective technique in the clear lakes I fish. 

My only complaint would be casting accuracy with that hanging pendulum. 

[Bluebasser86]

1 hour ago, ww2farmer said:

Your either not around bass or your fishing it too fast or your not doing something else "right"

 

I catch 1000's of bass a year on a dropshot, and the #1 mistake I see people making  who claim to struggle with it is they shake/move/hop/twitch it too much.

 

Hold that thing in place, and try to NOT impart any action to. Let the bait hover and quiver in their faces. The most I move it is to ever so subtly clench my grip when I'm holding the rod, and occasionally I'll just move my wrist very very little. Try that in some ultra clear shallow water, and you'll see how much that transmits a little "shimmy' to the bait while it's hanging there.

 

The #2 mistake I see, is the dropper length. Keep it around 12", OR SHORTER. Everyone I see with super long lengths between the hook and sinker struggles. Are there rare times where having the hook 2 or 3 feet above the sinker is the answer?....probably, but it's the exception and not the rule.

 

 

100% agree.

 

I struggled big time with a drop shot for a lot of the reasons listed. I moved the bait too much, moved the whole rig too much, and used too long of a leader. I don't remember who it was on here that told me to think of the sinker more like an anchor, holding the whole rig in place, than something I'm trying to drag across the bottom. That made it click for me. I was way overfishing it. Now I use a 8-10 inch leader and basically just try to quiver the bait in place next to likely areas. They'll 100% eat it in stained water too, so don't think you need ultra clear water to get bit.

[islandbass]

6 hours ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

It's my kryptonite, I can't get a single bite with it. In my neck of the woods I've always thrown the ned rig or wacky rig when things get finicky, only bass I've caught on the dropshot was a nice 2lber on a bed during the spawn with the pink roboworm, anyone else struggle with the drop shot? 

The DS is one of my most productive techniques hands down. 
 

What rod, reel, line are you using and what environments are you using it in?

 

Other things that people might overlook are:

1) tag length

2) weight

3) technique

4) no fish in the vicinity 

 

 

[GTN-NY]

I struggle with finesse fishing in the first place. I want to get better at DS. I saw a video on YT for Bubba Shot. Fits my style better. Look it up it might be for you also

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

I haven’t had any success with it. But I’m fishing ponds that are max 7’ deep, so I don’t know how well a dropshot rig works in that environment. 

It works well in shallow water too. 

[thunderblack]

I like fishing DS and have fished it in a lot of different depths and situations. My favorite is shallow near docks or out in deep water 25-40 ft. I think people can certainly complicate this technique. I like fishing fast so its hard to slow down and let this work on certain trips but it does get bit and by lots of species. Doesn't take much movement and you can drag or do slight lifts. Experiment with different worms, small tubes, wacky worms, minnow profile plastics, and swimbaits. Keep at it and find where those fish are holding.

[gim]

I tried it fairly regularly one season a few years ago and it wasn't overly successful.  Perhaps I wasn't doing it absolutely how I should have been but I have been able to catch fish on other finesse presentations instead so I see no reason to continue trying it.  I always had trouble with it getting tangled with other rod n reels on the deck too because of that loose end with the weight.

[Jermination]

I throw the drop shot and catch more big fish around here on it than anyone i know. I throw it deep, shallow, into current, into grass, around wood, under docks, clear and stained water. @TnRiver46 has seen a lot of drop shot fish this summer  A few things to consider--

 

-throw it on a 7'4 rod so you can sling that thing

-3/16 or 1/4 should be about the biggest weight you ever need

-use light line, 6-8lb

-throw zman trick shotz, they float perfectly horizontal 

-use a chrome sinker, this little extra flash can catch an eye

-rotate through a lot of baits and colors, you can get them fired up and clean up a school with a drop shot simply by changing baits

-do not set the hook. reel tight and lift

-you really need at least 3-5 ft visibility for it to shine

-10-12 inch leader

-if you know the fish are there, spend some time & work different angles. the drop shot can convince non aggressive fish to still bite

[joshuaray83]

I think a big thing that a lot of fisherman take for granted is that it's a far better technique for boaters with a fish finder. It's a targeted technique. You either fish for a fish you see on the fish finder, or at high-percentage areas like docks. As a bank angler, I use it less often, but it can still be very productive near docks, rip-rap, stumps, the dammed end of a lake near the drain, or near culverts with incoming creek water. It just snags very easily, so I try to avoid things like bushes and downed trees, opting for other techniques even though it would VERY likely catch fish there as well..

 

Edit: it's also my go-to follow up bait if I get a strike on a moving bait but didn't hook them.

[Big Hands]

The light came on for me when I was first experimenting with the dropshot. I was working it like a texas rig or slipshot worm, slowly crawling along the bottom. Couldn't get bit to save my soul. Then I set my rig down to take a few bites from a breakfast burrito, and when I picked the rod back up, an angry 2.5 lb smallie was on the end of it. I don't totally leave it in one spot, but work it slow and methodically with long pauses. On the other hand, I have been bit several times right when the rig pulls loose from being snagged, enough to make me think about how to emulate that sudden movement on my own. I think they must be staring at it and when it pops loose, they just jump on it instinctively.

 

I went two to three times a week all summer and caught fish every time out, mostly on the DS (some nose hooked, most were wacky rigged). I went through well over 20 bags of the 4.8" Jackall flickshake worm in pumpkin pepper on a #4 wide gap finesse hook. The lake recently turned over and the fish are not relating to bottom like they were, so that bite has cooled off, but they were all over it all summer long.

 

Also, you'll see the Gamakatsu drop shot hooks and octopus hooks for sale that look like they would do well, but I would pass on those in favor of their wide gap finesse hooks. I had a much better chance of getting and keeping those stuck in the fish. Grand hooksets are also a good way to pull those small hooks right out of the fish's mouth. Just reel down and lift while still reeling. 

[GTN-NY]

8 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

 

 

Also, you'll see the Gamakatsu drop shot hooks and octopus hooks for sale that look like they would do well, but I would pass on those in favor of their wide gap finesse hooks. I had a much better chance of getting and keeping those stuck in the fish. Grand hooksets are also a good way to pull those small hooks right out of the fish's mouth. Just reel down and lift while still reeling. 

I’ve been using the dropshot and octopus hooks and losing fish. 
what size of those wide gap do you recommend?

[Jermination]

7 minutes ago, GTN said:

I’ve been using the dropshot and octopus hooks and losing fish. 
what size of those wide gap do you recommend?

you shouldnt be losing fish on the gamakatsu ds/ss hooks. Are they just spitting it or bending your hooks? I have a very high landing percentage on those hooks and very rarely lose fish on them. Octopus hooks are no good unless you are catfishing

[ATA]

18 hours ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

It's my kryptonite, I can't get a single bite with it. In my neck of the woods I've always thrown the ned rig or wacky rig when things get finicky, only bass I've caught on the dropshot was a nice 2lber on a bed during the spawn with the pink roboworm, anyone else struggle with the drop shot? 

Use Daiichi Intruder Trailer 2553 red fly fishing hook, I using number 6 and 4 depending on situation with 8lb test mono, and believe me when I said I had 100% hook up so far.

Robo worm oxblood and M power Fast action rod with your normal spinning reel. keep your leader 8 to 10" (I got the most of the bite on short leader), and weight depending on depth and wind and you'll be surprized. 

[GTN-NY]

2 hours ago, Jermination said:

you shouldnt be losing fish on the gamakatsu ds/ss hooks. Are they just spitting it or bending your hooks? I have a very high landing percentage on those hooks and very rarely lose fish on them. Octopus hooks are no good unless you are catfishing

They will be half way to the boat then gone. Hook will be fine

[Sissyfishing]

You could try a stinger or treble hook attached to your drop shot