Drop shot hooks

[Jonas Staggs]

I never drop shot much unless using multiple hooks and bait, usually circle hooks. After researching the technique and doing some kiddie pool casts I think I have a better understanding of the technique now and how to use it. 

 

I'm still wondering about the hooks though? I don't like the idea of having to buy separate hooks. Why use drop shot hooks? What other hooks can I use? The drop shot hooks look short shank could I use a oshanessy or circle hook? Or any kind of hook?

 

Also, when you guys drop shot, are you T rigging your bait or nose hooking? Nose hooking has great action but looks like you might miss fish with a tiny hook on the nose of a 6" worm.

[MN Fisher]

20 minutes ago, Jonas Staggs said:

I'm still wondering about the hooks though? I don't like the idea of having to buy separate hooks. Why use drop shot hooks? What other hooks can I use? The drop shot hooks look short shank could I use a oshanessy or circle hook? Or any kind of hook?

 

Also, when you guys drop shot, are you T rigging your bait or nose hooking? Nose hooking has great action but looks like you might miss fish with a tiny hook on the nose of a 6" worm.

Smaller baits, like Z-Man HogZ, Z-Man Slim SwimZ or Zoom Fluke-Tail Goby are nose hooked on a #1 Owner SSW. Larger 'bulk' baits like a 3" Berkley Pit Boss go on a 1/0 or 2/0 Owner SSW, again nose-hooked.

Worms like a Zoom Trick Worm I T-Rig on a 2/0 or 3/0 Worm hook.

The size of the bait determines what hook and how to rig it.

 

I also use the SSW as my Wacky hooks.

[Bluebasser86]

You can use a wide gap wacky rig hook with decent success. I personally saw my dropshotting success go way up when I switch to the Owner Heavy Cover hooks. I use them any time I'm dropshotting a bait that will hold them and have far more success than with a nose hooked bait.

[Jonas Staggs]

19 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

You can use a wide gap wacky rig hook with decent success. I personally saw my dropshotting success go way up when I switch to the Owner Heavy Cover hooks. I use them any time I'm dropshotting a bait that will hold them and have far more success than with a nose hooked bait.

 

 

Would circle or oshanessy hooks be ok for nose hooking?

[WRB]

Just offered #4 Gammy 50  ea  shot hooks in the Flea Market for nose hooking finesse worms.***SOLD***

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

7 minutes ago, Jonas Staggs said:

 

 

Would circle or oshanessy hooks be ok for nose hooking?

I'd never use a circle hook but I'm sure guys do just like they do for wacky rigging. I'd never use it then either but I know it's pretty popular. O'Shaughnessy hooks would work if you had a small enough size. Get some Owner Mosquito hooks if you want to nose hook. Very good hook and very reasonably priced and you can buy them a lot of places in store.

[A-Jay]

Plenty of solid drop shot hook advice offered here already.

Here's some of my version . . 

 I've been through quite a few makes, models and even more sizes past few seasons - I've settled on these.

Reasons are - they match my baits, they match the tackle I'm fishing them with, and 

most importantly, they HOOK & HOLD the Bass I'm Looking to Catch !

 Both the Brown & Green models.

  Supplemental info - over the past say, three or four years, much of my drop shot fishing, especially mid-late season, has migrated to using 'bigger baits'; relative term.

 Where in previous deals I was using, the standard skinny 4 & 6 inch Sculpins, Robo worms & Dream Shots - and they catch bass for sure, I started drop shotting a baby rage craw, and then a full-size craw and then 4 & 5 inch Fluke and started getting bites from more bigger fish.  But along with that, I was losing a few fish, because the hooks & manner I was using them was apparently inefficient.  First off, in some instances, my hook selection was too small.  Secondly, while I like nose hooking, seems it's not the best way when I'm targeting bigger smallies - which is ALL The TIME pretty much.  Nose hooking also picks up eel grass when it's there and the little hooks have a tendency to skin hook a lot leading them to come unpinned too much for my liking.  

 I do Tex-pose my drop shot plastic when needed but all things being equal, I prefer not to if I can.

***Note *** regarding the Hooks Pictured - I use SEVERAL DIFFERENT sizes - I offered these to allow for the name, brand, type, and model number identification purposes.  

 So we've ventured into using a little bigger, longer shanked hook.  

 So if you look at the Picture provided, the bottom row - those are all GREAT DROP SHOT OPTIONS and ones I still use a ton; mostly for nose hooking.  

 That whole top row of hooks are what I go to for bigger baits and when I want to 'top hook' a bait; meaning inserting the hook like you would put say a swimbait on a jighead.  Where the hook goes in the front/nose of the bait, is threaded into & down the body of the bait BUT comes out the top.   Still a drop shot, but when a fluke or a caffeine shad is rigged like this, the hook up to land ratio goes way up.  Brownies are generally impaled in the top or the roof of the mouth and they generally Do NOT come off. 

   I definitely use a little 'beefier gear', like M instead of ML and 8-10 lb fluorocarbon leader instead of 4-6 lb. The bigger Hook size demands a bit more pressure to sink it successfully, but after that, it's just a matter to playing that brown tank into the net.

 This works GREAT for Green bass too. Think Rage Craw !

A-Jay

 

[Michigander]

I'm not good at drop shot but I watched this video and I have been doing all of the mistakes they mention, so I'm going to try and up my game this year. They have a segment just on hooks. 

 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

My main hook unless I fish cover is #2 VMC neko hook. I love that hook, wacky rig, nose hook, even rig it weedless sometimes. Hookup is great! 

 

If I'm fishing lots of cover or grass, I'll use a ewg thinwire hook 3/0

[JustJames]

Any type hook should work as long as you are matching hook to your lure. Nose hooking, with finesse wide gap/wack hook, body Tex-post with long shrank/Neko hook and weedless/Texas rig with EWG hook or rebarb hook.

For you, I strongly recommend #2 Roboworm Rebarb hook for any worm type. You will be fishing in small shallow pond, a lot of thing to get snagged down there. Weedless style is the way to go unless you prepare to lost your rig often. The light wire of roboworm should be easy enough to set hook  as long as you hook plastic correctly (meaning bringing the hook point out of plastic first before leave it in plastic), for a little bigger body like Zoom swimming fluke or craw #2 Gamakatsu EWG hook.
I use nose hooking when fishing deep and most of the time more vertical than horizontal.

You are not gonna fish school of bass or target bass but you are locating roaming bass so more action is needed. You gonna have to keep moving your lure otherwise you might have to wait for hours before bass see it. Don’t worry about those text book that said, do nothing or move your lure but not your weight, those for ppl fishing from boat in target area.

Experimenting is the way to go, don’t be afraid to drag, lift and drop, short pop and let slack. Too much is not good as well as too little, don’t skip 5-10’ in front of you that where a lot of ppl start reeling in fast for next cast and missed a lot of bite.

[Columbia Craw]

Owner Mosquito

Gammi Split Shot/Drop Shot

Gammi Wide Gap Finesse

Robo Worm Rebarb

Gammi EWG finesse 

 

These cover all my needs with sizes selected to compliment the bait size and cover type.

[WRB]

For weedless Texas rigged drop shot all I use are Owner #5133 Down shot hooks size size 1/0 for 5”-6” finesse worms, 2/0 for fat* worms.

Nose or wacky hook Gamakatsu Drop shot hook or Owner Mosquito hook size 1 for the same finesse worms, 2/0 for fat* worms.

Imo that is all you will need for finesse worm drop shot rigs.

Tom

* Owner 4109 size 1 for wacky 5” Senko.

 

 

[J Francho]

^^^yes. These all work well for me. I go a bit smaller depending on the bait for my smallmouth up here. I'll  add the Gamakatsu split shot hooks to that list as well. 

[00bullitt]

The majority of my drop shot fishing is using 10# fluoro. Line strength has a lot to do with hook up ratio. The lighter the line, the lighter the hook. 

With 10# test, I have an aggressive hookset using a Medium Light action 6'10" to 7' rod.

For nose hooking baits, I use the Owner Sniper Finesse #2 and for a weedless application, I use either a #1 or 1/0 Owner Cover Shot hook. I lose very few fish and catch pretty large spots.

 

For the lakes I fish in the South, I have seen little to no difference using 10# or 6# so I stick with 10# as the hook up to landing ratio is very high.

 

For lighter line, I do prefer the Gamakatsu Aaron Martens G Finesse Drop Shot hook in a #1 and only nose hook.

 

My bait of choice for nose hooking is the Zman 4.2" Trick Shotz or Finesse Shad. They are durable and last and they float and have a great dead stick action.

 

For my weedless bait, I only use the Reaction Innovation Flirt Work 4.95 in a few key colors that I have confidence in.

 

I used to be dead set against drop shotting, but when I started catching the  numbers I have been and often hooking spots of substantial size in 10-60' of water, I now keep 3 spinning rods rigged up. Just a few weeks ago, I caught 69 spotted bass on Lake Hartwell in 6 hours. I have many days where I catch 20-30. 69 bass is the most I have caught in one day EVER. Best 5 went just shy of 18# with a kicker 5# LM.

 

Dropshotting gets it done on the lakes I fish. Granted I still prefer to power fish whenever possible.

[Big Hands]

23 hours ago, Jonas Staggs said:

I never drop shot much unless using multiple hooks and bait, usually circle hooks. After researching the technique and doing some kiddie pool casts I think I have a better understanding of the technique now and how to use it. 

Since you have a kiddie pool to experiment in, I would suggest using different size weights and notice how differently the bait acts with different size weights. It's something I hadn't thought much about until I saw a swimming pool demo on YT. 

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I'm still wondering about the hooks though? I don't like the idea of having to buy separate hooks.

 

Sometimes the difference is in the details. If you're going to spend a significant amount of time with the technique, then it will be worth it to use terminal tackle that is optimized for that type of fishing. If it's not something you do on a regular basis, you can possibly get by with stuff you already have but you should also expect not to have the best results.

 

Why use drop shot hooks?

 

Their shape and materials make them more effective to present you bait and get a hook into the fish.

 

 

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What other hooks can I use?

Octopus, mosquito, and dropshot specific designs all work well for smallish baits. You might be able to use more conventional designs for bigger baits.

 

I would also suggest wacky rigging baits for dropshot fishing. I prefer it for the areas I fish, but YMMV. I prefer wide gap finesse type hooks for wacky rig baits, but there are many other designs used with excellent results.

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The drop shot hooks look short shank could I use a oshanessy or circle hook? Or any kind of hook?

Circle hooks are more for natural bait fishing where a fish is going to hold onto the bait for an extended time and try to swallow it after you give them time to do so. The bent inward tip is great for holding onto fish once they are hooked, but no so great at getting the point into them initially.

 

The O'Shaughnessy hook has a similar shape to dropshot type hooks, but are usually a much thicker gauge wire which makes it more difficult to penetrate when when fishing with finesse gear (light line and medium or medium light rods). The most effective dropshot hookset is not winding down and crossing their eyes like you might with some other techniques. Wind down and then into the weight of the fish, which took some getting used to for me, but it does yield a higher hookup ratio for me. 

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Also, when you guys drop shot, are you T rigging your bait or nose hooking? Nose hooking has great action but looks like you might miss fish with a tiny hook on the nose of a 6" worm.

If you're fishing a 6" worm dropshot style, I would probably texas rig it with either a Rebarb or Cover Shot hook (or similar light wire hook), or fish it wacky style with a wide gap finesse hook. That said, feel free to experiment to see what the fish in your area respond best to.

[snake95]

13 hours ago, A-Jay said:

So if you look at the Picture provided, the bottom row - those are all GREAT DROP SHOT OPTIONS and ones I still use a ton; mostly for nose hooking.  

 

To the OP regarding the interest in wanting to use existing hooks, and to save money:

 

The Owner Mosquito hooks in A-Jay's pic are not at all expensive, under $3 a pack.  These have to be among the most affordable hooks Owner makes.  Spend $6, get a pack each of 1's and one of 2's, and try them out, you won't regret it.  If you decide to give up on drop shotting, they can be used for live bait, nose hooking flukes, and wacky rigging thinner worms.  I use them for nose hooking baits for split shotting.

 

I have used VMC's equally simple sureset hook with great success too.  Also $3 a pack.  Not super common in my area but if you can get them also a great affordable choice.  Have never lost a fish on them that I can recall.

 

 

 

 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I DS all winter and have tried just about every hook I can get my hands on. 

Mosquito, Mosquito lites, Decoy Big Bite/Masurabi, Trokar DS/Helix, VMC Spinshot and Neko, Gami SS/DS and many more.

The absolute best overall IMO is the standard Gamakatsu DS.  The wire is perfect not to thick and not to thin and the point is stupid sharp.  The best part about them is they always seem to find the roof of the mouth and once they go in they arent easy to get out.  

The Trokar is outstanding as well with hooksets and a really sharp point.  Once you roll the point its harder to draw it back out then other designs.  If your looking for a spinshot style hook the Helix is the best I have found. 

The Mosquito hooks are great, but they are offset.  If you dont make sure the bait is perfectly straight it will start to twist and cause a real headache.  The Mosq. Lites have a better design for nose hooking IMO but I've broken quite a few lifting fish out of the water. 

 

 

   

[Jonas Staggs]

Thanks for all the information guys. Walmart carries mosquito hooks and I already had some real small ones. I tried my hand this morning at drop shotting a trout worm with the mosquito hook and a split shot for weight. Looks really nice and good action. I didn't catch anything but good practice. Fished it on a UL rod with 4# test which is my primary setup.

[Fishes in trees]

For me finesse drop shot rig, ( that I admittedly don't fish all that often ). The jury is still out on which hook is best.  I've got a dozen different brands and I seem to try a different one each time I rig up.

I generally nose hook the baits.   I really don't have a good answer as to which hook works best for me.

I bubba shot much more often than I do finesse drop shot and I'm pretty set on the hooks I like for that.   Over the past 5 or 6 years, what has worked best for me is the Gammy Wicked wacky hook.  I still nose hook the baits ( generally a Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw )  I generally go 2/0 or 3/0, but I carry all the sizes and try to match the hook to the bait.  2/0 seems to be tied on the most, when I'm throwing the Chigger Craw.   Anyway, it is a pretty stout hook and once you've tied your Palomar knot with the extra long tag end, you thread the line through the small tube glued on the shank of the hook and it keeps the hook straight, with fewer twists, as you work it through cover.

[roadwarrior]

#4 Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hook. No gut hooks, no hook-set. 95% of the time the 

bass is stuck in the jaw joint.