Shore fishing quarry for smallies, need tips, dropshot?

[Bass Rutten]

First time quarry fishing and got my butt kicked today. Windy, cloudy, deep, clear (5-10’ vis), mostly rocky shoreline some moderate submerged grass/other vegetation near shore dropping off quickly into unknown depths. Spent some time fishing a deps slide swimmer and got some very nice smallies to show themselves (shore fishing only), got some follows, several at a time more than once, almost right to my feet, no takers though. Frustration ensued then I tossed around some jerks, a mojo rigged centipede , ned, spinner baits etc. nothing, nada, not a sniff or follow, only interest was in the glide bait. Can drop shot be effective fishing steep banks from shore? Finesse and smallie fishing in general is not my strong suit, going back tomorrow what would you do?

[walleyecrazy]

You may have luck with the drop shot, but it's really going to depend on bottom contour and cover. First thing that comes to mind for me though when smallies are involved is a tube. I would go back with a tube rigged up and see if you can get them on that. 

[islandbass]

Yes, the drop shot will work. All the time? No. It is better to have and not need than to need and not have. So yes, you should at it to your repertoire. 
 

If you could see them, then they can see you so it is not too surprising they didn’t commit. 
 

Now go get’em with the drop shot, lol!

[Bass Rutten]

9 hours ago, islandbass said:

Yes, the drop shot will work. All the time? No. It is better to have and not need than to need and not have. So yes, you should at it to your repertoire. 
 

If you could see them, then they can see you so it is not too surprising they didn’t commit. 
 

Now go get’em with the drop shot, lol!

That was my plan but I’m just used to fishing on bottom, fishing a near vertical wall of rock is messing with my head

[islandbass]

That’s funny, lol. It is a “just off the bottom” technique so you should do fine. 
 

keep in mind that if you use traditional ds hooks, a cross the eyes hard hook set is not required. That is actually possibly detrimental. The the fish will basically set the hook on themselves more often than not. When you feel the take, reel up to remove any slack and a slight tightening of the line with no more movement that a wrist flick usually wil do the trick. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Try a little swimbait like a 2.8" fat or 3" easy shiner 

[NHBull]

I often have 3 DS rigs on deck in the summer, ranging from 1/8-1/2 and so sometimes heavier.  Max scent PB to 3 inch swimbait.  

[jimmyjoe]

   You might want to try a wacky rigged senko.                     jj

[JZpowered]

Definitely a dropshot with 2-3 different baits, sneaky one mentioned is a small swimbait. Try working it aggressive with a heavier weight. Deep diving cranks or lipless cranks too.

 

If they're only interested in the big bait but not committing in my experience from my favorite clear water spot here that's usually a sign they want it but something else needs to be right(retrieve or color/size/shape) to get them to eat.  

 

Try slow swimming with two hard rod twitches mixed in when you think a fish could be there or if you see a follower, then kill it for a second. Can also kill it mid-retrieve and it should either bank off left or right which might trigger a reaction. Other thing I've noticed with big baits in clear water is sometimes the color is really important, if possible try a different color. 

 

One last tip with the glide - keep the bait in the water as long as possible sometimes working aggressive up in inches of water even if you think the fish stopped following, and make longer casts if you can far from the bank. 

[Darth-Baiter]

Ned rig. TRD finesse