Drop shotting

[VTFan]

I'm sure there are numerous threads on here about drop shotting but this post is just me and my....frustration...for lack of a better term with this technique.  I am new to drop shot fishing and can truthfully say I have caught a total of 3 bass using this technique.  I can fish a Texas rigged worm or wacky rigged worm or jig and have no problem fishing them slow.  However, with a drop shot I feel like I'm back to using a cane pole...if that makes sense.  Most of my fishing is done from pond banks and when I do take my boat all I have is down imaging, no FFS. Just wondering if any of you have this issue with a DS and what suggestions you might have to help me get in the game.  Thanks in advance.

[Tennessee Boy]

Why are you fishing a drop shot?

[Spankey]

What are some of your water depths you are fishing a drop shot?

[Susky River Rat]

When I drop shot it’s to target fish that are neutral to let it hang in there face at the desired depth. I usually use my electronics (no FFS) to find them.  For me I have to know I am pretty much on fish to throw it. At the very least I am on a very specific piece of structure.

 

When I fish clear water smallies  in shallow water on the river  I will drop shot them staying back from where they are. 
 

when I do it in a lake I like to run slightly higher than what I am seeing and fish that area. 

[garroyo130]

From the bank, the best change I made was going to as light a weight as possible. When I was throwing the 1/4oz that everyone recommends, I'm sure I was getting many bites that went undetected. Once I got down to 1/16th, I was better able to see takes and also got many more takes on the initial drop. 

[TOXIC]

Kind of a tough topic to answer without pages of explanation because “dropshotting” is such an established technique.  Personally, because I guided on a heavily pressured lake, I was an early adopter of dropshotting and have written a few articles about it.  I’m sure some are still on Yamamoto’s Inside Line.  You can cast and retrieve a dropshot, you can vertically fish a dropshot, you can fish it shallow, you can upsize it and it’s then called a “bubba shot”, you can fish it deep, you can suspend it, there are literally hundreds of different setups and baits that all give different actions to the technique.  Elaborate a little more on what you are trying to do and what water you fish and well as what species you are targeting.  😉

[islandbass]

Please tell us what you’re using, weights, line, distance between hook and weight, gear, etc., and perhaps how you worked it.
 

 

I am a shore angler and have learned much drop shotting from the shore. It has been so effective. This technique has caught me more fish than all others combined (x10) and from the shore. 
 

 It would be helpful and this is definitely a technique you would want in your arsenal. 

[gim]

11 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Why are you fishing a drop shot?

Exactly. Why indeed.

[MN Fisher]

10 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Exactly. Why indeed.

We know your position on this....I just think you get bored easily, so have no patience.

[Deephaven]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

We know your position on this....I just think you get bored easily, so have no patience.

Na, it doesn't work. 😀

[Skunkmaster-k]

 Drop shotting works for some folks but I’m not one of them. I’ve watched people tear em up with a ds standing right next to me and ask them to try. They hand the rod over and coach me for a while. Nuttin. Hand it back, boom , they got a fish. 

[Huckfinn38]

On 7/21/2024 at 7:11 AM, VTFan said:

I'm sure there are numerous threads on here about drop shotting but this post is just me and my....frustration...for lack of a better term with this technique.  I am new to drop shot fishing and can truthfully say I have caught a total of 3 bass using this technique.  I can fish a Texas rigged worm or wacky rigged worm or jig and have no problem fishing them slow.  However, with a drop shot I feel like I'm back to using a cane pole...if that makes sense.  Most of my fishing is done from pond banks and when I do take my boat all I have is down imaging, no FFS. Just wondering if any of you have this issue with a DS and what suggestions you might have to help me get in the game.  Thanks in advance.

So I have had minimal to no success fishing a drop shot from the bank.  All of my success has been from the kayak with most of my catches being on vertical drops when I mark fish on the fish finder.  I have caught a few casting out and slowly bouncing back.  On vertical drop I just let the weight hit bottom and then tighten up.  Once tight I slowly bounce or shake.  

[VTFan]

On 7/22/2024 at 11:01 AM, Skunkmaster-k said:

 Drop shotting works for some folks but I’m not one of them. I’ve watched people tear em up with a ds standing right next to me and ask them to try. They hand the rod over and coach me for a while. Nuttin. Hand it back, boom , they got a fish. 

That describes me to a 'T'!!! My brother has gotten to where he's catching fish on DS almost every time out.  I can be sitting in the same boat, fishing the same DS setup, he's catching and I'm not.  When I think about it though, it's almost the same with jig fishing with me, I can't buy a bite on a jig and everyone else slays them. With the DS and working it so slow to me it's almost like cane pole fishing again. It's has to be my lack of patience.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Patience and confidence are key, and I ain’t got none of either. 

[TOXIC]

Makes me chuckle, we averaged 50 fish a day per person on St Clair this year and 75% were on the trusty dropshot. 😂

[detroit1]

If you can't catch bass on a dropshot there is something wrong with you. It's not my favorite way to fish, but it's a rare outing that i don't use one at some point. Nothing is guaranteed, but always my go to when having difficulty getting bites. If you hate dropshotting there is something wrong with you.    haha  j/k

[Choporoz]

I don't hate dropshotting...I just well...yeah, I guess I do hate it.  I have cashed checks doing it...I invested in a nice, dedicated ds rod.....I just don't do it well and don't enjoy it.  I understand why....I only use it when I already know the fishing sux, so my head is in wrong place; and I catch typically smaller fish that way...and the bite is so bluegill-ish as to be boring...even from bigger fish.

Plus, any wind at all, and I lose confidence in my ability to keep bait on target and/or sense bites well.

On 7/21/2024 at 9:50 AM, Susky River Rat said:

 For me I have to know I am pretty much on fish to throw it. At the very least I am on a very specific piece of structure.

This for DS.

But also for some other lures.  It is something I need to assess.  There are some lures that I need a very high level of assurance or confidence that there are fish close by.  I can drag something across the bottom for hours without a clue whether I am within 500 yards of a fish... but DS, or jerkbait, or larger swimbait, plopper and a few other things....I need to be certain I am on fish or it won't last three casts

[MN Fisher]

Example - today I was out at my regular shore spot at 6am. Little bobber/jig work for crappie but they weren't ready to eat yet so pulled up the two bass rigs I brought. Shaky head got nothing but 'tap-tap-tap' so put a Zoom Fluke Tail Goby on the DS rig. 3 bass, all barely scoreable...but that's usual size there...also got an eating size crappie (11").

 

So DS works fine for me...maybe cause I don't try to overwork it, but I don't let it just sit there either...slow, methodical twitch/drag/pause/rinse&repeat. 40 yard cast usually takes me 4-5 minutes to work back to shore.

 

Of course the bite completely shut off around 10am...but being the masochist I am, I stayed out trying until 2pm.

[mm20]

Do you drop shot random areas or do you need FFS to know exactly where the fish are located?

[MN Fisher]

38 minutes ago, mm20 said:

Do you drop shot random areas or do you need FFS to know exactly where the fish are located?

Don't need FFS - I don't have it. Just knowledge of where bass like to situate themselves depending on time of year/weather/water temp/other factors...and a good contour map of the lake/river in question.  You can find them with 2D Sonar...like we did before even downscan was available...Down/Side/360/FFS just makes it easier - they're not required.

[Bass Rutten]

What is your setup? Rod, reel, line, lure, hook, weight, rigging, and how are you fishing it? Cover, depth, etc more info helps.

[Bird]

DS works well here in the clear water.

Zoom lizard in the spring and robo worms/ zoom finesse otherwise.

The key is to prevent slack line, gentle pressure keeping weight on bottom and bait moving above.

 

[SAL321]

Drop shot is my confidence bait all year. 100% smallmouth bass. Bigger generally isn't better on the DS . I use a number 2 hook and the lightest weight possible for the conditions that day. Keep it simple , baby z-too or flatworm and you will eventually build that confidence. Another suggestion if you don't have the patience is to slooooooowly drag it back. 

 

In general I don't have to do much to get bit. Best example was two weeks ago, fishing 18 FOW with a flat worm and it was flat calm, hot and humid. Actually set the rod down to drink some water, seen the line twitch a monster 5.88 on the other end.