Dropshotting Offshore Brush Piles

[JHoss]

Probably gonna sound like a newb asking this, but that's ok because I'm a shallow water guy trying to get better offshore... I always hear guys talking about dropshotting offshore brush piles. My question is, are people getting their drop shot into the thick of a pile or working the edges of it? I have Livescope on my boat and use that to line up on offshore cover, so I can see if my drop shot is landing where I want it. But how do guys without/before scope know if they were landing in it or next to it. Does everyone just fish a Texas rigged bait on their drop shot when around cover? Feel free to throw any other pertinent brush pile tips in while you're at it. 

[DaubsNU1]

Great question. I am interested in replies. I fish a newer reservoir that has a lot of off-shore brush piles.

 

I'm not great with drop-shot, and looking to learn.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, JHoss said:

 My question is, are people getting their drop shot into the thick of a pile or working the edges of it? I have Livescope on my boat and use that to line up on offshore cover, so I can see if my drop shot is landing where I want it. But how do guys without/before scope know if they were landing in it or next to it.  Feel free to throw any other pertinent brush pile tips in while you're at it. 

Effectively fishing deep / offshore hard or soft cover is IMO,

what separates the best bass heads from the rest.  And you can interpret that as you prefer.

I do not have FFS, never even looked at one operating.

But it is Not needed to fish what's listed above effectively.

Does it make it better or easier, I can not say.

Posts like this lead me to believe folks are looking for a FASTER way to get this done.

Many feel FFS can do that. I do not know that either.

But what I do know, is that locating hard & or soft cover on the best structure

can lead to some great bass fishing.

But it takes time to find it, learn how to do it and then present baits effectively to get bites,

and to fish it. 

The following are the 'tools' I use when looking for & fishing the deep stuff

and to get my baits on the the spot on the spot.

Map study, Triangulation, Side Scan, Down Scan, AS360, way points, marked buoys precise boat control (Trolling motor) and even more exactly boat positioning and finally casting angles. 

The presentations the work for me in these situations depend on several factors that in all honesty, are the same in 3 ft as they are in 30 feet. 

BTW- In my fishing any water shallower

than my 1875 Pro-V bass is long is 'shallow' and I can usually see the bottom, meaning the fish can see me.  That changes things.

Good Luck

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

 

[TOXIC]

Something to remember about brush piles.  The bass are not in the brush piles, the baitfish, their prey are.  I fish all around a brush pile never “in” it.  

[JHoss]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Effectively fishing deep / offshore hard or soft cover is IMO,

what separates the best bass heads from the rest.  And you can interpret that as you prefer.

I do not have FFS, never even looked at one operating.

But it is Not needed to fish what's listed above effectively.

Does it make it better or easier, I can not say.

Posts like this lead me to believe folks are looking for a FASTER way to get this done.

Many feel FFS can do that. I do not know that either.

But what I do know, is that locating hard & or soft cover on the best structure

can lead to some great bass fishing.

But it takes time to find it, learn how to do it and then present baits effectively to get bites,

and to fish it. 

The following are the 'tools' I use when looking for & fishing the deep stuff

and to get my baits on the the spot on the spot.

Map study, Triangulation, Side Scan, Down Scan, AS360, way points, precise boat control 

(Trolling motor) and even more exactly boat positioning and finally casting angles. 

The presentations the work for me in these situations depend on several factors that in all honesty, are the same in 3 ft as they are in 30 feet. 

BTW- In my fishing any water shallower

than my 1875 Pro-V bass is long is 'shallow' and I can usually see the bottom, meaning the fish can see me.  That changes things.

Good Luck

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

Can you please explain how me asking if you fish a dropshot in or around brush piles is looking for a faster way to get this done? By that logic, anyone who ever read an article about bass fishing is looking for a faster way to get this done? I appreciate that you took the time to respond, but you didn't answer a single question I posed and, instead, used this as a chance to get on a soap box about FFS. 

 

 

 

1 minute ago, TOXIC said:

Something to remember about brush piles.  The bass are not in the brush piles, the baitfish, their prey are.  I fish all around a brush pile never “in” it.  

This is an interesting take. Most pro's I've heard talk about this say that bass will stage in the brush piles and wait for bait to swim within ambush range. When you fish around a brush pile and feel your bait contacting that pile, do you lift it up and over to the near side?

[TOXIC]

What they are saying is bass “relate” to brush piles.  They ambush their prey, so you can put your prey imitating bait “in” the brush pile and as you pull it out, the bass ambush it.  I’ve never fished a situation where a bass won’t ambush the same bait as you pull it by or near the brush.  That’s why it’s so important to fish a brush pile from different angles. 

[A-Jay]

10 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Can you please explain how me asking if you fish a dropshot in or around brush piles is looking for a faster way to get this done? By that logic, anyone who ever read an article about bass fishing is looking for a faster way to get this done? I appreciate that you took the time to respond, but you didn't answer a single question I posed and, instead, used this as a chance to get on a soap box about FFS. 

You're right.

Sometimes I do that.

Can't say for sure why.

Perhaps my reading compression skills aren't what they used to be.

Either way, it will probably happen again

A-Jay

[JHoss]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

You're right.

Sometimes I do that.

Can't say for sure why.

Perhaps my reading compression skills aren't what they used to be.

Either way, it will probably happen again

A-Jay

LOL, what a great answer.

 

I suspect you have good insight on the question posed and I respect your opinion. Just seems like all to often these days folks see "FFS" and latch on to that- maybe I'm being too sensitive this morning or just in a bad mood because the latest TW order hasn't shown up yet like it was supposed to.  

[A-Jay]

39 minutes ago, JHoss said:

LOL, what a great answer.

 

I suspect you have good insight on the question posed and I respect your opinion. Just seems like all to often these days folks see "FFS" and latch on to that- maybe I'm being too sensitive this morning or just in a bad mood because the latest TW order hasn't shown up yet like it was supposed to.  

Thank and your response is both insiteful and spot on.

While I hate to admit it FFS is a bit of a trigger point for me.  Must be an OG thing,

AND my two day shipping TW order

is on day 3 !

I hate that. 

Not really but the timing was pretty good.

Btw, I used to DS a rage Craw on a 4/0 EWG in light coverwith pretty good results for Smallies.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[Jar11591]

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

Something to remember about brush piles.  The bass are not in the brush piles, the baitfish, their prey are.  I fish all around a brush pile never “in” it.  

I disagree with this. Around here, you can find bass IN the brush pile. Bass aren’t always in feeding mode, and something else to remember is bass may be an apex predator as far as fish go, but bass are victims to predation as well. Otters, birds, turtles, esox….so when they aren’t in active feeding mode, bass will absolutely take refuge inside the brush pile. I always fish as deep in the brush as I can get my bait. I don’t think of bass as fearless kings of the lake. Bass are “baitfish” to an otter the same way a yellow perch is a baitfish to a bass. 

[Team9nine]

Just me, but I rarely drop shot “inside” a brush pile. Not that you won’t get bit, but it’s not the most efficient presentation IMO. So I’ll drop shot around, next to, or swim it over cover instead. If I’m going into the brush pile, I’m usually throwing a jig or a TR plastic on heavier line. Before FFS, you either used lineups or shoreline references combined with feel, or graphed the pile, tossed a marker buoy nearby, then backed off and cast it. Years and years of doing this for both bass and crappie back when all we had were flashers and paper graphs, you got pretty good with the technique. Modern tech just makes it a breeze these days.

[JHoss]

40 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

I disagree with this. Around here, you can find bass IN the brush pile. Bass aren’t always in feeding mode, and something else to remember is bass may be an apex predator as far as fish go, but bass are victims to predation as well. Otters, birds, turtles, esox….so when they aren’t in active feeding mode, bass will absolutely take refuge inside the brush pile. I always fish as deep in the brush as I can get my bait. I don’t think of bass as fearless kings of the lake. Bass are “baitfish” to an otter the same way a yellow perch is a baitfish to a bass. 

This lines up with my experience and understanding. I spent a lot of time spearfishing in my youth, and have seen so many predator species hunker down in rocks or other cover, that I'd have to think bass do the same. I haven't personally observed bass in a pile on my scope, but have seen plenty of videos from other people's scopes where bass certainly appear to be inside the pile. 

 

26 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Just me, but I rarely drop shot “inside” a brush pile. Not that you won’t get bit, but it’s not the most efficient presentation IMO. So I’ll drop shot around, next to, or swim it over cover instead. If I’m going into the brush pile, I’m usually throwing a jig or a TR plastic on heavier line. Before FFS, you either used lineups or shoreline references combined with feel, or graphed the pile, tossed a marker buoy nearby, then backed off and cast it. Years and years of doing this for both bass and crappie back when all we had were flashers and paper graphs, you got pretty good with the technique. Modern tech just makes it a breeze these days.

This makes a lot of sense. I guess with the traditional methods, you start casting away from where you think a pile is and slowly work closer until you start to feel it? I've approached them the same way as you by using a more power-fishing approach like a T Rig when going into a pile, but hear so many guys talk about dropshotting brush piles that I wondered if I was missing something by not trying to get in there more. I'd think with light line, spinning gear, and a big fish you'd be asking for breakoffs getting in them. 

[RFSims]

In the fall I dropshot brush piles 75% of the time. Not so much in spring. Texas rigged Zoom finesse worm. I have hundreds of brush piles on my graph. In the fall the lake I fish is 10’ lower than full pool in the fall. That putts the brush piles 15 to 20’ deep. I drop it right into the middle of the piles. I have ffs and it makes it easier to find brush piles. IMO 2D sonar is the most important. On 2D if a school is in or around the pile the screen will look like blue, yellow, red streaks. Those fish are the streaks.