Drop shotters.....gather around!

[5bass]

Let's get a drop shot thread going. Tell us the where's, when's and how's of the drop shot. I know originally it was intended to be dropped straight down into schools and fished vertically but I've been hearing about people casting the drop shot and just working it back horizontally.

I hardly ever throw it and work it back, I'm strictly a 'watch the depthfinder and drop it' kinda fisherman. Am I missing something by not casting it and retrieving horizontally?

Go.

[islandbass]

You absolutely are. I am shorebound and therefore do not have the luxury of fishing the DS purely vertically. Yet, from the shore and working it back, I find it to be very productive.

Take a look at my post in the outings section of how DS saved my bacon from going home skunked.

I wrote an article on it and here is an excerpt from it:

"The Drop Shot technique has been so effective for me even though it is my first season learning and using it.  It has accounted for 100% of the smallmouth bass and about 70% of the largemouth bass I have caught this season, and I caught a lot, the most ever!!!  And here is the thing that makes this even sweeter.  They were all caught from the shore.  No, this is not a testament to my skills, but a testament to the effectiveness of the Drop Shot technique."

shorebound = non vertical use of drop shot for me. 8-)

[burleytog]

Should be a good technique to try around those docks on SML.

[ib_of_the_damned]

Im a shorebound fisherman as well... I use the drop shot horizontally with good success.  Typically I fish local city lakes in So Cal (they get pounded pretty good)  and finesse approaches are needed to get some of these fish to bite.  My setup is 7' MF Vendetta with a Quantum Incyte 20 and 6# Trilene XL.  Normally I use about a 10-12" leader to the weight.  I use this length for worms because of the fact that I am fishing horizontally with it, it keeps the worm up off the bottom, and above any weeds or grass.  Fairly recently I have been shortening the leader to about 3-6" and putting a handpoured craw and slowly working that has produced a few good sized bass for me. 

[Sam]

FBL, I cast it like at Texas rigged worm and it works great.

I throw it to the shore and bring it back to the boat.

One must stop it along the way and let it flutter as it returns to you.

Catch a lot of fish in this manner on Virginia lakes, rivers and ponds. 

[Fishing Rhino]

Let's get a drop shot thread going. Tell us the where's, when's and how's of the drop shot. I know originally it was intended to be dropped straight down into schools and fished vertically but I've been hearing about people casting the drop shot and just working it back horizontally.

I hardly ever throw it and work it back, I'm strictly a 'watch the depthfinder and drop it' kinda fisherman. Am I missing something by not casting it and retrieving horizontally?

Go.

Maybe something like this?

The overwhelming percent of fish I have caught using the drop shot have been caught swimming/drifting the drop shot.

I started off letting it drop straight down, and twitching/jigging it very slightly.

I began experimenting with casting and retrieving and drifting the drop shot, and my catch went up dramatically.

I would think that if you were over a school of fish, and maintained your position, the standard drop shot method would produce great numbers. But I have never found such gatherings in the places I fish.

So, I developed, what works for me, a method of "swimming" the drop shot. It is particularly effective on grassy or weedy bottoms. I set the distance between the sinker and hook according to the height of the vegetation.

I want to snag the vegetation occassionally, but not constantly. The trick seems to be to keep the bait in the water column at the height of the plants.

I use 6 pound fluoro with twenty pound fluoro leader and a swivel. Primarily because of pickerel.

I like the stretch of the fluoro. It reduces the input of twitching the rod to the bait.

I let the weight of the rod do the work.  I hold the rod loosely, and give it a slight horizontal flick to get it moving.  Then I allow the rod to move on its own, flex and spring back in my hand.

The stretch of the line and the flex of the rod causes the bait to move/flutter/twitch very little, but it's enough.

I'll twitch the rod perhaps 12 times to gain a couple of feet.  Reel in the slack, and begin again. 

On windy days the drift is fast enough across shoal areas surrounded by deeper water, or anywhere fish tend to hold.

I've also, forgive me, tried trolling the drop shot when I'm in a lazy mood, using the same method of retrieval.  It works very well too.

[roch1]

This may be a stupid question but what dictates using a drop shot over a carolina rig?

[Catt]

Working it back horizontally is all I ever knew & I find it very effective pitching to bald spots in grass flats.

[SDoolittle]

I like to dead stick a drop shot in shallow water. I just let my bait settle to the bottom and then give it an occasional twitch or hop. The drop shot weight ensures that the bait keeps falling to the same spot. If I don't get a bite, I'll slowly drag it (like a Carolina rig) a few feet and start over. I'll repeat this all the way  back to the boat. Most of my bites are subtle and occur while the bait is sitting on the bottom.

[Crestliner2008]

I have no doubt that tossing the drop shot will work. I've done it myself on many occasions when shore bound. Very effective presentation regardless of where or how you use it.

That being said, I don't see the advantage of using the drop shot as a drift or cast presentation from a boat (being mobile); only because there are just as many other ways of drifting & casting that are as effective and sometimes even more so. Take for example a simple jig & plastic combo, crankbait, jerkbait, etc..

However if you want to maintain a specific distance above the bottom, the DS certain does that well enough. I still believe that the most effective presentation is still using it vertically - unless I'm fishing shallow (<10'). JMO. 

[SDoolittle]

That being said, I don't see the advantage of using the drop shot as a drift or cast presentation from a boat (being mobile); only because there are just as many other ways of drifting & casting that are as effective and sometimes even more so. Take for example a simple jig & plastic combo, crankbait, jerkbait, etc..

I think that a lot of times it is effective simply because you're showing the fish something different.

[Skinnyh2ofishin]

That being said, I don't see the advantage of using the drop shot as a drift or cast presentation from a boat (being mobile); only because there are just as many other ways of drifting & casting that are as effective and sometimes even more so. Take for example a simple jig & plastic combo, crankbait, jerkbait, etc..

I think that a lot of times it is effective simply because you're showing the fish something different.

I agree with Bird dog, the fact that the presentation is different is what makes it more effective at times than other, more commonly used, presentations. 

I've been having great success casting DS rigs from my kayak.  Even though most of the areas I fish are very weedy (hydrilla, milfoil, coontail, etc.) I find the DS very effective because of the ability to raise and drop a lure without moving it very far or at all. 

I'll use a DS rig in almost all the same ways I would fish a T-rig or C-rig.  You can even bulk up the gear for a "power shotting" presentation, as they call it, and use the DS rig in heavy cover.  It's an excellent alternative to pitching jigs and worms around tree stumps, again because of the ability to give the bait plenty of action without it leaving the area.  With a little experimentation the DS rig has added itself to many of my softplastic presentations.  I even use it for inshore saltwater fishing with the same results, and that's in water mostly three feet deep or less.

[Paul Roberts]

http://www.richz.com/fishing/blog/?page_id=552

[Crestliner2008]

http://www.richz.com/fishing/blog/?page_id=552

That is indeed the most in-depth article to be had on the subject. I've read it several time in the past. Thanks for posting it! Very value-added. 

[J Francho]

Anytime you want to keep a plastic bait in one spot, while adding some action, the drop shot rig is the way to go.  Try a long drop line, heavier than usual weight, like 3/8 oz, and cast so the sinker lands beyond a bedding bass.  let the bait fall on slack line.  As things "cool down" slowly lift the line, and gently wiggle the bait in the nesting bass's face.

Works like a charm:

[bear7625]

The drop shot rig is just a new variation of an old technique. The way it's fished can also be varied to match different situations. Fishermen who try different things, usually catch more fish.

[stealthcaster]

I have only used a drop shot a handful of times and I really like it, especially on windy days.  I like to Keep the worm 18-24 inches from the weight, just over the vegetation on the bottom.  I'll lightly jig the worm a few times taking care not to move the sinker, then give it a harder jig/pull after a while to move the sinker and start over.

[wagn]

I was using a drop shot today to bed fish for smallies in 5-7 feet of water.

I'd just cast it into the bed and shake it until it got bit.

I've only just using the drop shot on a consistently this year....but I really like it 

[Aluma-Bass]

i like to flip it

[andamtoft]

anybody out there that does the majority of their shotting on casting gear?

[Hammer 4]

Dropshotting is a staple for the high pressured city lakes here in so. cali..

[Hook Set]

Five bass limit,

I also fish Smith Mtn a lot. Drop shotting is probably my most used technique there. All that clear water and high pressure from fishing and boat activity. I can often fish the back of the boat with my partner throwing cranks or something else and clean up.

Especially around all those docks up there.

I like to start with the first dock post and work my back.

[MSPbass]

I like to start with the first dock post and work my back.

Interesting. When fishing docks with a drop shot, do they get bit on the initial fall or after the weight hits bottom and you shake it around a bit?

Also, anyone use the SWL Recoil Rig?

[brushhoggin]

This may be a stupid question but what dictates using a drop shot over a carolina rig?

not stupid. from my experience a carolina rig helps you cover a wide surface area better, more of a locator rig. apparently that's all down the toilet now though cause these guys are talkin about fishin a DS horizontally, which is great, i'm just used to droppin it down and fishin it within the close vicinity of the boat. also a drop shot suspends your lure off the bottom and above grass for example like Rhino mentioned, closer to the bass's field of vision. a worm gets better action suspended off the bottom, the bottom stops it from moving as much

[rubba bubba]

anybody out there that does the majority of their shotting on casting gear?

I only have dropshotted with my casting gear.

Also, I prefer to fish the drop-shot horizontally, per the OP's original question.