Fun With Finesse - Drop Shot Basics

I've been catching a lot of bass on short trips through the week this past month while playing around with some finesse setups. In particular, I've been doing a lot of dropshotting. One of the common questions you'll find on forums is whether you can dropshot shallow or from the bank, and I'm here to tell you the answer is definitely yes to both.

The dropshot rig is another of those rigs that many people haven't tried, or at least probably haven't given a fair shake (no pun intended). Part of that may stem from its perception as a deep water technique, and the other from all the talk of specialized or high dollar setups. Let's dispell both of those perceptions immediately.

On the setup end of things, if you've never tried dropshotting, here are the basics. A 6'6" spinning rod, give or take half a foot in a L, ML or M action. Fast and extra-fast tapers are frequently recommended and work well, but so do more moderate actions, so don't fret over the details to start. Combine this with a spinning reel housed with 6#-8# line, fluoro or mono, and you've got the rod/reel combo down.

On the bait side of things, the one specialized component I'd argue for is a package of good dropshot hooks. Gammi splitshot/dropshot, Owner SSW's or mosquitos in a size #2 or #1 will work great. Cost is around $5 for a package, and that is the extent of initial specialization you'll need to test out this style of fishing in the beginning. Tie the hook on using a Palomar knot with the line threaded through the eye going toward the hook point, not from the back side. Leave a generous tag end so you have 12"-14" left over to attach your weight to. before adding the weight, take the end of the tag line and thread it back through the front hook eye again and then tighten. 

Any 4-5" straight tail worm will work fine. If all you've got is 6" or larger worms just bite off the head until you have the right size - the fish could care less. And don't worry about the fancy snap-on sinkers yet, either. Clamp a #2 split shot on the end of the line, or tie on an 1/8-oz. or slightly heavier worm weight and you'll be fine. Again, if you fall in love with the technique you can specialize all you want, but you'll catch plenty of fish taking short cuts in the beginning without sacrificing much, especially on most Indiana waters.

Now, where to fish this bait? Around any shallow cover that has a vertical component to it. Look for ski lifts, boat dock posts, weed walls, next to pontoon boats, the end of docks, stumps, even off points. It is not a cover water technique, so you want to be pitching to something fairly specific. Let the bait go to the bottom, tighten the line slightly and then shake on a semi-taut line. Play with the amount of shaking and slack, and don't feel relegated to keeping the bait in a single spot. With lighter weights you can easily swim the bait a few feet at a time with intermittant pauses and shakes. It all works and the fish will give you the specifics for the day.

When you feel a bite of more often just see the line moving off, take you time and slowly tighten the line to make sure the fish actually has the bait. Don't worry about a fish dropping the bait, it rarely happens. As the line draws tight just pull into the fish slightly and keep tension on the line. No real hookset is involved. I personally prefer a "light-weight" reel set myself, but the key is to remember to just not "pop" the fish like you would with a standard jig or worm setup. You don't want to break the light line, and the small hooks don't require much force to penetrate. Again, bring a pair of longnose pliers with you as you'll need them to remove the hooks many times.

One thing I have found especially interesting is seeing just how many bass I can catch in a single small area using this technique. As bass anglers, particularly those of us with boats and who fish tourneys, we often get in this cover water, run-and-gun mind set. Dropshotting will really open your eyes to how many fish are really holding in a tiny area that we so frequently blow through after catching a single bass. A few good days with this technique and you'll be thinking twice about how many fish you are actually passing by as you cruise down the shoreline. 

Comments

[Dustin Kelso]

I won my first tournament with this rig. It was at Lake Freeman up in the creek. I was fishing 4 foot of water. My boater pre-fished the day before and caught them on redshad senkos. Since he pre-fished at it was almost 100 degrees out, I downsided. I tied on a T-rigged purple worm and a drop shot with a 4in purple worm. I caught a couple of small ones on the t-rig, but started throwing the drop shot. When we finally got to his spot, I caught 2 10 inch dinks, one at 14 inch and another at 16 inches. I also lost a bigger smallmouth at the boat. That's 5 fish in a 10 yard stretch/bend. My boater didn't catch a single bass. I ended up catching about 10 that day with my 2 close to 4lbs. I won the tournament and Big Bass for the day.

[Pup]

Not long ago, I read a post on a TN fishing board suggesting the use of a bullet weight pegged by a toothpick at the terminal end of the Drop Shot rig's line. I like this suggestion, as long as the weight doesn't slip off too easily. This method seems useful for sinker attachment and snagged lure(s) retrieval without much finagling or struggle.

[Big Indiana Bass]

Pup,

My favorite method at the moment is to use a cylindrical "mojo" weight and a rubber T-stop to peg the weight to the end of the tag line. Works well most of the time and the mojo weight comes through cover well. I'm starting to play with some of the fancy clip weights, but even a large split shot has it's moments. Again, it all comes down to how technical and specialized you want to get with the technique.