• Help Support TNDeer:

Drop shotting?

RUGER

RUGER

Well-Known Member
TNDeer Supporter
2-Step Enabled
Joined
Nov 19, 1999
Messages
4,145,978
Location
TN
Ok so I hear the pros talk about drop shot all the time.
The way I understand it they find fish on their electronics and then you just drop it down there and jig it up and down till they finally decide to bite it?
Pretty much just straight down jigging?
Is that right?
 
You can do it that way for sure. I like to cast mine though. And have had great success in it. Cast it toward docks or the best, in my opinion, are deeper banks. (8-20 feet) Cast it to the bank and work it back in a Texas rig worm.
 
Hitit9999":3nspxrwu said:
You can do it that way for sure. I like to cast mine though. And have had great success in it. Cast it toward docks or the best, in my opinion, are deeper banks. (8-20 feet) Cast it to the bank and work it back in a Texas rig worm.
Click to expand...

This. In deeper water where you can see them on 2d/down imagining you can set on top of them to catch them. Or other areas you can cast and any type of slow retrieve that the fish like. You can convince stubborn fish to bite with a drop shot.
 
Been watching a lot of videos on it this morning.
I think I would really like that style of fishing. I am a lot slower paced bass fishing than most people like.

So why always on a spinning reel? Just easier to let it fall and take off line?
From what I gather it's always on lighter tackle too?
 
RUGER":rwgpyyra said:
Been watching a lot of videos on it this morning.
So why always on a spinning reel? Just easier to let it fall and take off line?
From what I gather it's always on lighter tackle too?
Click to expand...

Generally speaking you want the lightest weight possible that still allows the weight to stay on the bottom. Baitcasters don't often work well with really light weights.

When you see pros use a drop shot, they've often fishing structure in water that is deep and clear. Light line allows a lighter weight to get it down to the bottom. So - light line and light weight make a spinning reel ideal.

You can drop shot around heavier cover - and a baitcaster would work fine for that as long as you're using a weight heavy enough for the rod.

Like others have mentioned - I prefer to cast mine rather than drop it straight down. The lakes I fish don't typically have the sort of deep/clear water you see pros fishing.
 
the water doesnt have to be real deep or clear. its been effective on KY lake secondary and main lake ledges if they arent hitting jerk baits, swim baits, etc. in post spawn, summer and winter patterns. it works on lethargic suspended fish as well.

light line or braid with a flouro leader gives it more twitching action than heavier lines. you just cant hoss them to the boat. you have to be patient.
 
RUGER":1iouar0u said:
I can't believe those little hooks work so well with bass either.
Click to expand...

No kidding. I was really skeptical when someone first introduced me to it.

While we're on the subject - what are some yall's favorite lures for drop shotting? I typically use roboworms.
 
TNReb":2p1ylvu3 said:
RUGER":2p1ylvu3 said:
I can't believe those little hooks work so well with bass either.
Click to expand...

No kidding. I was really skeptical when someone first introduced me to it.

While we're on the subject - what are some yall's favorite lures for drop shotting? I typically use roboworms.
Click to expand...

lol, ive caught 4 and 5 lb lmb on 1/32oz beetle spins with a #8 hook jig head.

on ky lake most of the trick worms work, ned worms, etc. light colors on light days and dark colors on dark days. i rig mine a little different, hooked an inch or so from the nose and hook down. i think it gives it a little more action without shaking the rod tip too much.

i even use it for bluegill. 6" worm cut in half with a hook threaded in the end. if you are fishing with a bass worm and the end keeps getting nibbled off then most likely its a bull bluegill.
 
I fish a drop shot a lot on the ledges when they they won't hardly bite anything else or late summer after they have had their heads beat in for 2 or 3 months and they are real finicky. I usually just drag it and maybe shake it a little. I throw mine on a baitcaster with 10lb test, the only worms I throw are either a roboworm or a strike king dream shot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
With you being a panfish guy, I'm surprised you didn't know about this technique already. Crappie anglers used it decades before the bass guys ever made it known as "drop shot rigging". In the crappie world, we always called it the "bottom bumping rig" but it was actually made popular and named the Kentucky Lake rig. Before depth finders and sonar, it was what people used to find cover and drop offs. You put a heavier weight on the end of your line to maintain a tight line and to make contact with bottom. Then you put one or two hooks starting at about 18 inches above that. We use minnows or soft plastics that way for years. The heavy sinker let you tell what kind of bottom was there and if you were hitting any wood cover. In some of the earliest published crappie books, this is described as the "bread and butter" technique of many anglers.

Then along come the bass guys doing the same basic thing, but instead of using the sinker as their eyes under water, they use it in conjunction with sonar. And call it a drop shot rig.

Btw...it's not as popular today as pulling crankbaits or spider rigging, but it still catches crappie and lots of em.
 
Crow Terminator":15s9joa1 said:
With you being a panfish guy, I'm surprised you didn't know about this technique already. Crappie anglers used it decades before the bass guys ever made it known as "drop shot rigging". In the crappie world, we always called it the "bottom bumping rig" but it was actually made popular and named the Kentucky Lake rig. Before depth finders and sonar, it was what people used to find cover and drop offs. You put a heavier weight on the end of your line to maintain a tight line and to make contact with bottom. Then you put one or two hooks starting at about 18 inches above that. We use minnows or soft plastics that way for years. The heavy sinker let you tell what kind of bottom was there and if you were hitting any wood cover. In some of the earliest published crappie books, this is described as the "bread and butter" technique of many anglers.

Then along come the bass guys doing the same basic thing, but instead of using the sinker as their eyes under water, they use it in conjunction with sonar. And call it a drop shot rig.

Btw...it's not as popular today as pulling crankbaits or spider rigging, but it still catches crappie and lots of em.
Click to expand...

the capps and coleman rig is basically the same for spider rigging. the kentucky rig is all my grand dad used for drifting blue cats. the japanese pretty much perfected the drop shot we use today as well as light line and micro jigs.
 
TNReb":2q1akhr1 said:
RUGER":2q1akhr1 said:
I can't believe those little hooks work so well with bass either.
Click to expand...

No kidding. I was really skeptical when someone first introduced me to it.

While we're on the subject - what are some yall's favorite lures for drop shotting? I typically use roboworms.
Click to expand...

I use a roboworm but my favorite would be a fluke or keitech. With the keitech you can work it faster/swim it.
 
Saw one video on YouTube of a guy using a whacky worm on it.
I like that idea lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Latest posts

Back
Top