Aaron Martens (the GOAT of drop-shotting) has won tons of tournaments on this technique. And, not all undulating drop shot baits are worms. Starting with the hardware, Hackney likes a 3/0 to 5/0 Owner Jungle Flipping Hook.The keeper helps keep his larger bait straight and in the perfectly horizontal position necessary for clean hook sets. Enigma has you covered with this also. A dream shot in Green pumpkin is an excellent choice all year for the drop shot. One of them was over Five Pounds. With longer baits, the long shank acts like a wand and can make the bait move very enticingly. Bite off some of your worm or use the same color but something smaller and try again. I love this enigma reel because it is a great reel and a great price. No surprise, the bulked-up drop shot's assignments typically require stouter tackle. Do not swing the fish on a drop shot either. Great for finesse, this fishing setup presents a natural look for interested bass. Again my two favorite colors for the Streak 3.75" are the Smokey Shad and Redbone. There are two main reasons why I feel this rig works so well. "The fish don't have to follow the bait down to the bottom like they do a drop shot," Palaniuk said. So if you hook up and and get stuck and the fish is still on then Free spool your line. We will talk about the hook set later in this article. The rig itself is set up like this. The baits used for dropshotting are as varied as our imagination can make them, but most anglers choose a 3-5 inch straight tail or curl tail worm or one of the new dropshot minnows. - YouTube When the fish are keyed in on baitfish this is an excellent option. For example, Missile Baits’ 3-inch Drop Craw features … My favorite color’s for this bait are green pumpkin, chartreuse blue glimmer back, and KVD magic. Alright here is the moment you have all been waiting for!! Simply shake it with a shivering motion. If you do not know how to tie a Palomar knot watch this VIDEO. Ones that I use in this category include a 4-inch Roboworm, Zoom Meatheads, and XPS drop-shot worms. I feel I get a little bit more hook in the fish if I do a slight yank. Sometimes you will not even feel the bite you will just see your whitebait moving or disappear and you will know to set the hook. In the Winter the fish may get in some deep timber in the ditches (especially spotted bass). When working a drop shot you want to work it very slowly. Youâre Welcome!!! The selection of plastic baits for drop-shotting is endless. When you feel that weight you want to lightly and delicately set the hook. Here is Kevin Van Dam explaining how he ties his dropshot using a Palomar knot. A lot of anglers do not even yank they just start reeling. In the summer you can use the drop shot and fish a vertical presentation over the brush piles. Mastering the art of drop shot fishing is a very important skill that you should develop if you want to be a better angler. I will use the same drop shot presentation with this bait but I go to a smaller # 2 octopus hook. This is something that you should always have tied on no matter what time of the year it is. These hooks are usually going to be skin hooked right at the top of the fish’s mouth. All you have to do with these weights is take your tag end and slide them in until it pinches tight. Instead of a shaking motion, try a slow and steady drag with a drop shotted swimbait like the Castaic Super Jerky J, which keeps it close to the bottom at all times. Check it out right Here. When those fish wonât commit to those types of offerings you may want to whip out the dreaded drop shot and go to work. This worm comes in two sizes – a 4- and a 5-inch. So instead of pulling super hard, we want to reel in our slack until we make contact with the fish and do a very slight yank. A drop shot is a great way to stay weedless and catch bass. Largemouth bass, Spotted Bass, and smallmouth bass cannot resist a drop shot in their bed. We reel in the slack and we pull as hard as we can and rip lips, right???!!! I personally caught a ton of smallmouth in Lake St. Clair this year on this bait. "You can just put the Damiki rig right in front of the fish's face. This Dream Shot is a fatter worm than most other straight-tail worms and features a narrow, tapering tail that’s flat on the end. DOWNSIZE!! Make sure to Follow us on Instagram, Like us on Facebook, and go to our website and get our FREE PDF on Ten Tips for Catching Bass when Fishing is Tough!! If you let any slack in the line at all you will lose the fish 9 times out of 10. There are a wide variety of soft plastic baits that will work with the drop shot. DROP SHOT BAIT TEST! When the time comes you are ready to dropshot. A lot of times the bass will bite the bait on the pause. This happens often when you are fishing in the thick stuff. Do not move it around like you would a texas rig worm. Once you have your drop shot tied up, it's time to select a bait. But if you try to do that with a drop shot, especially in cold, clear water situations, the fish will actually key in on the weight. Begin by tying a Palomar Knot with a long tag end. So when you are using light line and small light wire hooks you have to use finesse. Since a drop-shot suspends instead of hitting the bottom, it’s harder for a fish to locate in dingy water. Simply pitch the drop shot past the bed about 2-3 feet and let it sink and work it in the bed. Four or six pound test mono or fluorocarbon (I'm currently torn between Maxima Fluorocarbon and Seguar Invisix as to which is the best 6 pound test fluoro for drop shot fishing. Double 12 to 30 inches of line (depending on how high you want the bait off the bottom) and pass end of loop through eye of hook. The drop-shot is unique because, with it, you can move your bait without moving the weight. If you are fishing for largemouth the fishing may be a little tough but again this is a great way to get those stubborn fish to eat. Many anglers think of swimbaits as a cast and wind bait, but they are also dynamite on a drop shot. The KVD Drop Shot Half Shell is another great drop shot bait made by Berkley. Brent Ehrler was able to design his own rods specifically for his styles of fishing with a drop-shot rig. I like to use braided fishing line with a fluorocarbon leader tied with a double uni knot. This is best after you have cast your jigs, swimbaits, spoons, big worms and crankbaits. If you feel your line with your hand and feel that it is compromised at all then retie. If you do not know how to tie that knot check out this VIDEO. Cast the big presentations first and use the drop shot last to get those fish that didnât commit. I like my weight to be about six inches below the hook. A lot of times these are some of the bigger bass. The drop shot technique involves using a special kind of knot to attach the hook so that it sits horizontally in the water column. Alright guys and gals there you have it. We call this âVideo Game Fishingâ because it is like playing a video game. One of them was over Five Pounds. Believe it or not, a drop shot is something that you can use year-round and catch fish. Unlike traditional lure and plug fishing, where a plastic or rubber bait is attached to the end of a wire trace before being cast and retrieved, dropshotting sees the lure being presented very differently. Click here to read a guide about drop shot fishing.We dissect the drop shot technique and the many applications for this presentation. This is a great option for that. However, every time you go to set the hook you come up empty handed. I personally love to use this in the winter time on my home lake of Lake Lanier. Drop shot fishing offers lure anglers a highly effective way of targeting smaller predatory species such as perch, zander and pike. When using a dropshot I like to tie a Palomar knot with an extra-long tag end for the weight. My number-one bait to rig on a drop-shot rig is a straight-tail plastic worm like a Strike King Dream Shot that’s flat on one side. It's a great finesse technique for targeting deep water bass using light rods, reels and line paired with 3" or 4" baits. They do an excellent job of imitating bottom feeding baitfish, and their paddle tail creates a super-enticing action when twitched along the bottom. If your drop shot presentation is a baitfish then spray it with Bang Shad Spray. If you get a fish Stuck in the Brush or Timber. Though most anglers use drop-shots for bass only in deep, clear water, they can be rigged for successful shallow-water fishing. I dont use a very expensive reel for this style of fishing. Well, when we are dropshot fishing that is not going to work. The drop-shot technique can be used anywhere and anytime there is an advantage to putting a bait "off the bottom" and in the face of bass. What should I test out next? (Photo by Dan O’Sullivan) Drop-Shot Pro Tips. When talking about versatile drop shot baits, the Zoom Bait Finesse worm bait is one that fits that description as it can be used in multiple or several fishing applications and one impressive feature of the Zoom Bait Finesse worm bait is its ese style which guarantees effective results especially in situations where fishes don’t bite. The drop-shot flat catches fish, anywhere, and every season." The ElaZtech is so buoyant it stands out on the drop shot rig. Dust shot comes in sizes No.8 down to No.13, I like to use tens and twelve for on the drop. But it is important to ride around the brush pile and look. Let me know down below! Dropshot fishing is a finesse presentation. This means you have found the fish on your electronics. I do not care where you go in the country Morning Dawn (pink) is a summer time favorite for Bass. A lot of time when that line is completely slack the fish will swim themselves out of the brush and you can catch the fish. Again, Youâre Welcome!! If you are fishing for smallmouth the drop shot is amazing year-round. Check your line after every catch. Once there, give the rod-tip periodic nervous shakes, so the sinker stays put, but the bait’s little tail quivers like a defenseless invertebrate, inches above bottom. The key to tricking the finicky smallmouth is not to overwork the bait. That is a sure-fire way to have some heartbreak when you are on the water. Possibly the most subtle pointer was offered by Brandon Palaniuk. Shake and pause is the cadence I use. I love a dropshot for bed fishing. We all know how to set the hook!! Drop Shot Rig Knot Tying Instructions. Natural colors like shades of pumpkinseed, green pumpkin and watermelon normally work best. I would say this is the time of the year where the drop shot will not be needed quite as much. Chickamauga Chunks – How to Research a New Lake. Another great option is to use this for bed fishing (because it is white). A dream shot in Green pumpkin is an excellent choice all year for the drop shot. If you are bed fishing with the drop shot try using a color like white. And if I am on Chickamauga Lake I am going to use a 10-12lb test. You need clear water with good visibility to be able to use one effectively. After trying a few lures with little success. I started to use it on my home lake also and they absolutely love it. Click that subscribe button to see more of my videos!⬇️MORE DOWN BELOW!⬇️Which one is your favorite? Make sure you drop on those fish. Of course, we all want to be able to catch them with topwater, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits but we have to listen to the fish. 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