Drop-shotting: Two techniques, one outcome (SUCCESS)
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:08 pm
Every angler knows about drop-shotting by now. If not, you might have been living as a castaway on an island in the South Pacific for the last several years, as this technique has come to North America from Japan and really taken the Fishing Industry by storm. A small hook, a finesse-type plastic and big bass are on the way, right?
Sure, but why limit yourself. The reality is that drop-shotting is a very versatile presentation and when you start to get creative, the fun really starts. There are two basic approaches to drop-shotting that I have made a major part of my fish-catching arsenal this summer, and both produce big numbers, as well as big fish. Since I have made it my mission to greatly enhance my drop-shotting technique this season, I have broken my drop-shotting into two categories: Finesse and Heavy-Shotting.
As the Summer turns to Fall, heavy-shotting is a great way to present big worms or creature baits and can be more productive than straight Texas-Rigging, for those who like this technique. I am a huge fan of t-rigging, having grown up in the Kawartha’s (specifically my home lake, Pigeon Lake, where it was an absolute necessity.)
However, T-rigging can hurt anglers in a few different ways. Beginners may fish the rig too slow, or too fast. Also, a T-Rig also puts the bait right on the bottom but there are times you may want your bait presented a little higher up in the water column to attract more strikes from greedy Bass who are putting on the feedbag. Then there are the little things, like should you peg your weight or leave it free to fall? Add it all up and beginner anglers should probably learn the ins and outs of drop-shotting to make the most of their limited time on the water.
So, because I am using both finesse and heavy-shotting options with regularity now and most importantly, catching porker Fish on these techniques, I wanted to share what I have learned with you this summer, starting with gear and moving on through each method:
1. Finesse; in which I use a standard drop shot rig (10 pound braid mainline with a 4-6 foot section of 8 or 10 pound flouro leader,) a 1/0 drop shot hook, nose hooking small plastics like Berkley Gulp minnows, X-Zone Slammers and smaller finesse worms like the RoboWorm, and anywhere from 3/16 oz. weights up to 3/8 oz, I do prefer tungsten because I feel a better connection to the bottom.) The line will be anywhere from 10 to 18 inches between the hook and the drop shot weight.
2. Heavy-Shotting; I still stick with 10 pound test braided main line (strictly use PowerPro, just personal preference) and I will beef up the Fluoro leader to 12 pound or even up to 14 pound test. I prefer to use 12 pound Seaguar leader material which is softer and stronger than your regular fluorocarbon lines, but I also have had success with 14 pound Sunline Sniper....even going down to 12 pound Sniper (which is still way thicker than the 12 pound Seaguar leader material fluoro -something to think about as the diameter of your line will absolutely impact what that bait is doing on the end of your drop shot rig.) When heavy-shotting, I will place the weight anywhere from 6 inches to 18 inches below the hook. I let the Fish tell me where it should be.
The main component of Heavy-shotting involves tying on an actual hook you would use when t-rig worm fishing (I like the 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hooks, can go up to 4/0 but I don't like to go bigger than this.) I also like to use 1/2 oz. tungsten weights. For the bait I like to use full size stick worms, and essentially you just rig them T-Rig style but on the drop shot set-up.
My personal favorite this summer, due to the immense success I have had with it, is the X Zone X-Stick, in various colour schemes (I like some choice when I'm fishing and having variety helps with matching the forage in whatever body of water you are in.)
The heavy-shotting tactic has been excellent for getting into some hard to reach spots for Largemouth Bass (when you are in heavy cover but need the bait off the bottom) yet I also have pulled many big Smallmouths off of rock humps across numerous lakes in eastern Ontario this summer. When I am hunting Smallies with the heavy-shot, it isn't about protecting my rig around cover, rather I use it in this scenario it because you can present larger baits (like a 5-inch stick worm, like the XZone x-stick) on the drop shot to induce bigger bites, and whereas if you simply were to nose-hook these baits on the drop shot hook, you may get some limp loose action, but I really feel that the bait performs better when T-rigged drop shot style on the larger hook because it gives the bait a very horizontal presentation without compromising the free movement you need to get from a drop-shot bait.
However, there are times when you may need to clip 1/2 to a full inch off a 5-inch worm when using them for this technique, you may notice you get more hits on the smaller profile. Let the fish tell you what they want here. My main love affair for this presentation for smallies is that I really feel you can mimic a dying minnow 20-30 feet down on a rock hump a lot better with a t-rigged drop-shot set up the way I explained it, and the results have been there for me this summer across all of Ontario.
It can also be very good on lakes where there is a lot of cut weed in the water that can occasionally foul up your rig.... this tends to happens on lakes with a lot of boat traffic plus heavy weed growth... or if you are fishing just about anywhere in the Kawartha's where the lakes are ridiculously weedy.
I know lots of pros have been doing versions of this for years now, some call it "power-shotting", throwing the heavier rig on a bait caster. A lot of these guys would use heavier weights too, like ¾ up to a full ounce. Not me, I stick around ½ ounce for all heavy-shotting applications due to personal preference. I still use a spinning outfit for all my drop-shotting, whether it be finesse or heavy-shotting....
Next week I am off to my personal Fishing Paradise east of Georgian Bay, and upon my return I have another tournament so I look forward to updating you on my angling exploits in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, remember we are coming into the best Bass fishing of the entire season - the Fall! Get those football jigs and Top Waters ready for some Big Piggy action and tight lines to everyone.
Sure, but why limit yourself. The reality is that drop-shotting is a very versatile presentation and when you start to get creative, the fun really starts. There are two basic approaches to drop-shotting that I have made a major part of my fish-catching arsenal this summer, and both produce big numbers, as well as big fish. Since I have made it my mission to greatly enhance my drop-shotting technique this season, I have broken my drop-shotting into two categories: Finesse and Heavy-Shotting.
As the Summer turns to Fall, heavy-shotting is a great way to present big worms or creature baits and can be more productive than straight Texas-Rigging, for those who like this technique. I am a huge fan of t-rigging, having grown up in the Kawartha’s (specifically my home lake, Pigeon Lake, where it was an absolute necessity.)
However, T-rigging can hurt anglers in a few different ways. Beginners may fish the rig too slow, or too fast. Also, a T-Rig also puts the bait right on the bottom but there are times you may want your bait presented a little higher up in the water column to attract more strikes from greedy Bass who are putting on the feedbag. Then there are the little things, like should you peg your weight or leave it free to fall? Add it all up and beginner anglers should probably learn the ins and outs of drop-shotting to make the most of their limited time on the water.
So, because I am using both finesse and heavy-shotting options with regularity now and most importantly, catching porker Fish on these techniques, I wanted to share what I have learned with you this summer, starting with gear and moving on through each method:
1. Finesse; in which I use a standard drop shot rig (10 pound braid mainline with a 4-6 foot section of 8 or 10 pound flouro leader,) a 1/0 drop shot hook, nose hooking small plastics like Berkley Gulp minnows, X-Zone Slammers and smaller finesse worms like the RoboWorm, and anywhere from 3/16 oz. weights up to 3/8 oz, I do prefer tungsten because I feel a better connection to the bottom.) The line will be anywhere from 10 to 18 inches between the hook and the drop shot weight.
2. Heavy-Shotting; I still stick with 10 pound test braided main line (strictly use PowerPro, just personal preference) and I will beef up the Fluoro leader to 12 pound or even up to 14 pound test. I prefer to use 12 pound Seaguar leader material which is softer and stronger than your regular fluorocarbon lines, but I also have had success with 14 pound Sunline Sniper....even going down to 12 pound Sniper (which is still way thicker than the 12 pound Seaguar leader material fluoro -something to think about as the diameter of your line will absolutely impact what that bait is doing on the end of your drop shot rig.) When heavy-shotting, I will place the weight anywhere from 6 inches to 18 inches below the hook. I let the Fish tell me where it should be.
The main component of Heavy-shotting involves tying on an actual hook you would use when t-rig worm fishing (I like the 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hooks, can go up to 4/0 but I don't like to go bigger than this.) I also like to use 1/2 oz. tungsten weights. For the bait I like to use full size stick worms, and essentially you just rig them T-Rig style but on the drop shot set-up.
My personal favorite this summer, due to the immense success I have had with it, is the X Zone X-Stick, in various colour schemes (I like some choice when I'm fishing and having variety helps with matching the forage in whatever body of water you are in.)
The heavy-shotting tactic has been excellent for getting into some hard to reach spots for Largemouth Bass (when you are in heavy cover but need the bait off the bottom) yet I also have pulled many big Smallmouths off of rock humps across numerous lakes in eastern Ontario this summer. When I am hunting Smallies with the heavy-shot, it isn't about protecting my rig around cover, rather I use it in this scenario it because you can present larger baits (like a 5-inch stick worm, like the XZone x-stick) on the drop shot to induce bigger bites, and whereas if you simply were to nose-hook these baits on the drop shot hook, you may get some limp loose action, but I really feel that the bait performs better when T-rigged drop shot style on the larger hook because it gives the bait a very horizontal presentation without compromising the free movement you need to get from a drop-shot bait.
However, there are times when you may need to clip 1/2 to a full inch off a 5-inch worm when using them for this technique, you may notice you get more hits on the smaller profile. Let the fish tell you what they want here. My main love affair for this presentation for smallies is that I really feel you can mimic a dying minnow 20-30 feet down on a rock hump a lot better with a t-rigged drop-shot set up the way I explained it, and the results have been there for me this summer across all of Ontario.
It can also be very good on lakes where there is a lot of cut weed in the water that can occasionally foul up your rig.... this tends to happens on lakes with a lot of boat traffic plus heavy weed growth... or if you are fishing just about anywhere in the Kawartha's where the lakes are ridiculously weedy.
I know lots of pros have been doing versions of this for years now, some call it "power-shotting", throwing the heavier rig on a bait caster. A lot of these guys would use heavier weights too, like ¾ up to a full ounce. Not me, I stick around ½ ounce for all heavy-shotting applications due to personal preference. I still use a spinning outfit for all my drop-shotting, whether it be finesse or heavy-shotting....
Next week I am off to my personal Fishing Paradise east of Georgian Bay, and upon my return I have another tournament so I look forward to updating you on my angling exploits in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, remember we are coming into the best Bass fishing of the entire season - the Fall! Get those football jigs and Top Waters ready for some Big Piggy action and tight lines to everyone.