St.Lawrence River Dropshot setup

[Tweed]

Hi guys,

I am heading out to fish the Larry in the thousand islands area next weekend for the first time and am looking for some dropshot advice.

I currently use a medium-light rod (fenwick hmg - 1/8 to 5/8 lure rating) with 10 pound braid / 8 pound leader.

Should i upgrade the rod to a medium/medium heavy ? I plan on throwing 1/2 ounce dropshots as a starting point but I have never dealt with as much as depth/current as i hear there is on the river.

I also plan on bringing along a lipless crank, Ned rig, and tube from what i have been reading while researching the last bunch of tourneys there.


Many thanks

[toobinator]

Tweed: I would stick with the medium light rod. If I was going to change anything I would suggest to go with straight fluoro rather than braid/fluoro. Point the nose of the boat into the current and have your trolling motor on low so that your bait is nearly under the boat. I usually target anywhere for 20' to 40'

Good luck
Ed

[gatekeeper]

Tweed,it all depends on which section of the "Larry" you're gonna target as to what other baits besides drop-shot in 1/2 oz (my fav.) you use. In the west section(mallorytown) you can find both L/M and S/M. Most of bottom in shallows sandy so your stick baits will work well in pencil weeds.Along islands tubes in 1/8-1/4 work well. Brown(Crawdad) is good choice. In Brockville area current pretty fast so the 1/2 oz drop may have to be upgraded a bit and tubes work well along deeper sides of islands.In Prescott area (my turf) I use drop-shot almost exclusively due to weeds in any area less than 20' deep. Fishing in the 30-40' range near shipping channels good bet for those 5lb'ers Curly tails, minnow imitators,Gobbie like rubbers work really well as was mentioned in other post trolling motor and boat pointed into current to keep d/shot under boat best,even though guys do well casting it and retrieving it back to boat.Huh? Probably 'cause it keeps lure in fish zone!! Oh,ya the lighter the rod the more the fight. I've even used my ultralight rods for more fun. You may lose a few fish,but,isn't the fight what really matters no matter how long it lasts? Tight Lines.

[Tweed]

Thanks to you both for the tips and guidance. This forum is simply awesome. I will definitely heed the advice.

Ed, what pound fluoro would you most recommend ?

[toobinator]

On a spinning reel, no more than 8 lb. I am one of the rare ones that use a baitcaster to drop shot. I am using 12.

[Tweed]

Awesome

Thanks again Ed. I ll come see ya