Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

I just cant figure this one out.I think half my problem is confidence in it.I have only had marginal result's but I must be fishing wrong to.

The other day at the lake I talked to some guy's and they were doing better than me.So I asked what are you doing and they said Drop Shoting.So I started useing it and nothing.As I watched them fish down the bank I watched them catch a few more and they were casting it

Ok I have allway's just dropped it straight down it twitched it just off the bottom dropping it back down now and then to keep contact with the bottom.

How about a little help guy's,thank's

You can drop shot anywhere you'd throw anything else basically. I always cast out just about to shore and work my way back to the boat. Always keeping slack in the line....That's the key. If you have a tight line and your shaking it all the time, just sending vibrations down, which probably scare the fish away. I've pulled some nice fish dropping under docks as well. Depending on what the bottom consists of, I normally set it up with 12" distance or so between the hook and the weight. Try working more areas because it is a very productive technique once you figure it out.....Good luck!

I hate drop-shotting by the way.......

PM Sent.

Also sometimes the best way to work it is to NOT work it at all! Ive had good bites at DV where i just cast up into cover, let it sit for a few then watch the line start to move and its game on. Personally, i dont shake the rod frantically but ive seen it done, i save my wrists.

Dropping straight down works great for suspended fish. But it works fairly well as a search bait too, just like the previous post said; cast to the bank and reel it in.

Thank's Dan and John very helpful

i cast my dropshot about 90% of the time. fish it anywhere you would fish any other type of soft plastic.

george

I agree; you can drop shot almost anywhere you'd use some other technique. When the water is flat I think - DROPSHOT! - among other finesse techniques

Most beginners keep not enough slack in the line. Try this. Rig 2 spinning outfits - a 6 ft rod and a 7 ft. rod with dropshot set-ups. Into the water let your line form a 90 degree angle off the rod tip; then slack should be about right. Practice with both rods .

I agree also the minimalist approach to working the bait is a good starting point. Just dead stick it. The current and boat motion is working it. Then feel yourself picking up the weight and moving it. Let it sit again. Like flipping, if you are not bit in a minute or so, then time to move on.... Unless you are in very thick cover. (General rule.}

Good advice to keep the leader to the weight short at first - 12 inches or so as a median length. You will miss fewer bites...Practice in some shallow water to see what rod and reel action does...That action you impart will be dampened at depth. Shallow water observation will also show you the angle the plastic is laying at as you pull it down the break lines

At Mead I am almost always pitching - maybe up to 35 ft. In the beginning always throw in front of the boat and drive up to the line. My girlfriend drags her dropshot behind the boat sometimes - even when I tell her not to...You be surprised... she picks some nice fish doing that. Also she gets hung if she doesn't pay attention to the graph. When you are not casting to visible targets it is always about the sonar. KISS!

She caught the biggest bass that's been in the Skeeter on Mead while I was telling her how she was fishing the dropshot wrong...so just have a little confidence and keep practicing.

The more nasty the structure or cover the closer I fish to vertical. If your lake has weedbeds throw right into them and consider using a upsized weight - i.e. 1/2 oz instead or 3/8 or 1/4 oz. I fish 1/4 oz. to 30 ft - mostly shallow to 20 ft. The drop speed on any given day is something you will want to experiment with by changing weights. Don't worry about the splash.

On open banks with break lines consider casting shallow or even onshore - more fish than you might suspect are shallow now... and pulling the drop shot down the breakline like you might fish a jig.

There is a lot of info on the internet on how to do this. Bassdozer site comes to mind...Right here on Western Bass, Cooch has some great articles and videos...

That right there is a pretty good one also - nice job!

Roger

someone told me dont have any slack at all, and proceeded to school me.

Alton Jones says no slack as well. Just a few shakes here and there.

Work your Dropshot like a ripbait, then hold on

I agree I don't put much slack in the line. I have a better feel with my bait is on a little tighter line.

I believe on slack line you miss a lot of bites. I cast my drop shot 98% of the time.

DROP SHOT DOESNT WORK

Tell the 13-7 I caught on a #4 G-lock with a 4 inch Robo sculpin at the Delta that drop shot doesn't work... I "go to" the drop shot whenever the bite is tuff because it can be fished so many ways... even can swim it.

I found the best way is to get a nice DS rod and twitch the end of the rod. And surely don't forget about using your trolling motor graph to actually watch you line and the structure you are fishing. I was fishing this tourney and I was casting the DS and not doing so well why this other guy was near catching 'em. The I figured out he was using that graph up front to monitor.

Yah, always keep a tight line. Most of the time you will just feel pressure on the line, when you have a fish on, and thats it.

Also love to use Seaguar Floro in 8lb, really strong, invisible and has a great feel.