HELP with bigger smallie lakes

[steelebob]

`1. When drop shotting, what percent of the time are you fishing straight down as opposed to casting out? I just have not had much luck with d/s except on small ponds on a very few occasions. I'm not seeing enough fish on my ff to really give it an honest try for smallies. What is the average depth your fishing the d/s?

2. Besides general chop on the water, what situations have you found that wind, has really set up the smallies, in shallow or mid-lake, that it becomes a pattern?

[NitroVanDam]

Bob, You can drop-shot in any depth. From 2 feet to 80 feet. Just 2 different approaches and styles. Normal depth for the average drop-shotter I would guess to be between 15-40 feet. In that depth you can use both types of fishing. Fan casting and Vertical both can be very very productive. When strictly Vertical fishing I'm usually in between 50 and 70 feet. However when you are out that deep you have to go extremely slow on the trolling motor to be able to fish those specific fish correctly and efficiently. Using the proper weight is also a key. I use 1/2 oz dropshot weight only when I'm deep for 2 reasons. When you see a fish down at 55-60 feet you need a weight to be able to get down there relatively quick and second the 1/2 oz weight holds your bait down tighter on the line and holds your baits Horizontal presentation much better then a lighter weight.

Dropshotting is DEADLY. Don't stop trying, once you master it, it ill be in your hand 75% of the time.. Just to much fun and catches way to many fish NOT to use it. As far as set ups, Wind-Deep Humps-Bait-Deep Drop offs,Patches of deep grass. You get a combo of all of these and you won't leave that spot all day. Do some research on a good Rod, Line, weights. Way to many baits out there that work well. Hope this helps. Been doing it for a 12 years. And it works. When you get comfortable with it and you have some patience, then and only then go out really deep and look for suspended bass. They usually are loners and bigger fish but you have to be patient while fishing them, some are really really finicky.

[A Wood]

Well I will bite on this one. I tend to do better on smallmouth vertical jigging DS in 20+ fow. Shallower then that and I tend to cast. Yes I have caught fish doing this in less water but I think I scare more fish than I catch.
I like to fish DS on vertical transitions. Rock piles that drop to deep water or edge of weed lines that drop off.

The only time I have seen small mouths set up due to wind has been spring when wind is blowing warmer water into a spot. I'm sure it happens in the fall but I've yet to see it.

[Reel Northern Bass]

Agreed with everything they said above. I do most of my DS fishing vertically, looking for structure or fish. Sometimes I'll go to a boulder or a couple of rocks and not mark fish on it, but I'll still catch them when I drop down on it. They're either so tight to it I can't distinguish them from the rock, or they're sitting just off to the side, and come in for the bait when it gets down there.

I do fan cast with it though on calm days. If I know I'm in the area of bait fish, or if I can see the bait fish broiling the surface, I'll fan cast out to those areas. I've had a lot of really good days doing just that, but primarily in the fall.

Windy days, it depends on the time of the year, but it's been hit or miss from what I can tell on the lakes I've fished on whether the wind sets them up, or if it's just where they want to be anyway. This second half of the year seemed to be better for fishing wind blown points/shorelines with a dropshot, I found the bait fish stacked up in those areas more often than not this year compared to previous years. Could be that maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention before and didn't notice it, could be coincidence, not sure. Need some more time on the water to better tell if it's a pattern or not.

I used to primarily be a jig fisherman, and then would throw a bunch of everything else throughout the year as conditions changed. About 2 years ago though, I got to that point where I'll throw the dropshot almost as much as I do a jig. It's my preferred method of fishing now, 2nd only to throwing a jig, and I'll throw a DS at times when most are probably still thinking blade bait or jerkbait. There's a lot that you can do with it between different weights, baits, and lengths you tie your hook from the weight. I love both so much so that I'm having custom rods built specifically for fishing a jig, and another specifically for fishing a dropshot. I need to start replacing rods now anyway, they're starting to get pretty beat up. All of the rest, I'll continue to use the $100-ish rods that have worked well for me. But for the jig rod, and especially the dropshot rod, I use both so much that I've decided to finally spoil myself and have some REALLY nice rods built. No brainer for me, all of the money I've won in tournaments the past 2 years were done with either a jig, or a dropshot.

[steelebob]

Thanx, your responses have been very helpful and greatly appreciated!!!