To Drop or not to Drop?

[ZL]

Well I jumped on the finesse bandwagon last summer and now due to the large quantity of fish and some big fish I've been catching throwing a drop-shot in shallow water I find it hard to let it down all year long, and now it seems like its hampering my club tournament success. I need to get back to some power fishing although finesse has been good to me under heavy fishing pressure and heat.

I pretty much mastered most applicable techniques at one point or another, except lipless crankbaits. I catch fish once I get good with that technigue then usually get stuck on it.

My go to technigues to fill a limit were a senko, culprit worm, or a fluke, now I'm stuck with this sissy stick attached to my hand, how do I let it down, I can almost call the cast that I will catch a fish on with it. Its not hard to let it down when cloudy skies come in, but I guess I struggle between choosing to go for numbers or a few quality bites. I'm definately in the minority that throws dropshot in 2 to 5ft of water in south Louisiana.

Help! I need a 10 minute rule or something?

[hooks2bset]

Knowing what and when to do things will come with time/experience. Other than that I really don't know how to help you out. I get a gut feeling most of the time and I just go with it and lucky for me it is the right thing to do alot of the time.

Good luck

[ZL]

I can change techniques to fit the conditions, have no problem doing that, and make pretty good on the water decisions to keep on the bite, but I know I can catch a fish on nearly every 5 or 10 cast on a dropshot without a problem if the tide is moving, and I just can't seem to get it out of my hand when I'm catching fish, its glued to my hand I tell ya. It almost feels illegal, the numbers I catch, just sometimes the size is there and sometime it isn't. I guess my problem is that I need to figure if I should go for toads or keep weeding through the numbers method.

[gatrboy52]

tx. fishin isnt about numbers its about size.the drop shot would be good to fill out a fast limit but once i did i would opt for something else to upgrade.i understand that a d.s. can put bigger fish in the boat but odds are if you havent caught them w/ the first 5 fish you need to do something else to upgrade.
my partner and i have experienced the same thing.we can catch 20,30 or more small keeper bass and weigh a 6-8lb. limit on a certain fluke type bait but that aint gonna win you anything.so one of us is throwin something different to try and get a bigger bite.i have had days when we catch 12-15 lbs. on that bait but not often.
once we get a limit we opt for big bite baits.

[Luke]

im the other way around.....i got a baitcaster,7' rod, and 15lb line in my hands 90% of the time....i just cant get into the finess stuff much....havent had no where near the succes with it that i have with the big rod.....i know i need to change it but i jsut cant.....i got way more confidence in the power stuff

[Trapman]

i would stay w/ the drop shot presentation and just upgrade the "power" like using a 6" lizard on 12-15# test.your confidence in the technique will still be there and it may produce some bigger bites

[ZL]

Thanks guys, some good tips to consider!

I guess I'm trying to get out of being a co-angler for so long where I was just trying to pick up what was left. I also fish a lot of 3 hour evening tournaments and nearly placed in the top 3 for 11 consecutive weeks, finesse and senko fishing. That has also screwed me up some also. I'm going to leave the finesse box at home on my next few trips to hopefully be set free from this burden .

[Munkin]

If I have the DS rod in my hand it means I am desperate! It is usually my last resort because like you I catch a lot of little fish.

Allen

[thedude]

my typical tournament strategy is to put 5 fish in the boat... then worry about size. I always try to get on some quality fish, but around here... 5 15" bass will typically get you in the money or pretty dang close.

Use your dropshot, fill the livewell fast, then work your power techniques and go for some kickers. If you're prefishing and getting bit or have located fish w/ the DS.. put it away and go work the big bite. Having a numbers pattern and also a size pattern is the best way to cash a check IMHO.

[hooks2bset]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Munkin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> If I have the DS rod in my hand it means I am desperate! It is usually my last resort because like you I catch a lot of little fish.</TD></TR></TABLE>

There is a good way to put it

[5 Alive]

Don't make it too hard...they are tools use the best one for the job. Experience will tell you which one that is.

[ZL]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thedude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my typical tournament strategy is to put 5 fish in the boat... then worry about size. I always try to get on some quality fish, but around here... 5 15" bass will typically get you in the money or pretty dang close.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah one or two fish can often get ya in the money here in the heat of summer, seriously, I've won with 1.22lbs last year believe or not.