I suck at Drop Shotting

[Luke]

So I need some help if possible.
I suck at a Drop Shot and want to get better with it.
On the lake i fish the most it is a huge player on the lake most all year. And for the life of me i can not get used to this stupid thing
The lake is really deep and really clear most all year, Unless we get a pretty big rain that stains the river arms up.
Lake has a lot of standing timber in it as well as a lot of submerged standing timber.
When you all are fishing this thing is there a certian particular type of cover or structure your looking for?
I assume the bite is more of a small tick than say a jig bite or T-rig plastic.
I know a lot use them shallow and also deep. for deep stuff are you just fishing it vertical? or casting it and letting it swing deep?
Any info will help. I know how to rig it, Have all the gear to use it but can not figure this thing out for the life of me.

[pabasshawk]

I'm right there with you, I suck at using a dropshot and will try to catch them on anything else every time.

[Luke]

Me to. The only time i have ever caught anything on a drop shot is when using livescope in about 15-20' of water. I can kinda catch them then

[Phrog Phil]

Most of my bites are a feeling of weight being on the line,rarely feel a tap tap.

[Ranger Rod]

Me too!

[Menacer]

I t rig my dropshot 90% of the time if not more. Usually fishing weedlines, humps or rock piles. I do throw them around brush but not in the heart of the heavy stuff due to the light line.

While I do vertical fish them I like to fish them more like a carolina rig, slow short drags with long pauses in between.

The bites usually come as very soft ticks, feeling weight or just seeing my line move. Definitely have to pay attention and yellow mainline helps a ton.

It took me a while to understand that a dropshot can be easily overworked and at times I still find I need to tell myself slowwwww down. I actually can't stress that enough. You can try putting your rod tip in the water to help see/minimize over movement. Most of the time current, wind and wakes will provide all you need.

[Mr.Bass]

If I can say without offending anyone, drop shot is just about the easiest technique to fish.

See fish on graph, drop on fish, catch fish. Next to a tree, rock, dock, flat, deep, shallow.

You can also cast it out and drag it like a Carolina rig back to the boat.

[pabasshawk]

If I can say without offending anyone, drop shot is just about the easiest technique to fish.

See fish on graph, drop on fish, catch fish. Next to a tree, rock, dock, flat, deep, shallow.

You can also cast it out and drag it like a Carolina rig back to the boat.

Too late I'm offended

[slipknobber bot]

Here is my cliff notes version of what's helped me the last 2 years catch a ton of fish on drop shots:

-First you have to "know" exactly where the fish are. Only fish a drop shot when you feel like you are dropping or making short pitch casts to fish. IMO, there are better finesse techniques than a DS to cover any amount of water.

-Try to never move the weight. Fishing a drop shot is a slack line technique, when you are shaking the rod tip or whatever you're doing, it should be on slack and never moving the weight while working the bait. Again, many better techniques for a dragging type presentation.

-Use a decently heavy weight. I generally never go less than 3/8, in weeds or rocks, largemouth or smallmouth. I also almost never go less than 18" on the dropper.

Hopefully this helps some!

[DrewFlu33]

I was in that spot not all that long ago. It's quickly become my go-to technique, and has won me a lot of tournaments over the last several years. It's super versatile, you can fish it fast or slow, and it's ultra natural. There aren't many ways to present a bait weightless at the bottom.

I had a mental block for the longest time about the weight being below the fish, worried they'd feel that weight and drop it. If that's something in the back of your mind, do whatever you can to ignore it. I promise it's not a problem. I catch fish all the time with the weight buried up in grass. They'll just take it and swim off with it.

Bites on a drop shot are more like Senko or fluke bites than anything else in my opinion. You sometimes feel them pick it up, but echoing the above, more often than not the line just gets tight or takes off swimming.

Texas-rigged baits on drop shots work awesome, definitely try that around all the timber. A light wire straight shank like the Roboworm Rebarb is a great option. Super weedless, and you'll be blown away how easy it is to hook them. You really just have lean into them when they bite.

I fish it deep to shallow, both casting and dropping. Most of my work with it is casting it relatively deep (8-25 feet), and I throw 1/4 oz 99% of the time, though I think it depends where you're fishing.

As far as working it on a cast: You can drag it back like a Carolina rig, lift and pull, hop it, whatever. You might be surprised at just how well it will come through cover, and to that end, you can just fish it the same way you'd fish a Texas rig or jig. Another thing that I do a lot, especially when I've got my bait in the "juice," is what I think Aaron Martens called "weighing your weight." With the weight on the bottom, you let a little bit of slack in the line, then pull it tight, doing whatever you can not to move the weight. You end up just shaking the bait right in the face of the fish that are there, and they can't stand it. Many times I'll be doing that and my line will just get tight.

If you've got small fish (like bluegills or perch) pecking on it, leave it there! If they quit, shake it to get them to start hitting it again. Maybe gently pull it a bit to lift them off the bottom, but don't move it too far. It's super, super common for that to lead to bass bites. I guess the bass see the smaller fish getting excited and it gets their attention. Or maybe it's competition? Or maybe something else? Either way, it can be obnoxious, but man does that lead to a bunch of bites.

Last piece of advice that I think goes for any technique you're trying to learn: Wait for a day where they're biting really good to put it to work. If the fishing sucks and you go throw something you have no confidence in, what are the chances it will work? But if you use it when you'll actually get bit, that's the way to get confidence and get yourself to do it more to get better with it.

[johnnybass]

What I'm confused about is some who say use he lightest weight that you can to feel the bottom and other who say use a heavier weight so it can stay in one place. I tend to do the former because I feel that a lighter weight has less of a chance of being dropped when a fish swims with it.

[Phrog Phil]

Someone above mentioned a good point at least for me. I first tried Drop shotting when it really bloomed and guys like Don Ivino were starting to talk about it. I went and bought the stuff and struggled. I had heard or read you needed the light light weights I’m talking 1/16th or maybe 1/8th. I was fishing with a guy a few years ago who asked why so light? He turned me onto heavier weights I could feel better,3/16 or 1/4. I was in 25ft of water trying to control a 1/16 weight just not in my skill set. I do much better now that I feel the weight.

[Les Young]

If I can say without offending anyone, drop shot is just about the easiest technique to fish.

See fish on graph, drop on fish, catch fish. Next to a tree, rock, dock, flat, deep, shallow.

You can also cast it out and drag it like a Carolina rig back to the boat.

I suck at it.

[Quillback]

Pretty much what Drew said. I fish the DS quite a bit this time of year on Table Rock and Beaver. If I'm looking for fish, I'll cast it and slowly drag it back, if I've got fish under the boat, I'll drop it straight to them. Sometimes they'll tick it or thump it, but usually it is a 'load-up' bite. Rod tip will get heavy and they have it. I like braid to a leader, helps to feel the bite and with hooksets. I fish with a 1/4 oz weight just about all the time, and when fishing the DS, I'm usually fishing it from 20-40 feet down. If I go shallow I might go to a 1/8 for a slow fall.

[BoatBuggy]

What I'm confused about is some who say use he lightest weight that you can to feel the bottom and other who say use a heavier weight so it can stay in one place. I tend to do the former because I feel that a lighter weight has less of a chance of being dropped when a fish swims with it.

You want a weight heavy enough to feel a bit of resistance when you lift the slack out. A tip of high quality dropshot rod will start to bend before the weight moves.

[DaveBrabec]

Fishing deeper around rocks use a tungsten weight.You will feel everything better.Experiment with different length between weight and hook.OP said lots of standing trees.Try a long leader.Also try not send it all the way to bottom.Caught a lot of fish on bridges were fish were in 100 foot of water but ate the drop shot 20 feet down.

[XingEyeballs]

Lots of good tips already so I won’t go into technic but offer this, I taught myself how to drop shot fishing for sunfish…. Easy to locate and get to bite so you can practice and get the feel for it. Grab a 6’6”-7’ light rod, small straight shank or octopus hook (I like #6) and a bell weight (1/4ozish). I like to have about a 12-18” leader and about a inch of night crawler. Just take a afternoon and catch a bunch of sunfish and get comfortable with fishing it, the bite, etc…. If deep and I see them on the graphs I drop on them, if working an area I cast and drag.
Just a thought…

[Quillback]

Lots of good tips already so I won’t go into technic but offer this, I taught myself how to drop shot fishing for sunfish…. Easy to locate and get to bite so you can practice and get the feel for it. Grab a 6’6”-7’ light rod, small straight shank or octopus hook (I like #6) and a bell weight (1/4ozish). I like to have about a 12-18” leader and about a inch of night crawler. Just take a afternoon and catch a bunch of sunfish and get comfortable with fishing it, the bite, etc…. If deep and I see them on the graphs I drop on them, if working an area I cast and drag.
Just a thought…

A couple of times a year I'll fish for gills and redear for some tasty fillets, and I use a drop shot with a red worm.

[krindgen]

If I can pick it up spending most of my former years as a shallow water flipper, anybody can. I use the dp for fishing submerged rockpiles around 15-18ft. Most of the time I find myself with a 3/8 weight. I find I move the bait less and can feel the bite better with the weight pinned to the bottom. Also find myself fishing deep in the open with a breeze a lot.

[bassfisher444]

3 years ago I rarely ever used one, now it is my number one finesse technique. Don't need livescope or sonar to use one either, I catch a ton of fish up shallow with it throwing it around cover when they aren't hitting a jig or Texas rig. Caught my PB 6.5 lb largemouth on one this spring in only 3 foot of water. I fish it on 20lb power pro with a 8 lb Pline CXX leader, a full sized Zoom trick worm Texas rigged on a 2/0 wide gap hook and a 1/4- 3/16 oz drop shot weight is my go to setup.