Drop Shot Tips!
-Chris Wade

I STILL REMEMBER WHERE I was the first time I heard about the drop shot.  I was crammed in the so-called backseat of a Chevy Z71 heading to Alexander City, Alabama for my first BFL tournament.  I had just met two people who would later become very close friends of mine.  Hoping into the truck at about 4am, the first words out of Drew Berry’s mouth were, “Does he (talking about me) know about the rig?”

  Matt Driver looked back at me with a grin, and then answered Drew, “After today he will!” 

After a few minuets of keeping me in the dark, Matt couldn’t stand it any longer.  I think he was more anxious to tell me about this magical thing, than I was to hear about it.  They, and by they, I mean mostly Matt, spent the next two hours telling me how great the drop shot was.  I had never heard of it, and basically told him I didn’t think it would work.  A reverse Carolina Rig, how stupid is that? 

We finally get to Lake Martin and launch Drew’s boat for a day of practice.  Almost instantly, they both rig a drop shot and start fishing it, all the while telling me how they are going to “whack ‘em.”  I tied on my trusty #5 Shad Rap and proceeded to put on a show for my two new friends.  I spent the next two years thinking the drop shot was nothing more than a gimmick, and thinking I could out fish anyone with a #5 shad rap.

 

Then it happened, two years later.  I was out fishing one night, and Matt had left his drop shot rod in the boat.

I was feeling adventurous, so I picked it up and gave it a whirl.  Within the matter of 2 hours, I boated almost 30 fish.  It was at that point I decided to re-evaluate my fishing techniques.  That was a little over two years ago, and since then, a drop shot rod has been firmly glued in my hand.  Matt and I have both been taken over by the drop shot bug, and I don’t see a cure in sight!

The great thing with the drop shot is that it is so easy to do.  Once you catch a few fish, you will feel like you have been doing it your whole life.  You don’t have to worry with setting the hook, all you need to do is reel when you notice you have a fish.  The only tricky part of the whole process is getting the appropriate equipment.  I am going to go through my process of trial and error on what equipment worked best for me, and what didn’t do so hot.  I am not saying this is the only way to do it, but it is how I do it.  After spending 6 months dedicated to the drop shot, I feel like I have unlocked some of its mysteries, but I still have a lot to learn!  Hopefully you can take away a tidbit or two that will help you to catch a few more fish!

The key to correctly fishing the drop shot on Allatoona is having the right line.  Without good fluorocarbon line, you will be missing out on a ton of fish!  Personally I use the Seaguar Invizx in 6lb test.  This is just personal preference.  Seaguar was the first fluorocarbon line that I did not have breakage issues with, so I stuck with it.  The light line is important for a few reasons.  First, a lighter line will have a smaller diameter.  This smaller diameter will mean the line is limper than its heavier counterpart.  This limpness will allow your bait to have more action in the water.  Second, 6lb clear fluorocarbon is nearly 100% invisible under water.  When you are trying to finesse a lethargic fish into eating, you need the bait to be as natural as possible.  And finally, a good fluorocarbon is important because of the low line stretch, which will aide in getting good hook penetration with the reel hook sets (will discuss below) that are needed with the drop shot.

After the line, a rod with a light, slow tip is needed.  When fishing the drop shot, many times you will not feel a fish bite, but the rod will all of a sudden bend or “load” from the weight of the fish.  I tried all kinds of rods, trying to find the rod that was right for me.  I went from one extreme to the other.  I tried ultra light rods, my regular bass rods, custom made rods and even taped reels on  #4 and #6 weight fly rods.  Out of all this, I found out that I really enjoyed catching spotted bass on ultra light rods, but I could still step up to a rod with more backbone, as long as it still had the whippy, slow tip.  I ended up having to pick between four rods as my main drop shot rod.  The first was a 6’6” medium action Bionic Blade from Bass Pro.  Despite its medium action rating, this thing was like a wet noodle.  For someone on a budget, I would look into this as a great starter drop shot rod.  The second rod was a custom build Shakari rod on the high touted P7000 blank.  This rod is a drop shot machine.  The only problem I have with this rod is the fact that the company that produced the blanks went out of business some time ago, and they are VERY hard to find.  Also, since I fish a lot of other lakes, and being the progressive thinker that I am, I wanted to adapt the drop shot to some heavier cover applications.   I just felt like the P7000 didn’t have the backbone.  For Allatoona, I don’t think there is a much better rod, but if you are looking for versatility, there are other choices out there.  The third was the Powell Rods drop shot rod that originally got me hooked on drop shotting.  Because of this, there will always be a place in my heart for the Powell.  It is a great rod with a reasonable price, and will definitely get the job done.  And finally, the G Loomis GLX drop shot rod.  Ever since I was first show the SIC ReCoil guides, and how they were pretty much indestructible, I wanted all of my rods to have them.  G Loomis GLX’s come standard with those guides, and that was the main selling point for me.  It has turned out to be an awesome drop shot rod as well.  I was very surprised when I set into a 5lb spotted bass one night, and the light tip quickly gave way to a very sturdy backbone.  I was able to fight the fish and get him to the boat, all the while feeling like I had control over the fish, despite the light equiptment.

The third element is the reel you are using.  I have an almost unhealthy love affair with the older Shamina Stradic 2000 FG’s.  That is the only spinning reel that I use.  But, for the drop shot, you want a reel with a very smooth drag.  No matter how expensive it is, when you are using 6lb line, it won’t take much pressure to break the line.  A smooth drag coupled with the shock absorption of a slower, light tip will help keep your line in tact when a big fish surges away from the boat.

Now, for the baits.  This is often a much overlooked subject in modern bass fishing.  As any avid fly fisherman what one of the most important parts of fly fishing is, and they will tell you that you need to learn how to “match the hatch.”  The same is very true in drop shotting.  Many times you will catch fish on any style of minnow bait, but if you can match that size and color of the bait fish the bass are eating, you will increase your number of hook-ups.  Below is a picture I took one evening after getting in from a day of drop shotting.  I was pulling a fish into a boat when he left a gift for me in the form of a half digested bream (see illustration 1.1).  That quickly got the wheels turning in my head, and I decided that I needed to pay attention to what this fish was trying to tell me.  I switched my bait and proceeded to catch 5 fish on 5 casts!  I will also try and tailor my hook size to the size of the bait I am using.  Generally smaller is better, but there is a point where it will get too small.  I like a number 2 Gamagatzu drop shot hook for nose hooking smaller baits such as a tiny fluke and a 1 or 1/0 for the larger Basstrix and finesse worms.

The rigging is fairly simply.  I will use a Palomar knot to tie my hook onto the line.  Once the hook is tied to the line, I will take the tag end and run it through the top of the hook eye again.  This is a very important part of the rig because it will allow the hook to stand up on the line.  Once the hook is tied on, I will clip my drop shot weight onto my line anywhere from 6 to 12 inches below my bait.

There are two main ways to fish a drop shot, vertical and horizontal.  On Allatoona I will spend a majority of my time casting the drop shot (horizontally) and have caught a majority of my fish doing so.  However, there are certain times of the year where fish will be schooling, and a vertical drop shot presentation is VERY hard to beat. 

When the surface temperatures are a little too much for most bass, they will head deep.  Once they do this, they leave themselves open to anglers who are good with their electronics.  In the chill of winter or the extreme heat of summer, many of Allatoona’s spotted bass will make their way to deeper water, to try and find temperatures that are more comfortable.  May times they will school off of points, mouths of creeks and pockets as well as along and on top of humps.  Many times though, you will just come across a school in open water.  In most of these cases, you will be able to see the fish on a quality sonar.  One important thing to remember is, just because you can see them, doesn’t mean you can always catch them.  But, if you can come across an active school of fish, you are almost guaranteed some fast and furious action!

The hardest part of “sonar fishing,” in my opinion, is learning exactly how and where to drop your rig so that you can see it on your depth finder.  Especially when using a trolling motor with a built in transducer, you will need to be aware of exactly where that transducer is in relation to your bait.  With everything, the best way to learn is through practice!  When I first started, I would lover my bait into where I felt the “cone” of the sonar would be, and then would violently jerk the bait up and down a few times.  I would also watch my sonar, and see if I could see a zig-zag line moving up and down on the screen.   When I finally found the “sweet spot” I would take a mental note of the trolling motor position and the flow of water (if the bait was being swept under the boat, to the left, right, ect.).  After a few tries, I felt pretty comfortable with locating my bait on the sonar, and it was time to try and catch some fish.

When it comes to the actual technique of catching fish, that is something that will vary every time you drop your bait.  A fish will change its mood countless times in a day, and the best advice I can give is to let the fish dictate your presentation.  Some days the fish will want you to shake the drop shot as much as possible, and other days you can almost let it sit still.  Once you find a school of fish, experiment some and see what they like.  Once you figure it out, stick with it until they stop eating.  At that point, switch it up a bit, and you just might get them going again!

When I am casting the drop shot (horizontally fishing it) there are two techniques that I have found to be very productive.  With one technique I keep my weight in contact with the bottom 100% of the time.  For days where there is not much wind, I will use a 3/8oz cylinder type drop shot weight and for days that the wind is howling, I will step up to a 1/2oz.  I am a big believer in fishing in the wind, and if you can tough it out, you will be surprised at what you may catch!  With this technique, I will leave the bait in one spot and twitch the tip of my rod.  Depending on how the fish seem to be reacting, I will adjust the ferocity of my twitch.  Some days they want the bait bouncing all over the place, and other days a subtle rise and fall of the bait will work.  You really just need to let the fish tell you what they are in the mood for.

The other technique is where I use a lighter weight, generally a 1/4oz, and will basically let the bait slowly freefall down the side of a bluff wall.  I do this by casting the rig as close to the bluff as I can and work it almost parallel to the bluff (see illustration 1.2).  I will slowly reel in my line as I shake the tip of my rod.  This will give the appearance of an injured bait fish on its last legs, slowly sinking to the bottom.  For this technique to be the most productive I will make long casts and let the bait settle before I being my retrieve.  As you retrieve the bait, it will work different depths of the water column, and once you can find the depth that most the fish are suspended at, you can adjust your style accordingly.  This is a great “searching” tool to see how deep or shallow you need to be fishing.

Hopefully this has shed some light on the drop shot technique.  In all honestly, this really just scratches the surface of the drop shot technique, and is intended for lakes such as Allatoona, where spotted bass and deep, bluff walls dominate the structure in the lake.  With a little modification from the above rigging, the drop shot is also deadly in shallow, weedy, cover filled largemouth bass lakes.  That will be a whole other article though!

- Chris Wade