bass on a drop shot rig

How to Catch Bass with the Drop Shot Rig by Dan Thomas

The drop shot rig first became popular with bass fisherman on the west coast. It was primarily used as
a deep-water finesse technique for catching finicky or pressured bass in clear deep-water lakes and
reservoirs. The popularity soon spread to the east when tournament anglers started having success
with this technique in other parts of the country.

To tie a drop shot rig start buy feeding your line through the eye of a small thin wire hook from the
barbed side. I like using a 1/0 hook size. Tie the hook to your line using a polymer knot leaving a tag
end of 16-20 inches long.

Tie either a drop shot sinker or a bell sinker to the tag end. The weight of the sinker used depends on
the type of water being fished and how windy the conditions are. You will want to use the lightest
weight you can get away with and still keep in constant contact with the bottom. I usually use
between 1/8 oz. to 3/8 oz. sinkers.

When tied properly the hook should stand out horizontally to the line with the open end of the hook
facing up. Most of the time I fish this rig with a small 4 inch straight tail worm, however just about any
small soft plastic bait will work. My advice is to change baits until you find one you are confident with
using. I prefer to use a medium light or light action-spinning rod with a fast taper. This rig works best
with 6lb. or 8lb. fluorocarbon line.

The drop shot is very effective when fished on deep-water ledges and creek channels. Idle slowly a
long the creek channel edge or the edge of the ledge watching your electronics until you find an
irregularity such as a bend in the creek, or some kind of structure such as a rock pile or brush pile.

Lower your lure vertically into the structure or as close as possible to the structure. Hold the rod with
the tip at a slit angle down keeping constant pressure on your bait. Try to hold the bait relatively still;
the motion of the waves will give your lure all the action it needs to be effective. Typically when the
fish strikes the lure all you will feel is a slight sluggish or heavy feeling on your line. When you feel
this sluggish feeling set your hook with a steady upward hook set keeping pressure on the fish. Do not
set the hook with a sharp snap or you will risk breaking your line or pulling your lure out of the fish's
mouth.

The distance between the lure and the sinker can be adjusted to match the depth the fish are holding.
Experiment with the drop shot rig to fit your style of fishing. Some anglers are finding the drop shot
rig to be very effective in shallow water fishing as well.

When fished in shallow water cast to your target hold tension on the line and lightly shake the rod tip
to give your lure action. If you do not get a strike reel in a little stop and repeat shaking the rod tip.
Sometimes in shallow water, the bass will slowly swim off with the lure in its mouth. Keep a close
watch for line movement, if the line starts to slack, move to the side, or you feel a slight heavy feeling
set the hook with a steady pull keeping tension on your line.