Deep waters to shorelines the drop-shot rig is versatile and effective. The rig has won many tournaments from Lake Martin to Lake Seminole. A drop-shot is nothing more than a hook tied directly to your line with a weight tied to a long tag end. This simple yet effective rig originated in Japan and was introduced to a few anglers on the west coast. It was not until the late 90’s and early 2000’s that the drop-shot rig started gaining popularity in the United States.
How to tie a drop shot
The drop-shot rig consists of a drop-shot hook, and a weight. There are some more items to further refine the rig, but I will cover those a little further down. Start by tying the hook with a Palomar knot leaving a long tag end (normally 12” or more depending on the style of fishing). Make sure that the hook is facing up. Hook size will be dependent on bait size and of course what species you intend to catch.
Before you tie your weight to the tag end, you must trim it to the proper length. For smallmouth I like to keep my lure roughly 12” off the bottom. I start by trimming my tag end to around 14 to 15 inches, so once tied the lure is 12” above the weight. The size of the weight is going to depend on the water conditions. You want just enough weight to keep in contact with the bottom, but not so much as to kill all the action of your lure.
Refining a drop shot
As the drop-shot became more popular, the terminal tackle started becoming more user-friendly. You can purchase drop-shot hooks that swivel to avoid line twist, and also have a quick tie at the bottom for the weight. These are convenient if you want to switch depths or weight sizes, because now you no longer have to tie the entire rig again. I highly recommend spending the extra money on good quality swivel drop-shot hooks; these are a game changer for fishing drop-shots. If you decide to not use a swivel hook for the rig, you can use a barrel swivel and tie the rig to a leader to avoid line twists.
You can also purchase weights with the same quick tie, which makes it easier to switch weights out if weather conditions change. I personally stopped using these weights because I kept losing them on slight snags when going through vegetation. I just keep some different sized weights and a roll of line and tie them on as I need to change them, with the swivel hook already having a quick connect, they can be changed in less than a minute.
Best rod, reel, and line setup
A spinning rod is the ideal choice for fishing a drop-shot; casting rods do not work well because it is a finesse technique with lighter tackle. The rods length should be 6’6” or 7’0”. I have used both with the different techniques of fishing the rig and they both worked fine as an all-around drop-shot rod. Medium power with a fast action works best; you can feel the subtle movements in the bait, and you have the power to set the hook.
A 2500 size reel is a good all-around size for catching bass on a drop-shot. Fast retrieve speeds are important to take up slack quickly in the line. For my line size I prefer 20 pound braid, with a 10 pound fluorocarbon leader and my go to knot for tying the leader is the double uni knot. The braided line gives you the sensitivity you need and the leader benefits from being discrete once in the water.
How to fish the drop shot rig.
Drop-shots can be casted out, fished vertically, or dragged along the bottom. All 3 ways are effective for catching bass. They work perfect for fishing shorelines, docks, and open water. To attract the attention of bass all you have to do is give the slightest movement to your rod tip and the lure you rigged will dance like there is no tomorrow. Which is the reason the drop-shot is so effective even on the most pressured waters.
Once you cast the rig out or drop it vertical, you can leave the bait in the same spot, giving the slightest movements to attract bass. If you want to drag the lure, you can slowly reel in while keeping the weight in contact with the bottom. While this may not have the hard-hitting action of fishing crank baits, it will produce good quality bass that have been proven to be tournament winners.
My favorite way to use a drop shot is to troll at 0.5 to 1 mph, letting the weight drag along the bottom and twitching the rod every minute or so. You have to use a slightly bigger weight to keep in contact with the bottom. Using the drop-shot in this way is effective in covering a lot of water fast. Once you get a hit, you can shut down the trolling motor and fish that area. Bass tend to group up in areas most of the year. At that point you can fish the rig vertical, cast and drag, or switch to crank baits or another style of fishing soft plastics.
What type of plastics
When fishing a drop-shot, you can use just about any type of soft plastic bait you can get. Nose hooking the bait is the most common way, although wacky rigging a soft stick bait is also effective. I like to use creature baits when fishing a drop-shot. The color depends on the time of year and the weather and water conditions.
