Some rig help.

[ChrisCarter]

I dont remember what kind of rig this is, but i do remember it well because i thought it was interesting. I also don't remember what kind of tackle or knots to use.

I guess the best way to explain it is the line from the rod meets a swivel and from that swivel it splits off into two directions, one direction to the hook/bait and the other to the weight.



Now i picked this up from the store and rigged it today. The neon green is a 20lb mono, the white is a 12lb braid, and the dark green is 10lb mono. Now this was setup for catfishing, but i plan on using it for other fish as well.

One problem that i run into, or at least think i am running into after i make the cast is the weight and hook/bait becoming twisted during the cast therefore reducing the distance between the weight and the bait. So have i got the right kind of swivel for the job, or have i tied the lines in the wrong spot?

[gabowman]

I have some rigs that are similar. The barrel swivel is tied to the main line and a tag line is tied off to the same eye of the barrel swivel witha float and hook attached. A pencil weight is attached to the snap.

[Eager Beaver]

They also make a 3 way swivels for that app., Chris. The 3 way would work better in keeping the lines seperate. EB

[LBM]

That's what I would call a drop shot type rig that I use crappie fishing where I have a dropper line with a hook or jig off of the main line. On the main line I tie a fast-lock swivel somewhere up from the end of the main line where I have another fast-lock swivel tied on the end of the main line for a bell sinker. Depending on where I intend to fish the rig I will tie on a third fast-lock snap swivel for a second or tandem droppers off the main line. I've used braid for the droppers on this rig but I also didn't like the way the dropper line would wrap around the main line. With the 20 lb mono it didn't wrap as much. I like to use heavier main line than the dropper lines with hooks so when I have to break it off all I have to do is add another mono dropper line with hooks which I keep several already tied up. I don't cast with my rig as it's all just vertical down around standing timber or brush piles or open water.

All the knots I use here are all palomar knots except for the surgeons loop I use on the end of the mono line off the hook.

[NIMROD]

x2 on the 3 way swivels. If I was gonnas fish that way, I'd look into some 3 way swivels.

[ChrisCarter]

drop shot rig, that's what it is called. Thanks guys.

Yes, i plan on using it for catfish and carp. I don't know if it would work for crappie, but i would imagine i would need a lighter bell sinker (using 1/4oz).

[Slab Junkie]

That's not really a drop shot. A drop shot is tied all on one piece of line with no swivel or snap. The weight is at the bottom and the hook is tied off 12-24" up the line on either a palomar or a loop knot. I agree with these other guys; if I was rigging up like in your picture I was use a three way swivel.

[KDAVID1]

i like em like the below pic--only piece of hardware other than the weight is the swivel that attaches the rig to the main line. This has worked well for me but it depends on what type of fishing you are doing--I suppose you are single poling?

[CrappiePappy]

drop shot rig, that's what it is called. Thanks guys.

Yes, i plan on using it for catfish and carp. I don't know if it would work for crappie, but i would imagine i would need a lighter bell sinker (using 1/4oz).

Slab Junkie is correct .... that's not really a true "dropshot" rig, but more of a modified Ky Lake rig. I'm not even sure I'd call a rig with dropper loops, a true "dropshot" rig. The whole idea & purpose of a dropshot rigging is to have the weight on the end of the line and on the lake bottom (stationary) ... then having the hook/bait tied directly to the main line, by a means in which the hook stands out from the line at a 90deg angle (either by the knot used, or the style of hook used) ... and the angler imparts action to the baited hook by shaking the rod tip, which transmits movement down the line to the hook/bait. Its primary function was a finesse presentation, with artificial bait, and meant to allow the angler to impart as little/much action as needed to make the artificial bait seem alive. It was originally a Bass finesse method, but has been adapted to Crappie fishing (with & without modifications) and the name "dropshot" carried over, as well, even though it's not always used in the same way.

If I were Carp fishing, I'd use no weight .... or a slip sinker. For Catfish, however, whatever size weight is necessary to hold the bait in one spot, is what I'd use (if a weight was necessary).

... cp

[heath_88]

A three way swivel will keep your lines from getting tangled even if you cast it. Here on the mississippi river we use them for walleyes and sometimes use a big hair jig as the bottom weight or just a sinker and then a plain hook on the second line with a couple colored beads in front of the hook. We just drag them along slow going up stream and the walleyes tend to like the plain hook and a minnow better than the jig when the arent biting the greatest. Up in wisconsin they call it the wolf river rig and use it for stripers and cast all day without hardly any tangles. The key is for sure to use a three way swivel to avoid tangles.