Drop shot rig questions...

[jigflip]

The stuff ya learn readn ths here site................Honestly thanx CDC good stuff

[Crestliner08]

Gamakatsu makes excellent drop shot hooks. The Vmc spin shots do prevent all the line twist though. Both work great and give good hook sets.

Personally I've tried the VMC spin shot hooks for smallmouth and was very disappointed, loosing many on the first jump. Switched back the Gammy's. They (the VMS's) might work fine on crappie, I just don't know. I do know what does work, so I'll stick with that. Line twist with the drop shot can be easily overcome by just using braid for your mainline, with a fluorocarbon leader.

[naturenut]

i agree, i don't like the VMC spin shot for smallies either. i prefer the thicker dia. of a Owner drop shot hook. i put my own spin shot style 'thingy' on my hook to help with line twist.

i think the thin dia. VMC hook would work great for crappie. will have to try to see...

[Jman5626]

ain't it though

I will definently be trying to make some of these now


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[shipahoy41]

I've used the drop shot presentation (for over about a dozen years now) mostly for smallmouth bass, when fishing off-shore structures. I've have had success using it for crappie as well, but haven't found the need to resort to this finesse tactic very often. Rarely are crappie so finicky as to having to resort to using it.

However, that being said, I can offer a few tips that may improve your success with this presentation. First, I have never found that circle hooks work all that well with either bass or crappie, when used on a drop shot rig. I've always had my best results (hook-ups) with the tried & true Gamakatsu Drop Shot hook. Reason being is that the point of this particular hook is straight, not curved in like a beak. This drives the point into the mouth of the game fish, vs driving it in and back out again (following the curvature of the beak point).

Next, I would recommend a simple, straight tailed plastic, such as the BGBS series. And just nose hook it. When drop shotting it is desirable to mimic a vulnerable minnow, unaware of the predator's presence. This plastic does just that, as I'm sure most other straight tails do as well.

Finally, the biggest mistake most drop shotters make is to worry about movement of the bait. Don't be. Move it as little as possible. I lower the rig to the bottom, take up slack so that I know where the bait is in the water column, then I lower it just a tad to take off the pressure on the line. This gives the bait a freer movement in the water, allowing it to take advantage of the currents (which there always is). This minute movement and the subtleness of the straight tailed plastics, will ensure the bait is moving as it should. Extremely productive, regardless of the species of fish you are targeting.

I hope this is of some help.

Couldn't you achieve this same success by using a Carolina Rig with a floating minnow in the current about on a 2.5 foot leader?

[Crestliner08]

Couldn't you achieve this same success by using a Carolina Rig with a floating minnow in the current about on a 2.5 foot leader?

A Carolina Rig normally employs the use of a heavy egg type sinker with it's retrieving method, in order to keep the rig on the bottom. I don't like heavy weights for most anything, except using the Carolina for bass on deep structures. The drop shot uses light sinkers and is a more precise finesse type presentation, for when your quarry is in a neutral to negative mood.

And like I said, it is now rare that I now have to resort to a DS rig for my crappie fishing. You can always find some active fish, so the normal crappie presentations seem to work just fine. Finally, I am a strictly CPR fisherman and never use live bait to catch any species I go after. In my opinion, it's just not needed. If you like using bait, more power to you. To each his own as I always say.

[Yaker]

I dropshot for trout,I seem to have more misses with the VMC set up vs the Carolina style set up.My thinking is,the VMC may inhibit hook ups due to the hooks close proximity to the leader.with a Carolina style set up,the lure/ bait is moved away from the leader on a short tag line,this seems to give me better hook ups.
The only downside I see is deeper hook ups on occasion,but for the most part,I lip more than I don't.

[akaslyguy]

The Gamakatsu dropshot hook mentioned earlier is really a great hook. I have used it drop shooting bass for a few years now. I used it this past year on crappie that were holding about 4 foot off the bottom around brush. I used a pencil style 1/4 oz drop shot weight and had the hook 4 ft above it tied with a Palomar knot so it stands out straight. It was deadly with a minnow nose hooked on it. They would thump it hard. Sometimes reeling it up a foot or 2 put it in the right spot. If it got hung up, the weight on the bottom helped pull it down and loose. It was a lot for fun.

[uaagr]

I struggle so much trying to vertical fish or jig, rarely is there a day when the wind is calm enough to not fight to try and stay vertical..... I have used the drop shot method with success and enjoy it but it is still difficult to stay vertical.....
Am I missing something or am I just not that good with boat control?

[Crestliner08]

Have you tried using drift socks? Or beefing up the weight of your DS rig's sinker? Sometimes just a subtle change from 1/4 oz. to 1/2 oz. can be the ticket. And, if the wind is that bad, maybe you also try anchoring, which is what we do when smallie fishing.