The "System" that is Drop Shotting!

I joke that it is a "System" because I feel that you can't drop shot without a great depth finder! So they go hand in hand and thus are a "System."

My "System" is fairly simple, I use my Humminbird 997 Side Imaging to find deep water spots of potential and I drop shot them to death! The secret is using your Side Imaging to find the true "spot on the spot." A person can catch the day lights out of bass on a deep weedline on a drop shot. If you really want to catch good fish you need to find just the right turn in the weeds or the biggest rock in the rock pile or the sharpest part of a drop off. What ever your lake offers for the best spot you need to find the "spot on the spot." The Side Imaging is key in me finding these spots quickly and effectively. You can find these areas with conventional electronics but it just takes a lot longer.

The equipment is also a part of the "System." I use very specific drop shot rods and very specific line, hooks, and baits. My rod choice is still a little open but the idea remains the same. The best production drop shot rod on the market today is a G Loomis DSR820S!!!! Hands down the best production rod on the market. You can also build yourself a great rod for drop shotting but that is a Post all by itself. I have built several over the past winter and all of them have their own little things I love. I will do a post soon on rod building and discuss in further detail which blanks I feel best fit the bill.

The rest of the drop shot set up is fairly straight forward but in my opinion very specific. I use only Sunline fluorocarbon, why you ask. Well simple, take a look at the package of line you use and notice the line diameter. This in my opinion is WAY more important to drop shotting then the LB test rating. Line companies have cheated the system for years, chances are the line you use breaks far heavier then the actual line rating on the box. That is fine and it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. What makes a difference is the line diameter. The thinner you can make your line the more natural and less likely the fish is to detect it. Fish can't see fluorocarbon but they can feel it. I know that seems crazy but there is lots of studies out there that show that fish can feel the slightest movement under water and why would line be any different. So I use the thinnest line I can buy. I prefer a very high end fluorocarbon from Sunline called Metan Invisible. The line comes in 4, 4.5, and 5lb ratings. Take a good look at the diameter and it is surprisingly thinner then most of the competitors on the market. Over the past three seasons I have become convinced that by using a thinner fluorocarbon I can catch fish that others can not.

The hook has been influenced by my past job in that I sold Gamakatsu hooks. So as you can imagine I use a number 2 or 4 Drop Shot hook from Gamakatsu. Since leaving my old job I have started to play around a lot with other brands and will report my finding at some point in a future post. The weight is simple, any old drop shot weight will do just fine! 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 oz is all I carry in my boat and I use a weight depending on the depth and wind conditions. Smaller is better just like the line discussion.

Baits, Oh boy do we love baits! I hate to burst your bubble but I have all but taken everything out of my boat except two baits -

1. 4.5" Roboworm Straight Tail, I carry four colors the most and use the color that best matches the water clarity. New Ayu, Aaron's Magic, Green Weenie and Purple Weenie.

2. 5" Wacky Crawler from Gulp. Greens and browns is all you need!

Dropper length is the question I get asked the most about when people talk to me about drop shotting. I answer very directly and honestly. Never in the history of the world has there been so much discussion about NOTHING! My dropper length is anywhere from 9" to 18". Some days a little longer and others a little shorter. The length is almost never adjusted by me so I can't speak on the subject. If I loose a weight I clip a new one on and generally find that my dropper length is slightly shorter. I keep doing this until it is time to retie. With the exception of having a very short or very long dropper I have never once seen a day where it seemed to matter whether my dropper was 12" or 15". In my humble opinion it just doesn't make all the much difference.

The dropper length discussion is much like the bait discussion. I feel that the baits and the length of your dropper matter far less then the finding the spot on the spot and getting that drop shot to dance on that spot. There are days when I have found the fish wanted it nose hooked and days they wanted it wacky rigged, but if I am fishing the "spot on the spot" most days it doesn't matter.

Take my "System" and you will find some personal adjustments you want to make but over all I feel that anyone that uses my "System" will catch more and bigger fish then ever before.

Ross