Deadly Drop Shot Fishing
Tips And Techniques

Many bass fishermen assume that drop shot fishing is strictly for deep, clear water tactics. Well, drop shotting is just as deadly in shallow water, too.

The drop shot rig is actually quite versatile. It can be fished fast for when you're on the move. And it can be finessed slow when the bass are more sluggish.

One nice aspect is that because the sinker is attached at the very end of the fishing line and below the bait, you are able to keep your line tight.

The ability of having a tight line also allows for soft plastic baits to show off a consistent and realistic action that can't be found from many other types of fishing rigs.

What's even better is that the bait remains right in front of their face - the strike zone - which tempts a fish into a force feeding frenzy attack!

Drop Shot Fishing Techniques

Setting Up For Drop Shotting

You can refer to our drop shot rigs section for rigging tips and recommendations.

Basically, I'll simply slide the head of the bait onto the hook, leaving most of the hook exposed. This way there really is no need to set the hook too hard because the fish pretty much sets himself. However, when fishing around heavy cover, I'll go with a weedless style Texas rig.

What kind of lures are best to use?

Simply keep to the basic rule of thumb. For clear water, you can use small and compact soft plastics such as a 4 inch straight tail worm. In dingy and stained water, you may want to go a little darker in color and bulkier in size, something with a little more action such as a curly tail grub or lizard.

Where To Fish A Drop Shot

The drop shot rig is awesome to fish with in so many places and spots. I've had much success flipping it around wood piles, lay downs, docks, brush, and other types of cover. It's a great fishing method to have in your arsenal, especially when the fish are on a stubborn bite and nothing else seems to do the trick.

Best Times For Drop Shot Fishing

This is an excellent rig to use all year around. You already know that this is a supreme fishing technique for catching largemouth and smallmouth bass in deep water during the warmer months of the summer. It's also excellent to use when fishing for other fish species like walleye, or even panfish such as crappie, bluegill and perch.

This fishing rig may be one of the best to use in cold water and when the fish aren't as aggressive. Since the bait constantly remains off the bottom and in one area of the water column, the bait sits right in front of the fishs' faces. Since it's right in front of them, and they don't have to move too far to get after it, they can't help but to strike at it.

How To Fish A Drop Shot Rig

Once your sinker is on the bottom, simply maneuver your fishing rod tip in a manner to get your bait to move a flutter in an attractive fashion to the liking of the fish. In deeper water, it's more of a vertical approach. In shallow water, the idea is to drag and twitch it back to you.

Drop Shotting Is An Effective Fishing Tactic

Basically, and similar to other fishing techniques, feel it out to see how they like it until you figure out what it takes to entice those bass to strike. Drop shotting is a very deadly and effective angling technique for me, and one that I encourage you to give a try.