Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

The drop shot has become one of most popular rigs for catching all species of bass. If you have never tried this technique, here is a video that features Alton Jones explaining how to tie a Drop Shot Rig. If you are new to bass fishing, or even a seasoned angler, this is one technique that can produce fish under some of the toughest conditions.

Alton Jones Drop Shot Video

Here is a good video that clearly shows how to tie a Palomar Knots (which is used when drop shotting).

How to tie a Palomar Knot

I hope you all find this helpful and if so, let us know how this technique works out for you.

Bass Regards,
Brendan

That was a great video...somethin I def need to add to my arsenal thx alot!

Cool, I'm glad you like it. I have been thinking about the boards and how we can try to change things around a bit to promote more interaction from our members. I think that an area where anyone can share tips and help each other would really add to the site.

We are always looking for input from our users, so if you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Thanks,
Brendan

Is this something you only try from a boat ? Or can you try this way from shore fishing ? Thanx for the help.

MbBass, the dropshot works well from the shoreline also. In fact it is the way I catch most of my bass at Castaic.

Not the biggest ones, but most of them.

From the shoreline though I would try using a little less tagline than Alton does in the video. I usually use about ten inches of tagline.

But ya know all of these things end up as personal preference and also what works best depending on the bottom conditions.

Where I fish the bottom is rocky for the most part, not a lot of grass. When you cast out far from the shoreline your line will be laying down pretty flat. If you use a really long tagline it becomes almost like a reverse Carolina rig.

With the shorter tagline, when you feel some resistance from a rock or whatever you know your lure is probably up against the rock. What I do is just shake it very gently and let it stay still.

After stopping, when I fell even the slightest tap I know it's a bite and try to get a quick snap hookset.

Good fishing to ya, later........... geobass

That's good advise from GeoBass. I use a drop shot from the shore often. It works great in so many scenarios...

BC

Another thing to keep in mind, no matter if your fishing from boat or shore, is the location of the fish in relation to the bottom or the structure. If fish are 3-6 off the bottom and you rig with a short tag line, you will be under those fish. Experiment with the length is the best thing to do, the fish will tell you where they are located if you arent set up to meter them.

Great tip robo... an easy way to do that without having to redo your rig is to leave a long tag end (say 36") and then tie an overhand knot every 6" or 12". Start at the very bottom and work up the line. This way as you want to adjust, you can just move the weight up to the next knot until you find the right depth range (as roboworm was mentioning).

Or if you use the drop shot weights with the clips..no need to retie...just slide up an clip it in ...or if you use the Peg-it System, popularized by Don Iovino you can place the weight anywhere on the line and you can use this same rig if you split shot and this method wont pinch and damage your line, especially if you use fluorocarbon.

here is a link to the product:

http://www.iovino.com/sinkpeg.html

Robo,

good alternatives... I have been using the standard Bass Pro lead drop shot weights, however I have had issues with them slipping and/or cutting the line (as they are designed to do when you get snagged). I started using the knot so that I would not need to pull the line too far into the line keeper.



What do the "clip on" weights look like, or are these the same ones you are talking about?