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is there any special way u use drop shots because i use them but never catch anything?
when is the best time to use them?

Tyler,
There really isn't any best time to use drop shot rigs. It can and does work all year. I primarily like to use them as a vertical tool, fishing humps, islands or bridge pilings etc. It also works well in shallow water areas too if you don't spook the fish. I don't use the drop shot when bank fishing, just not all that practical, better off Texas rigged.
Find submerged stump fields, fish them in standing timber or along bridge pilings, humps, creek channels and you'll start catching surprizing numbers of fish often over-looked by others. Good luck. Johnnie

Tyler, Drop shot rigs are best for presenting your lure to the fish with an in the face presentation. I use this method every day on Table Rock Lake in Missouri for Black Bass, Smallmouth and Spotted Bass.

A very clear and deep lake in the mountains of Missouri, we use very powerful graphs which allow us to watch the bait go down the graph and at the same time the graph is showing us fish and we use the drop shot rig to put he bait right in front of the fish's mouth!! We can even watch the fish move up and bite the bait on the graph!! Talk about calling your shot!!!

To fish a drop shot rig you can fish it in many ways, but here are a few that I use every day on the water.

1) vertical fishing..

In the hot summer months I find the Thermocline (which is warm water and cold water meet in a lake)

I have found that above the line smaller fish seem to live, below are the bigger fish. on Table Rock it usally starts around 25 feet and can go down to about 45 feet. I will then set my depth of my bait to a mid range of that say 35 feet (I use my dept finder two get the right dept of my bait and then I use a black marker and mark my line). Lasy man's way

Once I'm at the right depth I will then let my line sit still then give it a few small twiches of the rod tip only.. This allows the worm to move like the real thing.

If no bite accours then I will move it up a few turns and start all over again.. This works great for bass in structure like deep brush piles or along bridge pillers or humps and long points that drop off in the channel.

2) Dragging the drop shot rig

Next I use the same rig during the early spring and late fall when fish are up shallows, I fish this just like a c-rig Pitching the bait up to the bank and dragging and stopping it for a few seconds all the way back to the boat while keeping contact with the bottom.

These are just a few good ways to fish the drop shot rig. Drop shot rig is also very good on Pan fish, such as blue gill with worms and also crappie with minnows.

You just have to go out and play with it, once you do, you will get very good at working it and the fish will come.

Good Luck and Good Fishing

Many thanks to both of you. I will apply these
techniques I've learned from you here in Georgia. (West Point Lake)

This year was the first year that I really started to use the rig. I did really well fishing deep creak channels during hot weather, and when the weather started to cool, fish were still holding 30 feet deep. My only problem was I never caught any big bass, alot of small ones. The rig did put keepers in the boat though. Good luck Carl.PS. Haven't been out since it's duck season, last year I got shot at twice!

I love the technigue, but I have the same problem, SMALL FISH. What is the best way to find the Thermocline? I am using 5" hand poured worms and catch a ton of fish, just need to get the bigger ones.

Table Rock guy says they use stick worms for bigger bass. C

Big B...

Turn up the gain on your depth finder to reveal the thermocline (If one is present). It will look like a dark grey band running through the water column. Thermoclines develop on lakes with deep water. In other words, don't search in 10 ft of water and expect to find the thermocline. You need 25+ feet of water. The easiest way to locate it is to get out in the deepest part of the lake and start adjusting your gain, until it appears on your screen. Then you can begin your search for fish that are relating to the thermocline.

BC



Thermocline
a transition layer between deep and surface water

The thermocline is the transition layer between the mixed layer at the surface and the deep water layer. The definitions of these layers are based on temperature.
The mixed layer is near the surface where the temperature is roughly that of surface water. In the thermocline, the temperature decreases rapidly from the mixed layer temperature to the much colder deep water temperature.
The mixed layer and the deep water layer are relatively uniform in temperature, while the thermocline represents the transition zone between the two.

Brendan, very nice reply...

On Table Rock Lake we a summer thermocline at about 40 feet of water as the summer ends the thermocline climbs up to 25 feet.

On my graph even at 50 % res it looks like a hard bottom line in the middle of my graph. Look for fish at or below this line, and set your line depth to this level and hang on.. I watch my drop shot go down the graph to make sure I'm at the right depth, then I use a black perm marker to mark my line so I know I'm allways at the right depth.

One trick I have found with a drop shot is to watch your line, don't wait to feel the bite. Most fish will come up to take your bait and keep moving up to get away from other fish in the school, if your line has a bend in it at 40 feet, reel down to take up slack and set the hook.

The worms I use are made by ROBO WORM 4" in these colors in clear water, Bold BlueGill, and OXBlood Red are just a few, you really need to play with all colors to find the right one for your lake.

Good Fishing

EAT SLEEP FISH