islandbass

Nice fish. So what applications is that MLXF good for? Or better yet, what do you use it for? I've always been on the fence with SC because there just aren't that many to be found in my area (mostly mojos and I ain't biting on the Mojo) and I so much PREFER to hold rod in hand. @Spankey - sorry to asking this question in your thread, but everyone has been talking about SC here for years and my baitmonkey is rattling his cage. What I'm hoping is that MLXF might be a bit of a "more powerful" DS type of rod since my Lamiglas certified pro has the goods on the light side of DS.

Thanks, Spanky. You can bet I’m keeping. ?

@Koz I realized that early on and so I only buy what I need and most of my stuff fits in an okeechobe bag and backpack. Straggling things in a bankers box that isn’t even 1/3 full. I am not against anyone who has a ton of lures, nope, no siree. But for me, I prefer to keep it simple. I can relate on discontinued baits. I have about 3 bags of one of my favorite DS lures. I’m going to have to invest in learning to make a mold for them and learn how to pour soft plastics.

They might be marketed as toys but they really are tiny fishing rods that work, and work quite well. I still have my daughter’s princess rod. She’ll be 20 this year. ?

Lightning rod or kast king. Ugly Stik, while it has its place is my last choice.

If you’re (and I am) going to spend that much $$ on such a rod, I would think the last thing you’d/I would want to do is use it in a way it wasn’t intended, whether it’s a $39 ugly stik or NRX. Abuse from anglers in which a rod breaks is 100% angler error. Every time. I am not saying you have to baby it, but keep its use to what is was designed for and you’re golden.

Star Trek IV beat you to it with Scottie’s transparent aluminum, lol. Don’t bother with transparent hooks. I already developed invisible hooks. Well, they’re actually made of such dense material that they bend light such that they’re practically invisible. Only downside is don’t bother looking for them if you drop them on the ground.

No one can really tell you. PourMyOwn nailed it. Btw, pretty decent Arsenal.

X2! Unbelievable! I’m so tempted.

You should run a search of all the posts you started. You should be able to find it after that. Good luck!

About the knot video... Wow that is exactly how I tie the palomar knot. And I arrived at that same solution independently when I too experienced the that damage on the line the OP described. Not saying I’m a genius because I’m not, but it sure feels good that ‘lil ‘ol me did something right from the get go. I can vouch for the guys claim. I’ve been doing this for the past 15 years and the palomar knot has never failed me. Feels good (insert tony, tony, tony song here).

Sadly, that is the nature of the beast, especially as a shore angler. The heavier the grass situation, the less effective the ds is for me.

That’s the one I bought lol. I reckon they ain’t got to be pretty or expensive to be functional. I had one from rapala but lost it. Time will tell but honestly, I’ll probably lose them from the dock with them falling into the lake lake my past two braid scissors, lol. Hence the cheap route because I know what’s going to happen.

Perhaps questionable, but its effectiveness is awfully or humble folk like me would stop using it from the shore. Well, in my case, I’m shorebound so I don’t have a choice, lol. ?? Signed, Flat Earth aka Horizontal Hotshot Dropshot Society Member (Founding Member) ? Thanks, WRB. I always appreciate and enjoy the history you give just as you have. I honestly think you should consider writing a book. Your knowledge on not only fishing techniques but also history is definitely worth putting to pen.

Funny you mentioned forceps. I bought a pair this season. They’re great for hook removal if needed.

Sorry, but it looks fake to me. I’m with jediamoeba. The piltdown man cometh!

@WRB: I hear you on never gut hooking a fish with the DS. I never have either, and I drop shot from the bank/shore 100%. I am not saying that what you said is not true, because there are probably shore anglers that may gut one. I did share with the OP what I do from the bank and maybe that can help the OP to minimize gut hooking. I did reread his post and I think his extra long time of the dead stick with slack line might be the culprit.

First, there is no “wrong” way to work the drop shot. You can do that. What I was trying to convey is that the lift and hop is not the only way. In other words, don’t limit yourself to just this mode. Wiggle/jiggle is also not the only option yet for some reason, and I was in this boat and also had this initial perception, that with the DS the wiggle-n-jiggle it to death was THE option... but it isn’t. I like to experiment and try things especially when trying new techniques so fortunately for me, the wiggle-n-jiggle it to death method as the only method was short lived. Find yourself some fairly shallow and clear water, maybe 3-5’ deep and drop it down for purely observational purposes. Remove the slack in the line but do not allow the weight to move from its position. You can do this by moving the rod such that you move the line or sometimes reeling up the unneeded slack. Keep your eye on the bait. Now release the tension a little by dropping the rod enough to release a little tension from the line. If you watched closely enough and if the bait you chose has a good action, you might be surprised at how much action resulted from such a little movement imparted to the line. Try this again and be mindful not to move the weight again. You can can do this multiple times in a row or less frequently. Some other things you can employ: Dead stick it with tension on the line. Dead stick it with minimal tension on the line. A floating bait will suspend or sink a smidgeon then suspend. A sinking bait will eventually land on the ground. You can add enough tension to raise it off the ground and release it to let it descend again. Talk about being able to keep the bait in a particularl spot with ease. Even better if that spot is a strike zone and where other lures, once moved, are “out of the zone” Maybe you can wiggle-jiggle it to death now. You drag it and paused it a couple if times. Why don’t you pop it next time or maybe the next two times? I am not against the wiggle-jiggle at all but I have learned that it is not the only way and of all the methods, has probably been the least productive. Not ineffective, because it has worked, just least productive. One thing about pop up and drop method and I do use it. Because, the fish can take it on the fall, we can miss the take if the slack is sufficient. In this scenario, it’s not much different from other baits taken on the descent. In this scenario we have to be super vigilant. When we leave the weight in place, IMHO, we have a slightly better chance on a semi-slack line or even fully slack line (which we don’t want) to better react, because when the fish takes, it does not matter which direction it travels after the take. Why? Because the fish will eventually and usually quickly remove the the slack from the line and when they tighten the line, we will feel their input and or/the weight move. This means fish on. Why? Because if we didn’t make the weight move, and we know that the weight won’t move on it’s own (except in strong current), then it is a fish that moved the weight or is giving the feedback of a take. Well, hopefully it isn’t a turtle... I love the DS so much that I try not to make it my go to but rather, my last resort, lol. Bass, trout, bluegills, pumpkin seeds, catfish, tilapia, a wide variety of saltwater fish in Mexico whose names I don’t know have been caught with the drop shot. Vary it. Mix it up. Go get it done and remember that you chances to feel the bite or take are best when you have sufficient tension on your line to feel it. My humble $0.10.

I can only guess you have too much slack. 0 tension means zero feel, any line, even braid. When you drop shot, you don’t want a slack line, and I can’t think of an application that calls for it. I call it for lack of a better description, semi-slack line. This is what I want. This a a point between the ds weight and my rod tip that the line is “loose” but I can still feel the weight if I pull back 1’ or less. Any more slack than that and you’re not going to feel it even if you had an NRX and worse, if they take and swim toward you. Keep at it. Experience in this department is the best teacher bar none.

I know Cabelas has a few 2-piece house brand models. Both casting and spinning. I primarily use 2-piece rods because I need to have rods in the trunk, lol. My true bass rods only see action on the weekends. I think i was looking at major craft rods and was surprised to see 2-piece casting and spinning not too long ago and they look really nice. I have a 1) 7’ M Cabelas mag touch (no longer made) casting rod. 2) 6’6” MH Shimano compre spinning rod 3) 7’ okuma celilo UL rod I did see a fish eagle 2 two-piece casting at BPS for about $80 they I’m eyeing for now. Adding an MH would pretty much round me out 2-piece wise. Even though my mag touch is only M powered, and it fishes like a medium to me, it has shocked me how easily it has driven home single hook lures like spinner baits and siwash hooks on my inline spinners and buzz bombs. Both of these rods are sensitive enough to feel the hit of blue gills and pumpkin seeds and easily handle the likes salmon, large bass and trout. Both my compre and mag touch seem so versatile. I’ve used both to drop shot, cranks, spinnerbaits, lighter jigs and senkos and t-rigs. I know we all prefer our one pieces overall but I’m gonna be straight up. If I let you fish with them, handed them to you before you saw me put it together, you wouldn’t even know they were 2-piece rods.

I actually hit them on the head with my precise pitches, lol. I do have an idea about what those bass might have been discussing about you, and it was probably what the bass in my lake talked about among each other. Islandbass' Bass Bass 1: Hey, look. It's islandbass coming up on the dock. Bass 2: Awesome. I love giving him a hard time of not biting. Bass 3: Right! Okay, here's the deal. Nobody bite on any lure he throws to us. Nothing. No matter what. Bass 1: Sounds good, but let's have an exception. Bass 2: Like what? Bass 3: Oh, Oh, oh! I know, unless he throw's a rooster tail. Bass 2: But he hasn't thrown one since he first started fishing years ago. Bass 1: (chuckling) -- That's the point, you dumb bass, he won't have one.

Some of the bass in a lake I fish are acclimated as such. I even let jigs and senkos bump bump them on their heads without a flinch. I have even had one swim up barely a rod’s length away look and stare at me for a few seconds and then nonchalantly about face and swim away. My findings have been that that while they can be skittish, they can be equally non skittish.

Oh yeah. Not sure how much they are these days, but you might want to check out Lamiglas Rods. They rep is well backed

Don't go shorter than 8'6" UNLESS your conditions dictate it. In my neck of the woods, if it ain't at least that length, you're bass fishin' lol. Just kidding there, but that extra length gives you additional ability to better control the line and set the hook from a farther distance. Like bass fishing, there are many techniques that will greatly influence the rod you get. For example, if you plan on throwing spinners, floating, using corkies, or fishing spoons, you could get into technique specific rods just like in bass fishing. If you are going to be targetting the smaller species like pinks and silvers, you could probably get away with the standard medium powered, fast action 8'6" rod. If you are going to definitely target Kings and Chum, then MH or even Heavy power, fact action rod is a decent choice. If you plan to float fish (Ie, fish with floats) then an even longer rod is a better choice, say 10'. I kid you not.