I am new to the drop shotting world, but it really sparks my interest. What would you guys say is the best rod/reel combo for getting the job done? I know there are alot of variables, but I would like to keep the combo around 200$. What size reel and length/power/action of rod? Preferably something from *** because I have a gift card. Thanks for you help in advance -- Tight lines

I'm no expert, but I would suggest a Pflueger Tri-30 on a 6' or  6' 6" medium light to medium power with a fast taper.  There are a lot of good rods out there to get with the leftover money, like a St. Croix Avid X or even a E6x on sale.  Otherwise you could get a lightning rod, ugly stik, shimano stimula or other similar rod and have a nice combo for less than $100.

 

you could also use this setup for other finesse presentations as well, such as weightless trick worms, grubs, power worms, and so on.  Just my $0.02.  Good luck 

Lews Custom 6'9"  med. rod with whatever you could afford Pflueger reel.

Get the ALX IKOS from tackle warehouse and Pflueger President LE for 65 at cabelas

7' MF or 6'10" MLXF straight floor use 2500 size reel

3000 use braid

I went with the Veritas ML 6' 9" rod and the Pflueger Supreme 30 size reel.  Extremely light and sensitive.  The guide I use when I go on vacation turned me onto this combo and I couldn't be happier.

I got the rod from a camping site and the reel from ebay.  Combo cost me $152.  

My dad is using a Dobyns Fury 702SF. It works perfectly for finesse plastics, including dropshot. He normally tosses a 1/15oz Ned Rig on it.

The reel won't make much of a difference. Anything in the 2000 to 3000 size range. Whatever your preference.

6'-8" to 7'-2" MLXF Fenwick or Shimano Compre with a Pflueger President LE or Supreme (25 or 30) or a Shimano Sedona 2500 or 3000. 12-15 lb braid and 8 lb fluoro leader. A line setup with little to no line twist that Never fails.

1000 or 2500 size reel depending on the rod, and a MXF power/action would be my preference.  Length doesn't really matter to me, I use a 6'8", 7'2",even an 8' sometimes.

A tiny caveat to using 1000 sized reels: they often only employ a single felt washer and keyed metal washer.  The 2500 series reels generally use 5 or more alternating keyed, felt, dog eared, etc. setup.  The multi washer set up is a bit smoother.  It's more important if you are going to use line below 8# size.  If you're going braid, I wouldn't hesitate to drop to the smaller size reel.  In fact, here's a pic with me, a 5# smallie, and a Daiwa 1500 series reel loaded with 15# braid, and leader from 6# fluoro (see article).

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot-bedding-bass.html