I'm going to practice drop shotting because I'm planning an Ozark trip later this year . I just havent used it around here  but in the clear rocky lakes I know its a staple . i have a drop shot combo .

 

: What line works well ?   

 

: Could I use a bullet weight , bobber stop and tie an overhand knot on the end ? It seems to me that would work exactly the same as an expensive drop shot weight  .

 

: In my practicing I'll be fishing in stained water  , where 6 inch jelly worms work extremely well . Any reason I have to go to a smaller worm ? Or is there a reason to use tiny worms . I have hundreds of jelly worms .I could always bite them down a little .

 

Any other advice would be appreciated . Heading to Table Rock or LOZ for a whole nine days , seven full days for fishing in late Sept maybe early Oct .

Fishing a drop shot, like many techniques, can be as simple or complicated as we want to make it.

 There are some priorities that regardless of how far or not that one takes it, can make the whole deal more effective.

 First one for me is line twist.  The constant up & down of the rig can twist the heck out of the line.

Rigging the bait straight (no spinning) helps as does using a weight rigging method that come through the water (up & down) without spinning is highly desirable as well. 

 SO yes you can tie a bullet weight to your line and it will get you to the bottom, but if it's spinning like a top the whole time, you're going to realize the badness in short order.

I prefer braid (8 or 10lb) and a leaders (6-8lb)  but may anglers do well with Mono & FC too. 

As for baits, there options are endless.  

Worms, stick baits, fluke style and everything in between work.

Here's a little more info

Good Luck

A-Jay

 

 

21 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 SO yes you can tie a bullet weight to your line and it will get you to the bottom, but if it's spinning like a top the whole time, you're going to realize the badness in short order.

I wouldnt be tying it . I would slide it on , attach a bobber stop , then tie an overhand knot to keep it on the line but still pull off if it gets wedged  . That would make it a nice straight set-up with no spinning . I also have some of those VMC drop shot hooks with the swivel .

I think you can fish it any of those ways because it doesn't change the rig really.  You could add a swivel to the weight, that might help twisting if it becomes an issue.  How you rig it and how it works for you, that's gonna be some trial and error.   What makes drop shot a new tool in the toolbox is that it can be rigged basically with no specialized hardware, and offers these two key features:

 

1. reliably keeps your lure off the bottom by some amount, dictated by the length to the weight and the angle you're fishing it, without a float of any kind.

 

2. jiggling the line can impart great action to the lure at a fixed depth, without your lure leaving the spot.

 

Using it with light line and tiny lures, is all optional IMO.  Fish the line and lure based on location and target fish, it's still gives you those key features.  It does lend itself well to finesse, because if someone thinks the bass need a long time to see a subtle, enticing lure, to finally want to bite...dropshot gives them that tool with little effort.

 

It's fished well vertically like jigging around structure , or casted and retrieved...still giving you both features #1 and #2 above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I wouldnt be tying it . I would slide it on , attach a bobber stop , then tie an overhand knot to keep it on the line but still pull off if it gets wedged  . That would make it a nice straight set-up with no spinning . I also have some of those VMC drop shot hooks with the swivel .

Sounds good.

A small bead at the end of the line could act like a weight stopper as well.

Those VMC DS hooks will do the trick too.

Leader (hook to weight) distance length can vary but 12-14 inches is a good starting point.

A-Jay

Buy a bag of drop shot 1/4 oz weights with the built in swivel it's well worth a few dollars, your time fishing is more valuable then saving a few dollars. Tie a overhand knot  at the tag end to prevent the weight from pulling off easily.

The VMC hook will be OK, hook the worm about 1/4" back from the nose end with exposed hook point, you don't need a weedless rigged worm for clear rock structure lakes. 

Save your Jelly worms unless you have 6" straight tail size, they will work OK, don't bite off 7 1/2" too big in diameter. If you want to catch fish instead of practicing with a drop shot buy a bag 6" Roboworms in oxblood light red flake or MMIII they work everywhere.

Don't over fish the drop shot lightly shake the slightly slack line and lift when the bass bites.

Good luck,

Tom