Ok... I have never fished a drop shot.  For the next two months I am going to concentrate on learning the carolina rig (awesome thread above by the way!!!) and the drop shot.  i just went to http://bassresource.com/fishing/DropShot_Rig.html and it did a good job of showing me how to rig it.  but,  If my memory serves me, doesn't Aaron Martens (deadly w/ Drop Shot) tie a different knot? Seems like i remember something on ESPN about his drop shot.  

Any help will be appreciated.  Like I said I have never even tied on.  

I think he uses an improved clinch knot on his dropshot rig. I just use the palomar and retie often. Works fine.

Its my favorite rig to fish for pure numbers. Never caught a big fish on one, about 4.5lbs is probably my biggest on it. It can be a ton of fun and a skunk buster too.

I did not see the html on Martens.    If you run the tag line back through the eye, its supposed to keep the hook standing out.

Matt

Aaron Martins uses an improved clinch knot when drop shotting because he uses florocarbon.  Florocarbon and palomar knots don't go well together.  They tend to break.  Good luck with the drop shot and don't limit yourself to what everyone else it doing.  My girlfriend slays em by drop shotting a 7.5" curly tail with a #2 Gamakatsu drop shot hook.  Creature baits, senkos, flukes, try it all.  Spinnerbait trailers work too.

I use the palomar with flouro too. I don't have any problems. But I don't use the 5lb flouro that alot of guys use. I use 10lb. But I retie alot.

Fourbizzle,

Which soft-plastics do you prefer for drop-shotting?

Roger

I keep my plastics EXTREMELY simple.

I use 4.5-6 inch straight tailed worms, and 4" leeches. Some roboworms, and a local hand pour company.

4 basic colors

1 clear/white super subtle/natural color for very clear water, stubborn fish, or fish that are on shad hard

1  LOUD (morning dawn) color for aggressive spots and smallies, certain water conditions

1 natural/darker color that will blend in with the environment. i use this one most

1 dark/chart tail color for dirtier water. I don't dropshot much in less than 3ft vis, but this is what i will use.

Especially with the drop shot, i think catching fish is based more upon technique, depth of water, depth of fish, and lastly color groups (not 500 different colors).

Man! I love drop shotting!

I use the palomar with flouro too. I don't have any problems. But I don't use the 5lb flouro that alot of guys use. I use 10lb. But I retie alot.

Really? What kind of Florocarbon do you use? I use tweleve pound for my senkos and I have tried about five different brands but I never have good knot strength.

I DS with 6lb Cuda which is Florocarbon coated and I use a Palomar on that all the time with great results.

Thanks for your response fourbizzle, it's much appreciated 8-)

Roger

Here is a little something I wrote on dropshotting that might help some.

http://www.tritonmike.com/flattail.html

Straight from the horses mouth (Aaron Martens):

"The knot I use for drop shot rigging is actually a clinch knot called the Double Clinch. To tie, double your line and push it through the hook eye. Holding the tag end with the standing line, wrap the loop up the line five times and push it through the bottom loop, just above the eye. Lubricate the knot and carefully cinch down the knot with even pressure on the tag and standing line and the doubled over loop. Cut off the remaining loop and run the line through the eye with the point facing up. I always start with a long tag end for drop shot rigging, especially in clear water."

From here:  http://www.questoutdoors.net/skills/castspin/articles/drop-shot-rig/

Seaguar Invizx 10lb.

I use the palomar with flouro too. I don't have any problems. But I don't use the 5lb flouro that alot of guys use. I use 10lb. But I retie alot.

I also use the Palomar with my FC line and have not experience any trouble with it. I also make the effort to be careful and not careless when tying it.

I also use 6# SeaGuar invizx and have been fishing rip rap the times I have been out. The beauty of this line is that it makes freeing snags a heck of a lot easier than my rig with 30# braid.  ;D

As for tips, I will add:

1) Drop Shotting isn't all about wiggling and jiggling the bait to death. This tactic has accounted for the least of my strikes.  I find it more effective to work the semi-slack in the line to give the lure motion and life and/or deadsticking.

Here is a little something I wrote on dropshotting that might help some.

http://www.tritonmike.com/flattail.html

Good Stuff !! Mike  

My basic problem with the drop shot rig is having the line get all tangled with my other rods and line.

What a mess.

Any suggestions as to how you guys "store" your drop shot rig when not in use so it does not get all tangled with other rods and lines?

Thanks.

My basic problem with the drop shot rig is having the line get all tangled with my other rods and line.

What a mess.

Any suggestions as to how you guys "store" your drop shot rig when not in use so it does not get all tangled with other rods and lines?

Thanks.

I put the hook in an eyelet close to the reel.  I then hold the rod up and swing the weight letting the line wrap around the rod.  It will usually wrap tight.  I reverse the proceedure when I want to use it again.

Thanks, Jig Man.

I will do that again and maybe take one of those twists that come on bread to hold the weight onto the rod.

1) Drop Shotting isn't all about wiggling and jiggling the bait to death. This tactic has accounted for the least of my strikes.  I find it more effective to work the semi-slack in the line to give the lure motion and life and/or deadsticking.

Same here.

if you have a hook hanger  that looks like this h where the left hand line is the rod blank, then you can just put the eye of the weight in the hanger.

My basic problem with the drop shot rig is having the line get all tangled with my other rods and line.

What a mess.

Any suggestions as to how you guys "store" your drop shot rig when not in use so it does not get all tangled with other rods and lines?

Thanks.

Sam,

Get yourself some small, heavy rubber bands from Staples. Put the hook in the first guide and slip the sinker under the rubber band around your grip. Leave the band around your grip while fishing. When you are ready to store the rod or move to a new spot you will be all set. Be careful spinning the weight around the rod, if you have a high modulus rod the sinker can chip it and cause it to break. JMHO

Ronnie

I have alot of fun with drop shotting.

I suspect from reading Aaron's own statement about the knot he uses that breakage isn't the issue.

It seems like he has a definitle presentation in mind, and that knot gives him the angle he wants.

I use BPS 8 lb flouro and a trilene knot.

I catch alot of "keeper" size bass.  Nothing big, but oddly no real dinks either.   My number one drop shot bait is a zoom finesse worm, on a size 1 owner mutu light circle. with a 1/6 oz. bell sinker.

I have sat over deep holes and pulled a dozen or more bass out of one spot doing this.

My basic problem with the drop shot rig is having the line get all tangled with my other rods and line.

What a mess.

Any suggestions as to how you guys "store" your drop shot rig when not in use so it does not get all tangled with other rods and lines?

Thanks.

When I am done for the day, I attach the hook to the rod's hookkeeper and take off the weight. They have those velcro thingies to hold the weight, but I am too cheap to grab a piece of velcro.  ;D

All my rods have to "U" shaped hook keep. I took sidecutters and cut the back so I can slide the line thur. Almost 2 years and they haven't broke yet. I'm just carefull when the do I will put the right ones on.

Tryed those velcro things ............garbage.

Garnet

My fishing partner and I drop-shotted tubes for smallies in Lake Erie for the last 10 years, always using 10-lb Vanish fluorocarbon and Palomar knots. Our fishing method on Erie mainly consists of dragging the bait through rock piles and mussel beds as the boat drifts. Very good knot strength. Very low incidence of breakoffs. But when we tried dropping to 8-pound fluoro, our line failure rate went up big time. With the 10, we could drag it through rocks for as much as an hour straight before re-tieing, and this was fishing for smallmouths up to 6+ pounds, in money tournaments.

On the other item that this thread has generated, holding the drop shot tangle-free, we tried a lot of different setups over the years, eventually settling on the homely bread-bag tie [twist tie] as the easiest. On Lake Erie, our typical run out in the morning and back in the afternoon was 20-40 miles, often in 5-7 foot waves. You want to talk about tangled rods! If we hadn't tied all our rigs up, we wouldn't have had a thing to fish when we arrived at our spot.