Dropshotting: Anyone try it?

[yackfisher]

Anyone using the dropshot technique for breaming? Been reading a bit of US content, reckon it might work here on bream/jew in deep holes or on a slow drift with a bigger plastic/jighead combo for the bottom weight.

[Sloth]

Yep tried it. Spinshot hooks, dropshot weights etc from the U.S.

Figured it would smash the bream holding deep at the docks.

Found it to be no more productive than a traditional jighead plastic and more hassle to rig.

I am landbased with no sounder do it may be a technique better suited to using on sounded fish holding at depth.

Im about to throw away a bunch of dropshot weights and hooks today as part of clearing out tackle I don't use

[Martin Lo]

Yup. Key is to work it a lot less than what you usually do with jigs. A good bait will tend to "shiver" on the spot. If you're land based it's helpful for getting a light bait way out in a drain. I like it because I can get it down where I want it in current. the weight you put on affects the rate of fall rather than the action. Say you want a 2" minnow to dance 6" above the bottom 30ft down, it's the best way to do it imo.

[Sloth]

Agree ... If you know fish are holding there.

Landbased, in my opinion, you need to be able to rapidly search and prospect for fish and dropshot isn't the right tool for that.

[sucker]

i dont know about bream, but jew yeah, i know blokes who skindive breakwalls looking for jews hiding in the caves in the wall then come back and dropshot jerkshads in front of them.

[Martin Lo]

N

Originally Posted by Sloth

Agree ... If you know fish are holding there.

Landbased, in my opinion, you need to be able to rapidly search and prospect for fish and dropshot isn't the right tool for that.

YEP, hit it on the nail there. Trying to search for fish on a dropshot will most likely give you badly twisted line, I only cast them at likely spots and up current of structure likely to hold fish. I don't try to work it in as the point is to suspend a bait in front of them for quite a while. Patience is very hard to come by for me and in Mosman, Sydney my initial thoughts was that it was not the go to technique. Then I started getting strikes when I was on the phone or trying to light a smoke in the wind....

As to going the one-two to locate then target with finesse setups, the DS setup I found is the best complement to a nice fast reaction setup.

Do you move about a lot land based? 2 rods can be a pain but I carry a rather long 7'6" elixir as the reaction rod, as soon as I get a tick or even bait movement in or better yet a little fish, in goes the dropshot. If go out one rod its pretty simple to have a small leader spool with a pretied DS rig... something small like a #1 gama DS hook, 1/8 tungsten rod, even at tiny ika on ready to go. extending on with a uni takes not much longer than retying a bait.

[Sloth]

Don't think its so much "anti-US technique" sentiment but more "do what is most effective"

I move a lot and move rapidly until I locate active bream. Two rods isn't feasible for me. I also don't like spending a lot of time chopping and changing or re-rigging (my sessions are short and I value the time highly).

I've experimented a lot in the last 18months and where I ended up was back at SP traditionally rigged on jigheads using braid and fc leader and hardbodies on braid and fc leader (as well as straight through fc).

The US techniques I tried were wacky rigging, dropshot, c-rig and t-rigs. I gave them a decent go but my experience was (with some caveats) they were no more effective than traditional* rigging methods.

*trad for me is an sp on a jighead or a hardbody tied to the end of the line

The caveats:

T-rigs:

I use these sporadically but in select spots and with select SP. Mainly use it with worm patterns where I'm working them slowly through weedbeds or in areas with extremely snaggy and broken bottoms or when I'm pitching into fallen timber. It's 5% of my fishing and I only use it where the snag-up rate is unacceptable with a traditional jighead. Rigged weedless I also feel hookup rate suffers - even with a "US Style" strike

C-rig:

I go heavy as I can on the sinker and only use this to try to figure out whats on the bottom of a new area. Its my snag and structure finder. Theres a plastic behind it on the off-chance. Its mainly for discovery of fish holding structure that I can then target with a traditional rig at a later date. Sensible people would use a sounder instead


So back to the other methods ... wacky rigging.... might work for implosion feeders like bass but I found my local bream are a bunch of ass peckers and basically its just short strike frustration. Vic regs are max two hooks per line so you can't stinger both ends of the worm without moving the central hook. All together too much faff so it was discarded.

Dropshot .... I thought this would smash the bream on the bottom at the docks but nope. If fish are there it works for sure but I'd rather have a traditional SP rig that is easily fished throughout the whole water column so I can find where they are holding for the day. I also again got a lot of short strikes. Nose hooking was the worst but even rigged on the shank of #2 dropshot hook I still got a lot of ass peckers harassing me. Worked well for flatties slowly dragged along the bottom - but so does the trad rig - don't need finesse for flatties

Some weird stuff I made up (but wouldn't be surprised if it has been done before):

Micro vibes under a running float. Floated it under the docks. Free spooled line and off it went to the depths. Actually worked lol.

Bladeshot:

Drop shot but with the DS weight replaced by a blade (single treb on rear of blade). Give it a vibe. Let it settle then twitch the plastic above it like a standard DS presentation.

One-armed Crabshot:

Dropshot but with a cranka crab as the DS weight. Only one treb on the crab ... kind of felt stupid so just fished the crab whole without the DS above it ... now that definitely works

So for me ... it was fun experimenting but I've come back to simplicity. I can't beat the simplicity of a traditional rig ... its easy to rig, easy to manage and it works for 95% of my fishing. It allows me to fish one rod and it allows me to quickly switch lure and also between hardbodies and SPs .... I do have a HB rod and an SP rod with different actions but I am always happy to compromise and fish SP on my hb rod and vice versa.

What made the biggest difference to my fishing? Learning about fish behaviour and especially learning about my local fishery. I feel that in the main consistency is coming from getting lures consistently in front of fish and less from using a particular lure or fishing technique/style.

[yackfisher]

Mostly kayak fishing and prospecting for fish using an elite 5 downscan imaging unit in holes 3-7 meters deep. Im going to give it a go when our system clears from recent rains.

[yackfisher]

Oh and sloth, well crafted and interesting reply. I do think ill end up back to simplicity just want to mix things up a dit for diversity.

[Sloth]

A you can sound up fish I'd definitely say its worth trying

[Bait Caster]

Agree totally with Sloth. Well put comments. Dropshotting does work on fish suspended around weed beds especially. Use a proper drop shot weight to allow easy depth changes. Also don't use the rod to impart movement to the SP. Instead hold the rod in hand and gently tap the rod butt with varying degrees of vigour. This gives a much more controlled shimmy to your lure. Works on all sorts of shut down, schooled fish. Would not call a fixed sinker rig cast from the shore drop shotting.

[vxcalais]

Originally Posted by Martin Lo

YEP, hit it on the nail there. Trying to search for fish on a dropshot will most likely give you badly twisted line, I only cast them at likely spots and up current of structure likely to hold fish. I don't try to work it in as the point is to suspend a bait in front of them for quite a while. Patience is very hard to come by for me and in Mosman, Sydney my initial thoughts was that it was not the go to technique. Then I started getting strikes when I was on the phone or trying to light a smoke in the wind....

As to going the one-two to locate then target with finesse setups, now I can guess the usual suspects with chime in on "US Bass crap" again but the DS setup I found is the best complement to a nice fast reaction setup.

Do you move about a lot land based? 2 rods can be a pain but I carry a rather long 7'6" elixir as the reaction rod, as soon as I get a tick or even bait movement in or better yet a little fish, in goes the dropshot. If go out one rod its pretty simple to have a small leader spool with a pretied DS rig... something small like a #1 gama DS hook, 1/8 tungsten rod, even at tiny ika on ready to go. extending on with a uni takes not much longer than retying a bait.

Dropshot rig is actually used as a search bait in the US. I use the tungsten weights, expensive but worth it. If you snag they break loose. There should be no line twist due to swivel above rig. I also use the Hooks with the swivels attached.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_S...age-VMCSS.html

The tiny ika with salt are great but rig them in the nose with the plastic sitting on the tip. They key is also you dont strike up on the fish but you reel set the fish and strike to the side. Your limited by the bream if they don't take the whole plastic. Bass have larger mouths. Also blowies slam your plastic.

Other plastics to use with em are the ecogear Bream prawns and Gulp Hellgramite.

[Martin Lo]

Oh awesome! VX, glad to know I'm not alone! I hate swivels so it's straight on for me. I just untwist the line every hour or go braid. Twist is not so bad nose hooking but it's a devil when I try to wacky rig. With tungsten rod weights I can remember the last time I snagged, the key is a sensitive rod allowing me to feel the difference between the rod standing up or laying down

Reel setting is definitely the way to go but with seeking I still prefer a shaky head 1/16-1/8 as I alternately swim, hop or shake as I come across cover.

The way that was taught to me was to shake the slack not the weight when it comes to work a dropshot. When there is sufficient current I don't do even that.

[vxcalais]

Originally Posted by Martin Lo

Oh awesome! VX, glad to know I'm not alone! I hate swivels so it's straight on for me. I just untwist the line every hour or go braid. Twist is not so bad nose hooking but it's a devil when I try to wacky rig. With tungsten rod weights I can remember the last time I snagged, the key is a sensitive rod allowing me to feel the difference between the rod standing up or laying down

Reel setting is definitely the way to go but with seeking I still prefer a shaky head 1/16-1/8 as I alternately swim, hop or shake as I come across cover.

The way that was taught to me was to shake the slack not the weight when it comes to work a dropshot. When there is sufficient current I don't do even that.

Nice . I tried wacky rig but no luck. I use a similar rig with the nail weight pressed into the nose of the worm. Then i hook the body of the worm and if using softer types use cable tie and the hook wont tear off the plastic. The nail weights are lead and pretty cheap. Makes the worm dance like nothing else really. Remember now, its called Neko rig. Using elastic can cut into the plastic, especially gulp. I use smallest cable ties possible. The Damiki worms are great, i will check pack for name. Unscented the Damiki guys on here may be able to get em in with scent.

https://youtu.be/IB-sB6ijxMc

[scott1987]

How come you keep bringing up that people have an opinion about your "US bass techniques" Martin lo. It's like your trying to justify it everytime you bring it up? Seems kinda pointless to keep on referring to people who may have disagreed with said techniques