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Drop Shot Bass Fishing – An Advanced Technique to Nail Sowbelly Bass!

Drop Shot Bass Fishing – An Advanced Technique to Nail Sowbelly Bass!

When the spawn is over, it becomes harder to catch those huge bass because they stop striking out of aggression. Fortunately, the drop shot rig, when fished correctly, will trigger that reflex in those lunker bass. While the tips here will increase the quality of your catch, the quantity of your catch is always going to be determined by how well you can read the water. Of course, the overall best strategy whether by boat or foot is to not linger in one place too long, you can will cut down on wasted time by being able to tell whether what your looking at is likely to be holding bass.

The drop shot rig is presents your bait off the bottom. Tie a hook, any kind (I prefer Octopus style) from a size 4 to a 2/0 depending on the bait you are using, but be sure and leave at least a foot of extra line beyond the not. The usual knot calls for a palomar tied such that the hook gap is facing up. Google this as what we are discussing here is technique and not so much the rigging. Add some weight to the bottom, about twice as much as what your bait weighs. When fishing the drop shot, it is strongly advised that you use a good flourocarbon line. Visibility, or lack of it, is paramount to teasing that slab into taking the bait. You can drop shot any bait, live or artificial, but I prefer to start with a Senko type bass worm (the larger, thicker ones). The traditional drop shot technique calls for nose hooking the bait. However, I have found that wacky rigging has a higher hook up rate. To wacky rig your worm, just hook it through the middle!

It will take a little bit of learning, but you will soon be able to tell exactly what your weight is moving over when you retrieve the line. There is a very distinct feel of being bit but don’t be discouraged if you can’t distinguish between bouncing over rocks and being picked up by a bass. When you have mastered that, it is time to take the next step: do nothing. It sounds counter intuitive but the best way to nail the big boys is to just barely jig your bait, particularly if you know there is a fish where you are casting. A lot of bass pros will disagree with this approach, but try it. Put your bait in the spot and then just very subtly bounce your rod tip. Bounce it some more. And then bounce it some more. This technique really requires patience, as the bass will likely ignore you for some time before hitting. But when he does, it will all have paid off! Make sure you build up some tension in the line before actually setting the hook. This tip applies to all fishing but it is particularly important with the drop shot if you want to keep your conversions high.