Favorite Drop Shot Baits
Many people believe that all hand poured straight
tail worms have the same action and all work on a drop-shot just
as well. But, this in fact is not true! Angler’s Choice
straight tail worms were made to be a drop-shot bait. Don‘t
get me wrong, they work great for split shot, Texas rig, and
dart head too, but they were designed to have the action that
is really needed on a drop-shot rig. And when using a drop-shot,
action is exactly what we are looking for, as well as the fish!
All the colors that are made work very well, but I have found
that Blue Ghost is productive on all the lakes (clear and dirty
water) I have ever fished.
Another great bait for the use on a drop-shot
is a 3" Z-Shad, also made by Angler‘s Choice. The Z-Shad
does not have the crazy action as the straight tail but, still
has a very unique action, and catches a ton of fish. I have found
it to be most productive on a lake with pond smelt in it, such
as Lake Oroville. When you drop it down in the water and "dance"
it around right where those big spotted bass are hiding, they
just go absolutely nuts for it! It resembles a wounded pond smelt
very well, because of it’s size and the unique action that
it gives. Also one thing that I think helps the bait is it’s
flat tail on the back. It helps displace more water making it
easier for a bass to find. As far as colors for the Z-Shad I’ve
found that Blue Neon works very well on all the lakes. One more
bait that I am just going to talk real quick about is a 3"
Chubby Worm made by Angler‘s Choice. This is a big fish
bait, at least it has been for me. I will normally throw the
Chubby Worm on bedding bass in a baby bass color and I will stay
with the baby bass color through out the post spawn, because
it matches the fry that just hatched and we all know bass feed
on their fry. Now that you know what baits to use, let’s
talk about where, when, and how to fish a drop-shot.
Where: A drop-shot is a very versatile bait.
I have vertically fished it in 60 feet of water. I have thrown
it in 30 feet of water and drug it along the bottom. And I have
flipped it against docks and in tulles in 5 feet of water. So
basically you can fish it anywhere there are fish, and that’s
what makes it such a awesome technique!
When: The drop-shot will catch fish year around!
I have caught fish on a drop-shot in every month of the year.
It’s just a very consistent way to catch fish and that’s
why it has been used as a back up pattern in many tournaments.
The best time for a drop-shot though is with out a doubt during
the Fall when lake’s turn over and fishing can become tough
for some.
How: The drop-shot is very easy to fish. Cast
your bait out and "shake & pause" it back to the
boat. Vary up the amount of time you shake the bait as well.
For example, shake for 5 seconds and pause for 2 seconds. Then
shake for 3 seconds and pause for 4 seconds. It never hurts to
experiment with a drop-shot either. So try dead-sticking it or
dragging it like I have.
After reading this article I only hope that
you have learned something new that will help you in future fishing.
If you want to have the best chance at catching drop-shot fish
please try the baits I mentioned, because they really do catch
fish! Take care and good fishing!!!
Justin Lucas |
