Drop shotting

I am wondering if any of you have used a “drop-shot” rig in the river? I just started using the rig last month after having been shown it by Steve Smith from Pure Fishing (Berkley) who was a guest on my show. I have been very successfull with the rig in no current water to twenty five feet for walleye and bass, using crawlers and minnows. I am wondering if it works in current, anyone been using it?

Hoggie Hoggard

Hum… No replies. Has anyone been using it … not on the river? I know that it is fairly new in our area and that it started out in Japan. I have found this rig to be the answer to hard to reach walleyes, down deep in the weeds! I’l be glad to share more on how the rig is tied and works, if anyone is interested. Hoggie Hoggard

I’d be interested. Always willing to learn a new method to add to my presentations. Are you the Hoggie that was or still is a field tester for Impulse?

I know guys that have had great sucsess using this method at red wing …. we call it miller rigging….. use a bell sinker and tie two hooks above it and rig into the current or cast to shore and pull out slowly…can be adeadly winter spring fishing method

hi, i began using this method last fall. this year i have paid more attention to the success rate compared to other methods. fishing in the current this method is out fishing a plain hook and split shot by about 50%. same results compared against jigging. when i use a jig as a dropper, 90% of the fish are coming on the plain hook. one thing to consider though is where i am fishing the eyes may be jig wary. never the less drop shotting is putting more eyes in the boat. i am heading to lake ida ( alexandria area ) for vacation. plan on trying drop shotting in the weeds. will let you know how i do.

don

Yep, thats me. Impulse is no more. Uniden bought them out years ago and at this time, has no pro-staff program. Uniden continues to make fishing electronics, however nothing like the Impulse 4040 (which I consider was the most advanced gps/locator of all time).

Where and when did we bump heads?

Drop-shotting, the way I was taught, is to tie a palimar (spelling may not be right here) knot that ends up having a long tag end of a few inches to several feet depending on how far away from the sinker you want the hook. Then, pass the tag end through the hook eye, past the knot, again. This second pass throught the hook eye makes the hook stand out straight from the line. Now, you tie a knot in the very end of the tag that will keep a split-shot on without being able to slide off, past the knot. You may use a small split-shot or large, or two, or three. Or, a bell sinker works too. There are new weights available at Cabela’s Retail that have a snap on them, that are especially made for this rig (that snap on to a loop you tie at the end of your line for a “quick-change” method). The amount of weight you add will effect the angle to the bottom on a drift or the distance you can cast the rig. A circle hook is best used as this rig is usually “dead-sticked” and the fish will swallow the hook most times. A circle hook will most times, lip hook the fish. This lets you do an effective release. This rig is very effective for drifting because the hook and bait will stay a constant distance from the bottom. If you set the hook up one foot, the bait will not fall any closer than that, unless you give the line slack. As soon as the weight hits bottom and you keep a tight line, you will be in the exact depth zone that you have set, like…foe example, one foot off the bottom. When the bottom changes to weeds, the hook can be tied at a distance to stay above the weeds while the weight falls through the pockets to the bottom. This lets you fish the bait just higher that the weed tops (if set to that depth). If the bell sinker or split-shot gets snagged on a weed, you can tell eaisly. The pole will begin to be bent on a sready pull. With a snap of the rod tip, the weight will dis-lodge and get free of the weeds, most times. Each time the weight becomes snagged and is released by you or by the rod tention. When this happens, the weight is “hopped” forward and then seeks the bottom again. This action “jigs” the hook and bait. This jigging action happens over and over, again and again, as you are drifting and as the weight snags briefly on the the bottom. This imparts a lot of action to the bait. “Sweeping” the rod while drifting, will “hop” the weight forward and then let the bait fall slowly, on the slack line, adding even more action.

This rig works great from shore when casted because only the weight is on the bottom and with line tention variations and rod height, you can let the bait rise and fall…. “jigging” the live bait without moving the weight.

I have adapted several new ideas that have changed the rig and how I use it. I leave a tag line of several feet with a knot in the end. I put on a bass style needle sinker or bullet sinker (a weedless type) and then use a small removable split shot above the knot. It is adjustable to any depth by sliding the split-shot to one foot (for example) and then I crimp the weight in place with my pliers. I leave the loose end of the line to “trail” behind the weight. I then adjust to a deeper setting quickly, by grabbng the pliers and moving the split-shot down the line. The split-shot will stay in place when crimped. The needle sinker before it, passes through the weeds without ever getting snagged. If It should snag, a snap on the rod tip releases the weight and there are no weeds left on the weight. I use a bass size True-turn hook and rig the crawler or minnow weedless by going out the head and then back into the body. With a weedless live bait rig and a weedless weight set-up, I can work right to the bottom of those thick weed pockets and come back out without bringing the weed with me!

Many times I will let out 50 to 75 yards of anchor rope on a weedline and let the wind work the boat so it does a “big swing” in the wind. I then work this “weedless drop-shot rig” through the weeds deep in the pockets to the bottom. If the walleyes are there, which they are on certain days and conditions, I have the bait right in front of them. I can not do this with a jig – too many snags…. or a crankbait……or a bobber rig….. or anything elce. Everything elce brings back the weeds with every retreve. It is a nice rig for deep weeds and the answer to getting those “boat-spooked” fish that hide deep in weed pockets or that are there to escape the bright sun.

The rig works great in deep water, the mud and the rocks too. In the rocks, I use a barrel sinker and split-shot combination as it is less likely to snag up

I hope this helps to get you more dish as it has for me.

Dave “Hoggie” Hoggard

Good stuff Hoggie! It’s neat to read a well thought out post. It just goes to show that there is always plenty to learn and try.

We meet at the Chicagoland Show in Rosemount some years back at the Impulse booth. You were also kind enough to get my unit repaired(moisture inside display panel) when I dropped it off at your home in Owatonna during the seasonal opener that year. I’m the guy you had so much trouble talking to because I’m hearing impaired. Small world, huh. I still have my unit. I consider it superior than many of the units on the market today even if it doesn’t have all the newer bells and whistles that they do. It gets the job done.

Back to split shotting. What pound strength mono and specific rod specifications work best with the presentatiion?

Take care. Hope to see you at the FTR getogether.

Leo, I remember you. Nice to hear from you again too! Leo, if you want to send me a personal message with your address, I will send you my version of this rig by land mail. Or, you can reach me at [email protected] which is my Email address.

Line – I like to use Berkley Fireline for the “feel” of transmiting the bite. I tie that to a swivel ( this stops any debris that travels down the line that would normaly end up on the hook) then to five feet of Trilene 10lb. XL. (I understand tht you may face problems in the river with zebra muscles though and might have to use spider wire and then tie to a heaver mono). I would guess that the newer and more invisible lines would work good in this application too.

Rods – I use a 6′ 6″ Berkley Series One medium action IM7 for this rig. Lots of backbone and a fast tip! I have scaled it down using a lighter rod and all mono, but found the heaver rod is nessary to allow enough of the rod tention to let the rod do the “self-release” when snagged in weeds. A wimpy rod with out enough backbone, realy bends too far before it rips loose the weight from a weed snag. You loose a lot of “feel” by not using Fireline too, not that feel is so importamt when doing a dead-stick approach.

FYI – this is the rig for kids! A kid can drag this rig behind the boat on the bottom and catch lots of fish, with no casting involved. And not bring up weeds all the time. I have four rods set up like this in the boat.

Good luck on the water there buddie, I hope to see you at the FTR Get-Together too!

By the way, I have two new sons and a daughter that I adopted from Russia, that all love to fish. Their ages are 12, 11, and 9. You’ll meet the boys and maybe the girl too at the FTR Get-Together, though the girl vows to shop in Redwing with mom while I fish the river that day!

“Hoggie” Hoggard