Dicks carries the VMC Spinshot hooks! And like somebody else said, add a swivel 18-24" above the hook. I find the biggest problem to be, when I do catch a fish on the DS the weight wraps around the entire rig creating one big clustermug
Dick's it is!!!!! Thanks
Aaron Martens says not to use a swivel (or at least says he never uses a swivel) and KVD did a show on Bass Pros where he showed him adding it one show and actually using it (a swivel) in another but Martens is a dropshot freak. The swivel is a little bit of a pain with casting and reeling it up the eye but does the job.
so what does Aaron Martens do? Have three or four rods tied for dropshot and just stop using them when they're too twisted? These are things I never thought of before yesterdays twist-a-thon
Anybody have any twist prevention tips? I haven't seen any mention of swivels in all of my reading about drop shotting but the few times I've tried it I end up with a twisted mess of line
Ok, being as Im a Major Drop Shot Freak, Im going to chime in on this one only because I know for a fact what Im about to say greatly reduces line twist.
The main reason there is so much line twist when drop shotting is the helicopter type of fall that the bait has when it hits the water, unless the bait is hooked exactly 100% dead center when you through hook the bait from top bottom to top, the fall of the bait is going to cause the line to twist.
To avoid this, nose hook the bait, and by nose hook I mean through the bottom of the bait with the hook point just poking out the FRONT or nose of the bait, not the TOP
On the fall the bait will swing up and ride parrarel to the line as it falls without spinning out of control, trust me it makes a difference.
Anybody have any twist prevention tips? I haven't seen any mention of swivels in all of my reading about drop shotting but the few times I've tried it I end up with a twisted mess of line
Ok, being as Im a Major Drop Shot Freak, Im going to chime in on this one only because I know for a fact what Im about to say greatly reduces line twist.
The main reason there is so much line twist when drop shotting is the helicopter type of fall that the bait has when it hits the water, unless the bait is hooked exactly 100% dead center when you through hook the bait from top bottom to top, the fall of the bait is going to cause the line to twist.
To avoid this, nose hook the bait, and by nose hook I mean through the bottom of the bait with the hook point just poking out the FRONT or nose of the bait, not the TOP
On the fall the bait will swing up and ride parrarel to the line as it falls without spinning out of control, trust me it makes a difference.
neil nailed it. that's definitely the most common way to rig the bait. there are other ways to do it with different hooks for different presentations but i go with this 99% of the time.
my profile pic is a 5.10 i caught drop shotting on the stand out hooks and a wacky rigged zoom fish doctor. insane 5 minute fight! don't count out the wacky rig on the drop shot! it doesn't really helicopter drop either.
shawn, package on the way today.
Last edited by samf on Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:47 am; edited 2 times in total
I drop shot alot and just re-spool every few weeks, I try to spool only about 80-100 yards on my reel and use a mono backing.
Take the whole set up off and let the line it self lay in the water, open the bail and hit the gas motor just move along fast enough to pull the line off once its close to the knot lock the bail and continue to drive around the line will untwist itself completely , all that's left is to reel it back on
I drop shot alot and just re-spool every few weeks, I try to spool only about 80-100 yards on my reel and use a mono backing.
Take the whole set up off and let the line it self lay in the water, open the bail and hit the gas motor just move along fast enough to pull the line off once its close to the knot lock the bail and continue to drive around the line will untwist itself completely , all that's left is to reel it back on
I did that Neil. I was just thinking about saving the time it takes to do that. Plus I'm an electric motor. Always looking to conserve
Anybody have any twist prevention tips? I haven't seen any mention of swivels in all of my reading about drop shotting but the few times I've tried it I end up with a twisted mess of line
Ok, being as Im a Major Drop Shot Freak, Im going to chime in on this one only because I know for a fact what Im about to say greatly reduces line twist.
The main reason there is so much line twist when drop shotting is the helicopter type of fall that the bait has when it hits the water, unless the bait is hooked exactly 100% dead center when you through hook the bait from top bottom to top, the fall of the bait is going to cause the line to twist.
To avoid this, nose hook the bait, and by nose hook I mean through the bottom of the bait with the hook point just poking out the FRONT or nose of the bait, not the TOP
On the fall the bait will swing up and ride parrarel to the line as it falls without spinning out of control, trust me it makes a difference.
BAM!!!! I was coming out the top!!! (that's what she said)
One of my pet peeves is line twist, which is caused by a spinning worm during retrieve. To avoid line twist, make sure the worm is always straight. I watch my worm as I reel to make sure it's swimming straight. If my line does twist, I take the worm off and cast out as far as I can. While putting resistant pressure on the line with my forefinger and thumb, above the first eye of the rod, I reel in with the tip of my rod in the water. I allow the last eight feet to untwist while I'm still holding it between by fingers. I may repeat this up to three times, but it always completely eliminates any twist from my line.
Basically what Neil said and the nose hook tip is great for making the bait more "weedless".
As stated previously a swivel above the hook eliminates the line twist problem! Don't understand why line twist is an issue. Are you guys just attaching the hook and sinker to your main line? That would be the cause of the problem!
That's how Aaron Marten's the drop shot king does it. Mainline no swivel
That's how Aaron Marten's the drop shot king does it. Mainline no swivel[/quote]
Well, he's fishing for a living
I tried that when I first started using the DS. Wasted a lot of line trying to get that hook tied on upright 
It's a lot easier to make up some rigs. Take 3-4 ft. of 8 lb fluoro, tie on the hook dead center with a palomar knot, weight of choice below the hook and a swivel above. Good to go You can also tie on a snap on the weight end allowing you to change weight size. 