new to drop shot

All joking aside you want to rig a buoyant bait that floats perfectly horizontal and a senko doesn't do that. It sinks because of the salt content. Wacky rigs will pop open the mouth and smallies have smaller mouths so I stick with the traditional set up.

Roboworms are great. Yes they're fragile but one tip is to rig it similar to a swim at with the hook out the back instead of nose hooking. It will hold up much better.

i lost a good fish on the drop shot! i pitched it to a shoreline tree with a steep drop off into 15 feet of water!.
fish instantly hit it!

ran to a tree so i try to turn it so it wouldnt go in to that tree! when i horsed it! my line snapped!

going to keep the light tackle used in clear deepwater dropshot rigging at home!

switching to braid and heavier rods

Look up power shotting. You'll love it and it will work wtf what you're looking to do.

Also if you're not catching them try adjusting both the bait type and leader length before giving up. Sometimes they want a straight worm sometimes they want a more minnow profile bait.

You guys keep saying this is a "deep water technique". What do you consider to be deep water?

I'm going up to a lake in VT for a week that averages 25' and maxes out at around 65'. I figured the drop shot would work great for wrangling up some smallmouth.

The drop shot and a carolina rig are the way to go to catch Vermont Smallies. Look for humps that top out at 10-15 and tumble into 30-40'. Look for deep water flats15'-25' that then break into 35-45. Fish the deep ends of extended point that soot out into the main lake and have deep water around them.

Thanks for the tips. I was going to tip the hook with either a senko (lol) or a finesse worm either hooked wacky or through the nose. The place has some monster smallies and largies in it so I was going to focus on a steep cliff like feature that's made of old shale and slate. Goes from 5' to 50' pretty damn quickly. Figured it would be prime real estate since there's so much cover and the dramatic depth change.

If you can find a thin spiny grass type weed growing in 15-30'.... thats the ticket. The baitfish and crayfish use it and the bass shadow the bait

i lost a good fish on the drop shot! i pitched it to a shoreline tree with a steep drop off into 15 feet of water!.
fish instantly hit it!

ran to a tree so i try to turn it so it wouldnt go in to that tree! when i horsed it! my line snapped!

going to keep the light tackle used in clear deepwater dropshot rigging at home!

switching to braid and heavier rods

Look up power shotting. You'll love it and it will work wtf what you're looking to do.

Also if you're not catching them try adjusting both the bait type and leader length before giving up. Sometimes they want a straight worm sometimes they want a more minnow profile bait.

I'm going to look that up! Thanks!

Defifinatly going to explore this rig!!!

Maybe try punching with it! To sparse weeds and little open water pockets!

I also picked up drop-shotting this year. I love dirty, weedy, sloppy water, but since I've been fishing a number of clear—or clearer—water lakes this year, I thought it was a good time to try it. And I'm hooked. The first time I tried it I caught a ton of fish. Mostly small, but one smallie went 3.5lbs, which is decent for me since I rarely fish for them.

Either way, I'm a fan. My one complaint would be how often the weight gets jammed in between rocks and whatnot. That can be a bit annoying. Will the longer, thinner weights help with that, or does it just come with the territory?

I haven't smoked em on it yet! Cuz I really only fish one deep clear spot! But when I go there it's always friggin windy! So dropshotting. In a canoe or yak in the wind SUCKS!!!!

Yes I lost a lot of rigs cuz of rocks! So I'm thinkin using thinner weight line( if you use the vmc spinshot hook) so when the weight gets snagged that line breaks but not the whole rig!
You'll get your hook and bait back

But yea I think the thinner weights will help! I was using dipsy sinkers they are bulky!

Great drop shot info!

Every toothless fisherman in Oklahoma that's too obese to noodle catfish drop shot fishes for crappie and white bass....

It's a good technique, but I am suprised at the level of esteem everyone attaches to the technique.

I want to get on some smallies and try it.

Every toothless fisherman in Oklahoma that's too obese to noodle catfish drop shot fishes for crappie and white bass....

It's a good technique, but I am suprised at the level of esteem everyone attaches to the technique.

I want to get on some smallies and try it.

drop shot is one of the best ways to target suspending fish shawn. especially in clear water.

Junior--yes.. of course... Much of the angling world knows this.

I guess it's kind of 'new and shiny' to some..

Fished a tough smallie pond in Plymouth today. Bait and fish showed on the FF. They wanted nothing to do with the DS. Lizard was the ticket! Not that I killed them, but that is what the bites came on!

I love this technique but they break off at the knot frequently when I've used a palomar knot. I'm going to try the double-uni knot that Aaron Martens uses. It looks kind of tricky but it will be worth it if I don't lose any more fish.

http://wired2fish.scout.com/story/1468373-how-to-tie-uni-knots

I've caught more Smallmouth the last 10-12 years drop shotting then any other technique.I throw any n all soft plastics on it. I use #1 circle hooks, steel bullet weights pegged with tooth picks and a swivel above the hook, I use the Palomar knot n rarely break off at the knot.Depending on where im fishing I'll go super light weight 1/16 ounce or as heavy as 5/8 ounce,6 inch short leader or as long as 3 feet.Love the drop shot!!!

That's right Donny. ..one of the most productive method out there. .won a lot of money doing it!