my best days fishing a drop shot have been casting, reeling and bouncing the bait on the bottom quickly as I hurry up and make another cast. Smallmouth in particular like to chase and when they are feeding, a drop shot rigged soft plastic moving quickly along the bottom, or even swimming back to the boat, is an effective way to trigger a reaction bite.
ROD/REEL AND LINE
A spinning rod with a drop shot is standard equipment and the benefits for using it over baitcasting gear are numerous. Lighter line and a lighter rod generally works much better on spinning equipment and the added casting distance and ability to downsize weights is something that becomes difficult on a baitcaster. A
medium light action rod is a great rod for getting the most out of your casting distance as well as for being able to impart action as you retrieve the bait.
I am a believer in using braided line with a fluorocarbon leader on all of my spinning setups now and will probably never go back to straight fluorocarbon for this technique. The casting ability, sensitivity and lack of line twist are just some of the
reasons I prefer braided line as
my mainline on my spinning
reels. When combining the
two types of lines, there
are many different knots
you can use, I use the uni
to uni. Some people prefer
other knots so I always
recommend to try out
several and practice them
until you can do it quickly.
Fifteen pound braided line
and 8-lb fluorocarbon
works for me, but again
SPRING 2014
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