By now bass have seen just about everything we have in our tackle boxes. With the exception of a drop shot rig. Drop shot rigs are great rigs to fish highly pressured waters for finicky bass. Hot summer days are some of the best times to fish a drop shot. The Amite River is one of my favorite places to use this rig. Not only will it catch large mouth bass, but those hard fighting Kentucky Spotted Bass absolutely love this rig. Bass will find deep structure away from the bank and will hold in the cooler water waiting for an easy meal. The drop shot rig is considered a do nothing rig. Unlike other baits where you cast it out and retrieve it back to the boat only allowing the bait to stay in the strike zone for a short period of time. Drop shotting allows anglers to keep baits in that zone longer giving you a higher catch rate.

    Spinning rods and reels are a staple when it comes to finesse fishing the drop shot. Rods varying from 6'6'' up to 7' medium light to medium action are ideal. Medium size reels with a smooth drag are another key ingredient in using this rig. Lines vary in size ranging from 6 to 10 lbs, mono or florocarbon are good with the drop shot. Small diameter braid with a mono or florocarbon leader for extra feel works as well.

  Rigging the drop shot is very easy. Simply double your line leaving ample slack on the tag end. Threading the doubled end through the bottom of the hook eye with the hook tip facing upwards. Tie an over hand knot with the doubled end passing the hook through the loop clinching the knot tight around the hook eye. This is called a Palomar Knot. Run the tag end back through the top of the eye with the hook tip facing upwards. This will help your hook stick out horizontally. Attach your weight to the tag end leaving about 6 to 18 inches between the weight and hook varying in length depending on the depth of water your fishing. Weight sizes and styles vary from slim shaped weights for fishing brush or structure to round and bell shaped weights for fishing rock or shells. I like to use a 1/4 slim style tungsten drop shot weight but lead weights in heavier or lighter sizes work just as well. Hook sizes and styles will vary depending on the structure you are fishing. If I'm going weedless I like using a 1/0 fine wire wide gap worm hook. I'll use this type of hook to Texas rig my lure. If I'm fishing rock or open water I'll choose a size 1 Owner stand out hook or a size 1 Owner octopus hook. I'll use this type of hook to nose hook the lure. Hook styles and weight sizes are endless. Choose the best combination that suits the area your fishing.

    Choosing lures for drop shot fishing can be a task on it own. There is a huge variety of baits to select from when fishing the drop shot rig. Baits vary from small minnow and shad style baits to creature and worm style baits. With everything out on the market today i like to keep my choices simple. I'll stick with shad style baits and small straight tail worms. My favorite worm baits when using a drop shot are 4'' & 6'' hand poured straight tailed Roboworms. These are super soft triple layered worms that are salt impregnated and very boyant when in the water. My favorite shad imitators are the Jackall Clone Fry, Jackall Super Pintail Minnow, and the Gary Yamamoto shad shaped worms. My secret weapon when using these shad imitators are bio lures scent sticks in the shad or blue back herring combinations. These scent sticks enhance the smell of the bait leaving a scent trail in the water. They make the bait seem more realistic, also helping bass find and hold on to these lures longer.

    Fishing the drop shot rig requires a lot of patients and attention. It allows anglers to present there lures vertically to cover. Pitch or drop the rig over offshore structure letting it free fall all the way to the bottom. Watch your line closely, some bites may occur when the bait free falls to the bottom. Once on the bottom reel up the slack leaving a slight bow in your line. Sometimes I'll shake and drag the rig until I start to feel structure. When i feel the structure I'll just dead stick the bait. Leaving the bait motionless until I feel the bite. The main thing about drop shotting is that it presents your bait naturally to fish. Over working the bait can kill its action. The longer you let your bait sit the better chances you have of catching bass. Make multiple pitches at different angles to what ever structure your fishing. The rig will do most of the work for you, letting what ever current and wind you have move your bait while you wait for the bite. Thats the toughest thing to do when fishing this rig. If you have the patients to take on the drop shot rig it will get you those bites on tough days when almost nothing else will. I like to look for main river structure for drop shotting during the heat of the summer. Bayou Lacombe, The Tchefuncte River and Amite River are some of my favorite for this. Unlike backwaters the main river will always have some movement even on slack tides and no wind. This will help you find where bass are positioned. Bass will move to these areas for deeper, cooler water and easy meals. Hope this helps on your next trip. Be safe and good luck fishing.