posted by phil on Oct 21
Pro-Bass Fishing Techniques Exposed - Click Here!
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
The drop-shot rig is a finesse technique that has taken the bass fishing world by storm. A drop-shot rig will often catch fish when reaction baits just won’t do the trick.
Steps
- Drop-shotting is a finesse technique that requires light line, so use a spinning outfit spooled up with 6- to 10-pound-test line.
- Using a Palomar knot, tie a small drop-shot hook onto the line, about 18 inches up from the end. Tie so that the hook stands out perpendicular from the line.
- At the tag end of the line, about 18 inches from the hook, tie on a drop-shot weight.
- Put a small finesse bait on the hook. Four-inch worms, small tubes and grubs are good drop-shot baits. In California, the bass anglers are beginning to use some flies, like streamers, on their drop-shot rigs.
- Drop the rig straight down over the side of the boat (no casting right now). When the line goes slack, reel up until the line is taut and the weight is on the bottom.
- With the weight on the bottom, shake the rod gently. You just want to wiggle the lure without lifting the weight.
- A bite may be anything from a tug to a sideways movement. If your hooks are good and sharp, all you have to do is reel hard to set the hook.
- Don’t horse the fish in. Remember you have light line on.
- After landing a fish, check your knots and hook and go back to it. On a good piece of structure, there may be several good Bass.
Tips
- Fluorocarbon line costs more, but since it is crystal clear and has no stretch, it is ideal for drop-shotting.
- You can make your own drop-shot weights by pinching one end of a barrel swivel in a split-shot. The swivel helps reduce line twist.
- Once you get good at drop-shotting vertically, you can start to experiment with casting out and dragging the rig back, and fishing it over breaklines and other kinds of structure.
- You dont have to tie a hook directly to the line. You can add a barrel swivel, and extend a piece of line, and hook approximately 2-4″ from the swivel.
Warnings
- Casting a drop-shot rig can be dangerous, so be careful, and don’t try it if you don’t have plenty of fishing experience. Since the weight and hook are separated, it’s easy to hook your partner (or yourself)if you don’t watch out.
Things You’ll Need
- Monofilament or fluorocarbon line in 6- to 10-pound-test.
- Hooks (many companies now make hooks specifically for drop-shotting.
- Drop-shot weights
- Small soft plastic baits such as worms, Yamamoto Senkos, grubs, tubes, etc.
Related wikiHows
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Fish a Drop Shot Rig. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Pro-Bass Fishing Techniques Exposed - Click Here!
posted by Dan on Jul 24
We were on day three of a great week fishing the big lake in Florida. Three guys, staying in a cabin overnight, dinner of fresh large mouth, hush puppies, stewed tomatoes, followed by large scotch and waters while we told stories and prepared our gear for tomorrow.
One night my friend Frank had a few too many of those Scotch and waters. The following morning the lake was completely still and flat and not a breeze. This was great for fishing but not too good for my friend Frank. We were circling these floating islands of weeds very quietly and my friend made a cast and just fell asleep in the chair on the boat. Suddenly a large mouth hit his lure and yanked the pole out of his sleeping hands.
He yells “ MY ROD IS GONE.” Mark and I could hardly keep from laughing when Frank dove into the water, and stayed down for a long time. Then, up he came with rod, no fish, very wet and very sober. Frank was and is my friend and now that was a story to tell.
posted by Dan on Apr 14
I was walking along a city canal along University Drive and Miramar Parkway in South Florida, casting along with a bass rod and a baitcasting reel. On the way down I picked up lots of smaller fish similar to what I’d caught there before.
I had passed a 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood but felt it was too risky to lose my little diving plug. However, on the return walk, while fishing on the way back to the car I decided to cast right next to the sheet of plywood. The plug landed one inch from the left side and I cranked the lure. It dove and stuck. Damn. I knew there were nails on the plywood. I pointed my rod straight at the lure and began pulling to try to pull the the plywood sheet to me and get my lure. Suddenly my lure pulled back.
Now if you know how tight you make your drag when you bass fish, it was to my surprise that the drag began to sing. After a while I finally got it in and my eyes popped. A guy cleaning his bass boat in his driveway screamed and dived for a scale.
That dirty canal produced a 16 pound largemouth. And that is no fish story. This guy who lived nearby was more excited than me and all he said was “Biggest ever.” With that I looked at this trophy and thought about what that fish could produce and I set it loose back into the canal. What a gene pool.
Largemouth Bass
posted by Dan on Mar 24
A guy from Brooklyn is not supposed to go wading in the Everglades with Water Moccasins. The chance of an Alligator or two, or a Fish and Game cop who though it funny to whistle my attention from atop a levee just to make big circles with his finger at his temple indicating that I was crazy …….. HA , HA .
The section of the Everglades was called the Bombing Range because it was used during WW II as just that. Wading meant carefully feeling with your feet to avoid craters and falling in, and flooding your waders. And that as they say would be that. I later discovered that that other guy wading about three hundred yards away was Flip Pallot. He’s crazy too.
But… you can walk right up to big Everglades Bass and watch them pick up a plastic worm right in front of you. The quiet was incredible, just the rustle of the reeds, and just you. My lifetime of fishing reveals one common thread throughout and that is catching a fish was certainly more important than any danger.
