Drop-shotting question

[Dave Bailey]

Occasionally when fishing from shore you can see a spot that might be a good place to drop shot, but for some reason or other you can't quite get there. So here's what I'm thinking; set up the drop-shot rig as normal, but with a tiny little float that will sink with the weight but still have enough flotation to hold the bait off the bottom. Cast it toward the area you want and wait.

 

Workable? Can't see why not, but since a lot of you guys seem to have more time on your hands than I do[/envious] it seems I'd probably get a faster answer than if you experimented instead of trying it myself.

[EC1]

I can't see it working because a sinking float won't start suspending lower in the water column. I'd also feel that you've killed the action of your lure because there will be no slack line at all from the dropshot weight to the float.

Sorry to burst a bubble. You can go out to prove me wrong though.

[Dave Bailey]

I can't see it working because a sinking float won't start suspending lower in the water column. I'd also feel that you've killed the action of your lure because there will be no slack line at all from the dropshot weight to the float.

Sorry to burst a bubble. You can go out to prove me wrong though.

 

Why would a float stop trying to float just because it's underwater? It still contains air, therefore it's still bouyant, there's no way it can't try to float. It has to float upward otherwise something has gone seriously wrong with the physics of our universe. You would have the weights on the bottom, the float trying to pull them up, and the bait somewhere in the middle. And I don't want slack line, I thought the whole purpose of a drop-shot was simply to keep the bait off the bottom. I drop mine until the line goes slack, and then pull it up so it's only just tight. Or have I entirely misunderstood what a drop-shot is supposed to do?

[singingdog]

A dropshot rig is designed to suspend a bait off the bottom and keep it in the strike zone until you move it. If you are fishing from shore, you could achieve the same thing by using a slip bobber set-up (no drop shot weight). Set the stop for your bobber so that it will stop your lure/bait a few feet off the bottom: voila!

[Dave Bailey]

A dropshot rig is designed to suspend a bait off the bottom and keep it in the strike zone until you move it. If you are fishing from shore, you could achieve the same thing by using a slip bobber set-up (no drop shot weight). Set the stop for your bobber so that it will stop your lure/bait a few feet off the bottom: voila!

 

Yeah, but if you don't know how deep it is, how do you know how much line to put beneath the float? Simple - you can't. The system I'm envisioning should enable you to keep the bait at whatever height you want regardless of how deep it is. If you find you're not getting strikes then haul in and set the weights higher or lower until you find where they're feeding.

[adempsey]

What singingdog said should work IMO. The slip bobber is only there to keep the line vertical. Since the weight is at the end of the line and sitting on the bottom it shouldn't matter how deep it is since you wouldn't use a bobber stop at all. The bobber isn't suspending the setup, it's just keeping it vertical. Although I haven't tried it, I read an method once that is similar in which you use a slip bobber to vertically jig weedbeds from a distance. Similar principle.

 

What you're saying should work as well using the same principle. In your case, the bobber is just fixed to the line. As long as you have enough weight to pull it under, or it's set at the correct height anyway. I think just having enough weight and taught line should be sufficient. It might be on a bit of an angle, but you can compensate for that buy tying your hooks higher up. Although, jigging/wiggling it will slowly start to bring it back to shore. I don't think you can really avoid that with any of these setups.

 

Just give it a try and see.

[Big Cliff]

Occasionally when fishing from shore you can see a spot that might be a good place to drop shot, but for some reason or other you can't quite get there. So here's what I'm thinking; set up the drop-shot rig as normal, but with a tiny little float that will sink with the weight but still have enough flotation to hold the bait off the bottom. Cast it toward the area you want and wait.

 

Workable? Can't see why not, but since a lot of you guys seem to have more time on your hands than I do[/envious] it seems I'd probably get a faster answer than if you experimented instead of trying it myself.

 

I like the idea and I think it would work just fine! Give it a try! some of the best fishing techniques I have ever found were by trying something different!

[Garry2Rs]

Your idea should work, but you can still drop shot from shore as well.

 

Rig as usual, but leave extra line length between the hook and the sinker to compensate for the angle from the bottom to shore...

 

In the USA lots of guys fish the drop-shot in rivers. They use 24 to 36 inches of drop, between hook and sinker.

 

Because of the angle-of-the-dangle, that length is reduced to 8" to 12" of actual drop.

[Big Cliff]

Your idea should work, but you can still drop shot from shore as well.

 

Rig as usual, but leave extra line length between the hook and the sinker to compensate for the angle from the bottom to shore...

 

In the USA lots of guys fish the drop-shot in rivers. They use 24 to 36 inches of drop, between hook and sinker.

 

Because of the angle-of-the-dangle, that length is reduced to 8" to 12" of actual drop.

 

Good point, we used to use that rig in the French with lots of current. Ended up covering lots of area and getting lots of fish!

[Dave Bailey]

Just to clear up any possible confusion I've done a quick illustration in MSPaint. The red and white bobber is obvious, but you can use any style you like. The green chunk is a Slammer on a hook, because I love Slammers! The two little grey balls are split shot sitting on the bottom, with enough free line at the end for possible adjusting of bait height. You can see the line coming off the top of the bobber to our hero on shore, who has just flung this rig out to the side, placing it over a rock fall 30 feet away along the shoreline that he couldn't walk to without getting into water over his head. I didn't draw all the rocks because I'm lazy. What you also can't see is a 6lb smallmouth taking interest off to the left, and he's about to move in and absolutely hammer the Slammer.

 

[Garnet]

Slip floats are made to know the depth just keep lengthening your lead until your float lays over. Your setup will work just not real good.

[singingdog]

Yeah, but if you don't know how deep it is, how do you know how much line to put beneath the float? Simple - you can't. The system I'm envisioning should enable you to keep the bait at whatever height you want regardless of how deep it is. If you find you're not getting strikes then haul in and set the weights higher or lower until you find where they're feeding.

 

Which is exactly what you would do with a slip bobber system to figure out what depth they are feeding. Both systems require some fiddling to figure out what depth to present your slammer....the slip bobber system is just simpler.

[archie_james_c]

Yeah, but if you don't know how deep it is, how do you know how much line to put beneath the float? Simple - you can't.

 

 

Do what Steelheaders do....estimate the depth, set your float that deep, cast it out, drag it back slow...if your bait doesnt get hung up on bottom then you arent on bottom yet!!! Keep lowering your float till you snag into bottom then lift it up accordingly