(Note: This is the final part of a 2-part series on fishing the dropshot rig. For part 1, click here.)
As you might expect, the dropshot rig is not good for finding bass. "But once you find them, it helps you catch them a whole lot faster than other rigs," says Arizona pro Ish Monroe, "especially when they're deep."
When dropshotting for bass he can't see, a key piece of Monroe's gear is a Lowrance LCX-16 fish-finder. "It's really important," he says. "It's next in line after the rig itself. It helps you find fish, it shows you the depth of the fish and the X-16 also shows you the dropshot rig. You can see a bass getting closer and closer to the bait."
When you determine where the bass are, let the rig sink to the correct depth and then shake it. "Keep it in that zone and give it light, little twitches with your wrist," Monroe says. "It's a constant shake (no pauses). Just a little bit -- make the bait go up and down, like a fish sitting there swimming right in front of the bass' face.
"If you nose-hook the bait, with the lightest twitch that tail really gets going," he adds.
The hookset is just a reel set, Monroe says. "Just lift the rod and keep reeling -- if you nose-hook the bait." If you choose to rig your lure Texas- style (Monroe likes a No. 2 EWG Gamakatsu for Texas-rigging), use a standard, straight-up hookset.
All Species
One of the best things about the dropshot rig is that it fools all major bass species: largemouths, spotted bass and even smallmouths. In fact, before the subsequently-canceled 2001 FLW Championship, Aaron Martens and Warren Wyman (another California angler also on the Crown Royal team) videotaped themselves whacking 5-pound smallmouths out on Lake Champlain. They had 25 pounds apiece in an hour.
No matter where you live and what lake you fish, learn to fish the dropshot rig. It works for the pros, and it will work for you. Go get 'em!
- End of part 2 (of 2) -
Monroe calls his Lowrance LCX-16 a very important piece of gear for dropshotting.
