Wacky Rig Drop Shot
One of my favorite ways to use a drop shot is to wacky rig it with a 5″ stick bait. The primary reason I like to use a drop shot when wacky rigging, you ask….I’m somewhat impatient. I prefer to have the bait get to the bottom of the lake, pond or creek, that I’m fishing, sooner than later. With a weightless wacky rig, I feel like I’m waiting for-ev-er! But, the added weight of the drop shot allows me to not only get the bait to sink faster but a bit better cast. However, you have to take into account that the bait isn’t directly at the end of the line, so be sure to factor in a slight difference in casting than if you were to be casting a jig or something else.
“Ultimate finesse” is a term used for the drop shot. And a wacky rigging gives it that much more oomph. The movement of a wacky-rigged stick bait allows for both side of the worm to move, in conjunction with line retrieve and water movement. This is an eye-catching attractant. The way that I like to rig my drop shots is with a Palomar knot, using a 2/0 wacky or ned rig hook. I tie the Palomar knot to the hook and leave anywhere from 8″ to 14″ of tag end, depending on the grass and structure around where I’m fishing. I’ll pull the tag end of the line back through the front of the eye of the hook, to make sure that the hook is standing upright. Then, I typically use a cylinder drop shot weight, but I’ve also used round and tear-drop shaped weights. This setup allows me to “bounce” the rod tip and move the bait slowly across the bottom of the lake, while being able to feel as the weight hits structure, and since the line is typically tight when bouncing it, it is very sensitive to a bit and able to set the hook, accordingly.
This video shows how I was using the wacky rig drop shot to catch bass and bowfin, so you can see it’s also a multi-species bait.
The secret to the drop-shotting is line weight. I typically use no heavier than 10lb. monofilament line for my setup. In my experience, I’ve found that the heavier the line, the less sensitive it is. I’m also throwing it on relatively light gear, normally on an ultralight spinning reel, so the heavier the line, the less control you have.
The great thing about a drop shot is that you can experiment with all different kinds of soft plastics, and live bait. It’s a versatile setup that anyone can use, and it’s easy to change baits without having to cut and tie something else one. Give it a shot and let us know in the comments what you think about wacky-rigs on a drop shot.
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