by John Leech
I'm going to break with the where and why this lesson and talk about the technique of drop shot rig. I am taking advantage of Kota Kiriyama's knowledge and his willingness to share to be able to pass this knowledge on to you. Kota is one of the top Pros in the WORLD with this technique. Skeeter, Yamaha, Lake Police Baits, Restattine Rods, Varivis Line, Nogales Hooks, Xmetal Weights, DNA Sunglasses, and Hooked on the Outdoors Magazine sponsor him.
Kota learned his love for fishing and the outdoors fishing with his father as a youth. At age 18 he moved to New York, 12 years ago, to go to Dominican College in New York State. He spoke no English upon arriving in the United States, yet earned a BA degree. He fishes the BASS top 150 and the Western Trail. In three years of fishing the Bass Trail he has qualified twice for the prestigious BASS Classic.
Advantages of fishing a Drop Shot Rig are many. Easier to cast than a Carolina Rig, cast further than a Texas Rig and also sinks faster. Bait is always suspended and easy to adjust depth for suspended fish. It wares line less and because of weight being on the bottom of rig you can feel bottom better.
Disadvantage is heavy line twist, and gets hung in heavy cover. Putting a swivel on the sinker helps slow twist.
What type bait is best? Smaller slim type baits are best in clear water. In clear water this is a GREAT finesses technique. This is a great system for fishing spinning rod, light line deep water.
When fishing any structure the Drop Shot Rig should be a consideration for a presentation option. This technique is extremely effective on fishing structure. When fishing muddy to clear water, one foot to 100 feet this is a technique that will catch fish. YES I said 100 feet, the deepest he says he has caught is 120 feet, remembers he lives and fishes in California, so deepwater is a normal event. Any structure free of heavy cover is an easy place to learn to fish the rig.
Why chose this rig over a Texas Rig? When fishing a Drop Shot Rig the bait is always suspended just off the bottom putting the bait at eye level or just inches above when the fish is on the bottom where he prefers to stay. This also gives an angler the ability to keep the bait in the strike zone longer.
How to rig Drop Shots. Tie a Palmer knot leaving 1 to 2 feet of line extra. Thread the loose end back through the eye of the hook so the hook stands point up. Tie on weight preferably with a swivel about 12 to 18 inches below the hook. Weight size range from 1/8 to 5/16. Line size should range from 6 to 8 pound on a spinning rod and reel.
Presentations vary from casting to vertical jigging. Casting Drop Shot Rigs is similar to casting a Texas Rig except into heavy cover. Drop Shots tend to get hung easier then Texas Rigs. This rig can be used as a swimming rig, hopped, crawled, or dragged. You can even fish as a stationary rig on bedding fish.
God Bless, good fishing
Capt. John Leech
