Summer 2023
W
hen a bass fisherman hears about using
a drop-shot to catch bass, three things
likely enter that angler’s mind. One, fishing in ultra-clear water, two fishing in deep water, and three
fishing for bass that are pressured, or tight-lipped.
And while yes, fishing a drop-shot for bass is likely to
occur in all the above scenarios, I’m here to tell you, don’t put
down that spinning pole when you head into the shallows
for bass. By adding the drop-shot into your shallow water
angling arsenal will make you a more versatile angler, and
likely help you catch some more, or bigger bass.
I’m sure many anglers are thinking, why would you
want to use a drop-shot in shallow water, when you
could stick with the standard jig, or Texas-rig soft plastic,
or even casting around a wacky-rigged Senko. All those
presentations obviously work, and catch countless bass up
shallow, but there are times that by thinking outside the box
and using a drop-shot up shallow will shine for you.
When bass are suspended over structure in deep water
you use a drop-shot, right?
So why wouldn’t you think of using a drop-shot when
the bass are suspended in shallow water?
WHY DROP-SHOT THE SHALLOWS?
Think of these two scenarios with bass could be suspended in shallow water. One – when they are suspended in brush, or two when they are holding underneath a layer of vegetation. In both scenarios, your
drop-shot weight will go to the bottom, and your soft plastic bait will be hovering off of the bottom and right in front of the bass’ face, ready for them to eat it.
When fishing riprap for bass, it can be frustrating when your jig or Texas-rig is continually getting hung up in the rocks, as it slides in between the cracks. You can lose a lot of tackle, and spend more time rigging up a new lure, than actually fishing. The nice thing about fishing a drop- shot along rip rap, is that if you weight gets stuck down in between the rocks, a good pull back with your line, and your weight will easily slide off and you’ll get most of your drop-shot set up back. Just clip on a new weight and you are ready to get back to fishing. This is one of the situations where I will likely use a less expensive lead weight than a tungsten one.
Sometimes shallow water bass just get tough to catch, this could be from the fishing pressure they receive. After seeing countless jigs and Texas-rigged soft plastics, a bass may just want to bite something else. This is when you can go behind other anglers, or rework an area you just fished, and pitch around a drop-shot to the shallow water cover you are fishing and keep catching bass.
DROP-SHOT RETRIEVES
The way you fish and retrieve your drop-shot, can vary how active the bass are. The two retrieves I have had good luck with include bringing it in slow and steady, keeping it in constant contact with the bottom. Other times if the bass are keyed in on a specific spot, keep your bait in that strike
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