SPIRIT LAKE, IOWA -- The bass fishing technique of drop shotting hit California a couple of years ago and continues to sweep the country winning professional level bass tournaments along the way.
The method is simple. Using light fishing line, tie on a light wire hook with a Palomar knot leaving about 18 inches of tag line. Squeeze on a split shot on the end of the tag line and thread the head of a small plastic worm on the bend of the hook. Keeping a tight line, slowly retrieve the affair over fish holding structure. That's drop shotting.
What is new about the technique is that for the first time lure designers are developing baits that are making this method of catching fish even more promising. The design team at Berkley have developed three new soft plastic baits specifically for drop shotting.
Working with professional bass angler Gary Klein, the team came up with a three-inch Berkley Tournament Strength Power Bait Dropshot Bass Minnow, a four-inch Berkley Tournament Strength Power Bait Dropshot Worm and a three-inch Berkley Tournament Strength Power Bait Dropshot Pulse Worm. After testing several colors the team narrowed the offering down to seven that proved the most productive: clear gold with black back, emerald shiner, natural pro blue, pearl blue shad, pearl olive shad, pearl watermelon shad and rainbow silver.
The 4-inch Bass Minnow features a forked tail on a solid body, the four-inch straight tail worm closely resembles fresh water smelt and the three-inch Pulse Worm with a curly tail delivers lifelike action with plenty of vibration. Offered 15 to a package, these new Berkley products have a suggested retail price of $3.95 per bag.
Drop shotting is a vertical jigging presentation that keeps the bait in front of the fish for a long time. The technique allows the angler to get to the underside of weeds and structure and works best in depths between 10 and 100 feet. Berkley Vanish seems to be made just for this type of fishing. The small diameter line nearly disappears under water and the high sensitivity allows the angler to feel any commotion a bass may make with the bait. The Palomar knot causes the hook, preferably a #1 to #4 size with a straight shank, to stick horizontally out from the line giving the bait the best possible presentation. Hook the bait through the head, leaving the hook point exposed. For added weight, simply add a sliding sinker above the split shot or replace the split shot with a bell sinker. Like the Texas or Carolina rigs, drop shotting is here to stay.
To find out more about Berkley products, or for the nearest Berkley retailer, call Berkley Consumer Services at 1-800-BERKLEY or visit the Berkley Fishing website.
