Dropshotting in Florida? Here's Why It's Great on Bass

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If you want to catch a bass, drop what you’re doing and, well, drop what you’re fishing. Wordplay aside, a dropshot is one of the most versatile tools you can hold in your arsenal.

Once considered a northern finesse deal—and it certainly accounts for plenty of cantankerous smallmouth catches—this strategic rig merits inclusion in the Florida angler’s rod locker. Reason’s simple: The ability to hold a bait at a desired depth and position without necessarily needing to sit right over the fish creates an irresistible image of vulnerability.

Nothing wrong with vertically dropping, but if clarity and/or meager depth has ‘em spooky, casting a dropshot and lightly shaking the rig, or simply allowing water movement to impart natural motion often does the trick.

When It’s Right

With a soft-plastic bait presented above a weight, the dropshot’s benefit diminishes in the super mushy detritus (“muck”) lining many Florida lakes. However, hard sand bottom, shell bars, brush piles, sparse vegetation and cypress knees are all fair game.

Bedding bass see a lot of stuff running above their nests, dragging through it, or sitting right there in the living room. The fish generally have to nose up or nose down to grab these baits, but when the intruder suspends right at eye level, that’s the kind of intrusive taunting they simply can’t tolerate.

Elsewhere, while topwaters, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs and other moving baits hold seniority for schooling fish, don’t completely count out the dropshot. Once the bite fizzles—bait schools go down, or the bass get wise to your reaction baits —casting a dropshot ahead of fish you see on your sonar and letting it subtly pendulum through the active zone might earn you a couple of cleanup bites.

Rig It Up

To form the standard dropshot, use a Palomar knot to tie your fluorocarbon leader to a short shank finesse hook and leave a long tag end of 14-18 inches. Pass this tag end through the hook eye top to bottom and pull it tight. This makes the hook stand out perpendicular to the line.

That long tag end terminates with a sinker, which holds that bait on a particular spot. Adjust the length up or down to hold a dropshot bait above submersed aquatic vegetation or keep it closer to the bottom.

Fish your dropshot on a 6-foot-10 to 7-foot-3 medium-light to medium power spinning rod with a fast tip for optimal bait control and hook sets. Match that with a reel carrying 8- to 10-pound braided line linked to a 6- to 8-pound fluorocarbon leader.

To account for break-offs and retying, make that leader 10 to 12 feet long and use your favorite low-profile knot for easy guide passage. This allows for multiple changes without having to rig a new leader.

Helping Hand: If you’re in a hurry, or simply uncomfortable with your rigging skills, don’t sweat it—options exist.

Premade rigs like the VMC Spin Shot, the Gamakatsu Swivel Shot, and the Mustad No-Twist Dropshot Rig simplify the process with finesse hooks pre-mounted on wire stems with line ties at both ends. Link your main leader to the top ring, add a dropper to the lower ring, and attach the weight.

The Variables: Baits generally follow a minnow/baitfish or a finesse worm profile, but don’t hesitate to experiment. Craws, modest creature baits and even small plastic frogs might push a picky fish over the edge.

Hooking style: Anglers most commonly nose hook dropshot baits, but if fish are nipping at your bait’s tail and missing the hook, threading the bait onto a long shank finesse hook puts the business end closer to the action.

An exposed hook definitely promotes better hook-ups, but it can be problematic around grass or any potential snags. Here, Texas-rigging your bait creates a weedless presentation.

If the fish grow wise to the standard look, switch things up and rig your worm laterally through the center (wacky style) for an enticingly different presentation.

Weights: When selecting dropshot weight shape, consider that the round or tear drop styles work well over clean or hard bottom, while the slender cylinder weights easily slip in and out of vegetation and other cover. Also worth noting: tungsten’s density allows you to use a smaller form with the same weight as lead.

Lastly, tying directly to a dropshot weight won’t impact the rig’s effectiveness, but it will require clipping and retying for any size/shape changes. For maximum flexibility, dropshot weights with wire tension clips allow you to slip your leader in and out for length adjustments and weight changes.

Beef It Up

The basic dropshot presentation will tempt fish just about anywhere you care to throw it, but keep in mind that denser habitat may not welcome—or return a standard finesse level rig. No worries, simply upsize all the pieces to a level that’ll stand up to heavier cover.

It’s called a power shot rig (aka “Bubba rig”) and that means a stouter spinning outfit, but often a baitcaster, spooled with heavier line knotted to a stronger leader. Exact sizings will vary, but bumping up to 30-pound braid and 12- to 15-pound fluoro leader is no stretch.

You’ll generally want a sizable bait so it’s easily spotted in heavier cover and Texas rigging is the way to go. A good backup to the standard flipping/pitching rigs, a power shot not only temps fish in heavy cover, it ensure you can get them out of the rough neighborhood.

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