Drop shotting

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Bob Brookes
Zander
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Drop shotting

Post by Bob Brookes »

Hi Gentlemen,
I have been a little reticent to mention this on here as it may not be regarded as traditional fishing, but please bear with me. I notice that BigFish brought it up under lure fishing last year and there was very little subsequent discussion.

I first heard of the method in April 2012 after I had fished Hanningfield for its big perch. It was considered to be a good method so I 'parked' the idea for later. During this bad winter I read up more and looked at videos posted on the net. I thought it would be a good idea to try in a marina I have been fishing with a buddy. I bought a suitable light rod & teamed it with a small modern fixed spool loaded with braid.

It would be quite appropriate to fish with a B James Grebe or a Hardy Wanless and an early threadline reel, but I chose modern. The 2 main reasons for this are that it is an active method of fishing and I intended to fish all day sessions and I wanted lightweight gear. The other reason is that although perch would be my main quarry I was also likely to hook a 20lb pike or a double figure zander.

The method is very simple. It is basically a line with a light weight on the end and a hook coming off it 12 to 18" from the hook. The hook is baited with a real worm or an artificial jelly worm/lure. A short cast and twitch the bait back without lifting the weight from the bottom. Typically I would twitch the bait 3 or 4 times then wind in 1/2 a turn on the reel handle. It is nice active angling but in a gentle way, until a fish hits! I suppose you could equate it to a tactic I used to adopt way back in the 60's, upstream worming. In this case though the bait is fished off the bottom.

I tried it first on Blenheim Palace lake in March with a lobworm and just caught pike. the next time was at the start of the closed season and I had 3 perch to over 2lb and lost a big one. All this was just 'messing about' while fishing with a second rod. Not only were the perch hooked but so was I and so was my boat partner.
Image
The next trip we both just fished the drop shot method. I only used lob worms and caught 9 good perch up to a PB of 3.08. My pal just used artificial baits and finished with 11 perch. From that point on I mainly concentrated on jellies as they seemed to out fish the lob worms.
Image
This one of 3.05 was caught a few days later after my spring shearing!

Over a total of 4 trips we caught 59 perch, 11 of which were over the magical 3lb mark and one of them went 4.01. Pike were numerous up to 18lb and we both caught zander, my pal getting 2 over the 10lb mark. All fish were caught on the drop shot method and I guess the fish we caught would not have done a B James Grebe a lot of good at all!

My advice to anyone is to give it a try. This would work on one of the commercials where I am sure there are some big ones. Where lure fishing is not allowed, use the lobworm as all you are doing is twitching the bait! Where you are unlikely to encounter pike then by all means use the old gear.

I am having a day on Hanningfield next week where I will be after the monster perch it holds. Guess what method I will be using?

Bob
"You do not cease to fish because you get old, you get old because you cease to fish"

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Snape
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Snape »

Amazing catches Bob! :Hat:
I like the sound of this method and will give it a go. Are you in effect touch ledgering and so feeling for bites?
Does the worm just lie on the bottom or have you tried making it slightly buoyant to lift it off the bottom a little?
“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers,” Herbert Hoover.
`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º>

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LuckyLuca
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by LuckyLuca »

Sounds like an absolute cracker of a few days Bob!

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Bob Brookes
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Bob Brookes »

Hi Snape,
I tie what is effectively a short dropper coming off the line about 15" above the small weight. This means that you are fishing off the bottom & clear of weed & debris. I use a size 4 or 6 drop shot hook if I am using lobworm or a specially designed one for the jellies.

At some stage I may post some photos of hooks & rigs although a quick internet search yields tons of info', mainly from abroad. The simplicity of the method makes it FEEL traditional to me!
Bob
"You do not cease to fish because you get old, you get old because you cease to fish"

Taprobanes

Re: Drop shotting

Post by Taprobanes »

There's something about a big perch that screams attitude, smashing fish Bob

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Snape
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Snape »

Bob Brookes wrote:Hi Snape,
I tie what is effectively a short dropper coming off the line about 15" above the small weight. This means that you are fishing off the bottom & clear of weed & debris. I use a size 4 or 6 drop shot hook if I am using lobworm or a specially designed one for the jellies.

At some stage I may post some photos of hooks & rigs although a quick internet search yields tons of info', mainly from abroad. The simplicity of the method makes it FEEL traditional to me!
Bob
Yes I would count that as a traditional method. Simplicity in itself. Thanks.
“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers,” Herbert Hoover.
`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º>

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Olly
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Olly »

Great fish & fishing!

I have used a similar method - I do not have the use of a boat - from the bank. It has been used on the Continent for some years having been previously used in the USA for freshwater Bass. It is a highly successful method either with a jig head or the drop shot.

Matt Hayes travelled to Holland to fish for zander on one of the inland seas! The video is quite enlightening as huge ships - not boats - pass by!

I have been looking at a 7ft split cane rod but most really good ones are quite expensive for a few days fishing per annum!
Last edited by Olly on Fri Apr 12, 2013 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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AshbyCut
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by AshbyCut »

Inspiring stuff Bob, Sir. Excellently done.
"Beside the water I discovered (or maybe rediscovered) the quiet. The sort of quiet that allows one to be woven into the tapestry of nature instead of merely standing next to it." Estaban.

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Santiago
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Santiago »

Well done there Bob, I'm looking forward to doing more of drop shotting myself on the Thames in the summer. It's a fantastic method of retrieving bait right near the bottom where predators are feeding.
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

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Julian
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Re: Drop shotting

Post by Julian »

Well done Bob :Hat:
Some great photos of the large stripeys and a nice write-up. Brilliant catch.

It would be useful if someone who is familar with this method could post a clear diagram of exactly how this method should be set up.
I've looked at a few on the net and there seems to be variations in how its described.
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