Drop Shot Rigging Is Not Just For Bass
The drop shot is a staple of bass anglers. But it remains a largely overlooked option for anglers pursuing other species of gamefish, including crappies. In the right situations, drop shotting can yield banner crappie catches, and even outfish standard strategies.
“Drop shotting is a great choice whenever the fish are relatively close to bottom and you want to cover water a little faster, or with more precision, than you can with slip bobbers or vertical jigging,” said veteran guide Scott Glorvigen.
The technique is effective when crappies abandon shoreline weed beds and head to the main basin where they’ll spend the winter. They often follow travel corridors, such as bars and points, to deeper water.
A drop shot rig excels at presenting softbaits or minnows at or just above the level of fish, and allows anglers to customize the speed of retrieve and amount of animation, without fear of the rig falling to bottom or drifting out of the strike zone.
Glorvigen had his epiphany while bass fishing.
“I was drop shotting bass with a 6-inch worm on a long finger bar leading from a shoreline saddle straight into the basin,” he recalled. “I was catching bass, but noticed on my sonar there were a lot of crappies and bluegills mixed in with them.”
Glorvigen credits the readings from his Lowrance electronics for revealing the difference between bass and panfish.
“I was also catching the occasional crappie here and there, which told me that drop shotting might be a winning presentation in this scenario,” he added.
To tempt more crappies into biting, he traded the bass-sized worm for a more panfish-appropriate, 3-inch Impulse Angleworm. He also downsized the business end of the setup to a size 4 VMC Spinshot Drop-Shot Hook. After threading on the worm, he added a live crappie minnow for extra attraction.
Glorvigen’s rigging also includes a 7-foot, medium-light spinning outfit spooled with 10-pound-test mainline and an 8-pound-test monofilament leader tethered to the hook’s lower line tie. Leader length should be tailored to how high crappies are above bottom. Sinker weight should be as light as possible when drop shotting panfish. Pencil-style weights from 1/8- to 3/16-ounce fit most situations.
Once rigged up, he casts and lets the sinker settle, before tightening the line for a direct connection that allows bottom detection as well as subtle bites.
“You can move the rig across by reeling, drifting or using your trolling motor to slowly cover key areas,” he noted.
No matter which means of propulsion you choose, Glorvigen recommends toning down the amount of action you give the bait.
“If the bait jumps around too fast, it’s hard for them to hit it,” he said. “I’ve had the best luck with a more subtle approach than what I’d use when bass fishing. Simply shaking and gently twitching the worm is enough.”
While the fall crappie transition is a great time to throw drop shot rigs, Glorvigen said there are plenty of other times it pays to keep an open mind on the water.
“Anglers get stuck in our ways and pigeonholed into certain presentations,” he said. “But it’s always good to experiment, adjust and pay attention to what the fish are trying to tell you.”