How to Rig a Drop Shot?
We’ll just state the obvious. Fishing for walleye is just plain fun. Thrilling and fast-paced, catching walleye means an angler has to be quick-thinking when it comes to fishing this predator. That’s why we asked walleye expert, Dale Gilbert, to share his extensive walleye knowledge with us. A walleye master, Dale, has fished walleye from Arkansas to Canada and Michigan to Montana, and he doesn’t disappoint.
Drop shots rigs are really effective if there is a dirty bottom. In this link, walleye expert, Dale Gilbert, starts with a VMC spin shot that has a hook that swivels. He then ties this to a drop-shot line to get it down to a certain depth.
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Video Transcription
Setting up a Drop Shot Rig for Walleye and Bass
We could talk a little bit about setting up a drop shot rig for walleyes and for bass, actually. I had a great experience last summer fishing over at Fort Peck, and it showed me something new that I haven't really been doing a lot of it, but I can tell you right now, I think fishing with a drop shot rig is we're missing the boat if we're not doing a little bit more of it.
I'm going to use, for drop shot, and again, my Swate Brigade Spinning Rod. This is a six foot, 10 inch, medium power, extra fast action rod with a Brigade Black Label Spinning Reel of Howsen Series. I've got this set up with a six pound test line here, and I've set this up... I could do most of my rigs with a little bead here, an indicator, a barrel swivel, and then I've got here as a 15 pound per carbon leader.
Things to Consider when Setting up a Drop Shot
Now, for the drop shot, what two things you need to decide is how heavy of a weight that you want to use, and also how far up off the bottom you want to have the rig. The advantage of a drop shot is you can get a weight on there that's going to be on the bottom and you'll be able to see what's going on, or feel what's going on, but you'll be able to keep your bait certain if you want, 12 inches off the bottom, you want at 18 inches off the bottom, you can do that. I've only got about maybe a two foot liter here. I'm going to set this up to run about a foot off the bottom.
What I'm going to do is snip my leader off about where I want my drop shot rigged to actually be, and this is adjustable. So if you want, you can change that leader drop. If you see fish up off the bottom, three foot off the bottom, you may need to make some adjustment.
Somebody had a Good Idea When They Came up with This
What I use, what I really like to use, is this VMC spin shot hook. It's a super set up for a drop shot rig. It's got a little barrel swivel that you actually tie on, and then the hook is tied in there, but the hook will swivel around and it won't get twisted on the line. Somebody who had a really good idea when they came up with this. Again, I'll take an all tie the upper end of it on with a polymer knot. Now, that spin shot is tied onto the upper part of that swivel with my hook. We'll take and trim that tag end off.
What Gets Things Down to the Bottom
I've got about a two foot piece of leader, another piece of fluorocarbon leader here. It could be monolithic, it could be anything. Basically, all this is going to do is hold the weight. That'll get things down to the bottom.
Now you can see that VMC split shot hook and how it swings around, turns around that line without any issue. Makes for a very nice setup. Trim off my tag again. And the last little piece then is deciding how deep you want your bait or how far off the bottom you want that bait to be. In this case, about 12 inches. What I've got is just a knot tied at the very end of this dropper line. Just put an overhand knot, just tie a little knot, give it a little bit of a bump in the line.
What Your Setup Looks Like
All there is is just one little bitty thing, and what's nice about the new drift shot, rigs like this, this sinker comes in a little package like this, but they've got a tapered eye to them, in a sense, so basically you put that line through the big part of it, get the knot that I just put through it, and then pull it on the line and it tightens up.
Basically, then it won't slip off unless you pull real hard. What you have then is a set up like this, to where that weight goes to the bottom, you can feel the bottom, but your bait is sitting right here. That right there, even with my bead and my swivel, I still use a 15 pound down to here, then I use a 10 pound, little lighter. Again, if I break it off, I'm just breaking off the bottom part here. I've got this presentation with this thing up there and it works really, really well. It's something you ought to give a try.
If you've got any questions or need any further information, just stop by any of the North 40 Outfitters stores or check the website at north40.com. Thanks for watching and hope to see you again. Thanks.