← Drop Shot

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Drop Shot

How to tie

Finesse lure rig with hook tied off a tag and lead on the bottom.

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What you need

  • Light braided main line (8–15 lb) with a 6–10 ft fluorocarbon leader.
  • A wide-gape drop-shot hook, size 1 to 4.
  • Drop-shot weight — pencil-style or barrel, 3 g to 14 g depending on depth and flow.
  • Soft plastic lure — small worm, slug or shad, 2–4 inches.

Tying it

  1. Tie the hook directly to the leader with a Palomar knot, leaving a long tag end (15–24 inches depending on how high you want the lure to hover).
  2. Pass the tag back through the hook eye from the front so the hook stands proud, perpendicular to the line, point upward.
  3. Tie or clip the drop-shot weight to the end of the long tag. Most drop-shot weights have a snap-line clip that grips the line under tension and releases if you snag — saves the rig.
  4. Nose-hook the soft plastic through the very tip so it sits horizontal and wafts freely.

Tuning

Length of tag below the hook is the dial: short tag (8–12 inches) for fish hugging the bottom, long tag (24+ inches) for fish suspended mid-water. The hook must stand perpendicular to the line — if it lays flat against the leader, re-thread the tag back through the eye.