Northwest Fishing Reports

Has anybody here tried drop shotting for bass?
I have a few Questions

1 do you cast the rig or just jig it below the boat?
2 How deep do you fish the rig is 8ft to shallow?
3 if fishing deep how do you know there is structure without a depth sounder?

if you can answer any it would be great

DO A SEARCH FOR DROPSHOTING IN BASS TOPICS ,,,

Drop shotting is extremely effective for bass. Both my smallmouth over 5lbs this year were on a dropshot.
1. Casting vs. vertical: Both work. I prefer to cast it and slowly drag it back to the boat. Some of my friends like to cast it and lightly shake it back. Others like to drop it down and shake it. All work but obviously in shallow water you want to cast the bait.
2. This rig can be fished from 1ft to as deep as you find bass. Try fooling around with the length of the leader too. I prefer a short leader (maybe 8-10 inches) but sometimes I go up to 2 ft.
3. If you don't have a meter it is easy to feel the bottom with a heavy enough weight. You should have no problem telling if you are dragging across sand, rocks, or through weeds.

As for baits try Sniper Lures Snubs & Bolts, Roboworms, Panic Minnows, or Berkely dropshot worms. There are hundreds of different baits that work so don't be afraid to experiment. Also try different size baits. In the summertime I've noticed that the larger baits seem to work better.
For weights I like to use as light as I can get away with and still feel the bottom.
For hooks I prefer to nose rig with an Owner mosquito hook but you can rig weedless too.

Good luck

Here is a link to something you might find helpful. Warning: Drop Shotting is as addiciting as it is effective at catching fish, and not only bass.

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/ReadArticle.aspx?id=260

-ib

Try setting up a wacky rig with a senko while dropshotting. You do that by hooking the senko in the middle so that it is horizontal in the in the water. Senkos will wobble even with the slightest rod movement and this really attracts the bass.