I didn't have time to get out in the kayak today, so I took my new set up to an old spot and took a few casts from shore. I was throwing a Z-man 4" pumpkin colored finesse worm. On the very first cast, after about 10 seconds, I get a nibble, and promptly land a 9" largemouth. I cast into the same spot, and pull out 2 more, one being even a bit smaller. Hey, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. A few more casts, yield nothing, so I walked over to another spot, and caught 2 more fish, the bigger one being about a pound. I wanted to see if there was anything a little bigger here, what better to catch them with than a jig? First cast with the jig, I get a bite, and upon the hook set, my leader breaks. Boy this sounds all too familiar. Again, a few seconds after breaking my line, I saw the fish jump lazily out of the water trying to rid it's mouth of my jig. It wasn't that big, maybe 2lbs at the most, but all these jigs I'm losing on break offs are starting to get expensive!
I packed up my things, and looked at my watch, still about 25 minutes before I need to get to work. I had time to stop at one more spot along the way.
I pull up, and take out a few rods, I throw a few casts with a spinner bait and a frog and had no action. I guess I'll give the drop shot a try seeing it's the only thing that has landed me a fish all day. I have fished this spot my entire life, but always from shore, so I'm not really sure what kind of structure or cover is out in the middle, but fish always seem to hold about 10-15 ft off the shoreline. So I launch the dropshot out, and almost as soon as the weight hits the bottom, I feel a tic on the line, and land my first fish. Once I release the 2+ pound fish, I cast out again, just a little to the left, same thing, this time the fish was a little over 3. Now we're moving in the right direction! I cast out a few more times, and then noticed a disturbance in the corner, so I tossed over towards it, and I could see a wake come out of the shallows and make a beeline towards my line. No sooner do I feel the tiniest peck on my line, and I'm hooked up again. This time I knew I had a good fish, it made several good runs, peeling drag. I haven't fought a largemouth that put up a fight like this in a long time. This one just tipped 4lbs on the scale. When I let him go, I had just enough time for one more cast, so I pitched right back in the same spot, and pulled out a fish weighing about a pound.
2lber
Another shot of the 2lber
3lber
4lber
This is what I was using on the drop shot.
The setup that I was using today, was a 6'8" Shimano Sellus Drop Shot rod, with a Shimano Sienna 1000FD with 10lb Power Pro, and an 8 ft fluorocarbon leader. For the rig itself, I used a Gamakatsu drop shot hook, a Lunker City 1/4oz drop shot weight, and a Z-man 4" finesse worm. I couldn't be happier with this set up. Between the rod and the braid, I can feel every bite with ease, and it also helps when figuring out bottom composition. Let me say, about these Z-man finesse wormz, for $3.99 for a 10 pack, I certainly got my moneys worth already. I caught 9 fish on ONE worm. A durable soft plastic, that catches fish? I'm sold!
Before today, I have always viewed the drop shot as a deep, clear water technique. Well, the water I fished today, was clear and fairly shallow in one spot, and shallow and muddy in the second spot. If you look at the drop shot, the way I always have, I urge you to try it out in a different environment, and I think you will be happy with the results.
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