Drop shotting for Crappies

[dadshamp]

Has anyone tried drop shotting for crappies? Seems to be a good way to put some action in front of suspended fish.

[CrappieJohn]

Had to bring this one up, eh? lol This is an excellent way to tease deep, neutral to negative crappies into hitting. You just can't be using a plastic too large and the hooks have to be of fine wire.

[delmuts]

i agree. i've used this method when vertical jigging deep water for panfish, and when fishing shallow.( 0-6') in deeper water, once you find at what depth the fish are and set your lure to that depth. then all you have to do is drop the weight to the bottom and your in the zone. we talked about this in the bass forum; one hint that was brought up was to learn to just tease the bait, and when you get a hit, instead of making a snap hook set try more of a sweeping hook set.

[Matt Johnson]

That's weird how this topic came up. Corey Bechtold, BDR and I were talking about this on Saturday night. Deitz Dittrich gave a bass seminar and made mention of drop shotting and we were talking about how effective it can be on pannies as well. I like this topic and I'm looking forward to reading what others write...

I'll use a plain hook with a plastic nymph or a tiny plastic worm on a drop-shot for crappies and gills. This is a real slow-working presentation but can work wonders on negative fish or when pitching a deep weedline or structure.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[freebledsoe]

Well, time to reveal my ignorance...

I have no idea what you are referring to by "drop shotting" for fish. Any help??

[CrappieJohn]

Drop shotting involves tying the weight to the end of the line and then tying in a hook at the level the fish are being marked...maybe a touch higher up. You simply hang your plastic, almost angle worm style, on the hook and drop this down until the weight hits bottom. You can lift-drop it, leave it dance in current, jig it vigorously....whatever trips your trigger. This method is deadly on negative fish. It gets to the level they are hanging in, it simply sets there and tantalizes them until they hit it...not unlike a dead stick used for really tight lipped crappies thru the ice.

And again I will say....this is as deadly as dead sticking in my opinion. I don't resort to it often, but when it is the system to use it gets results above and beyond other methods of tricking fickle fish.

[freebledsoe]

Thank you CT!

[Corey Bechtold]

A few years ago I started drop shotting for panfish because I was fishing a weedline and the Crappies were tight to the weeds. The fish wouldn't pull the float under and the float seemed to hook weeds too often. The wind was too much to control a jig so I went to the drop shot and started catching fish. This isn't just a deep water presentation as I used it in less than 6 feet of water. Give it a try and see how it works for you. This is just one more trick to have up your sleeve when it comes to chasing Panfish.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold