Professional angler Brandon Palaniuk ranks the drop shot rig among his all-time favorite systems for catching bass whenever and wherever they swim. In this conversational video, he shares his history with the setup, originating from his formative years in the Pacific Northwest to applying the finesse tactic on atypical drop shot waters (think Santee Cooper and Sam Rayburn) and winning tournaments.
So why does he love it? Simple. Its simplicity and versatility. A single, well-balanced rod delivers all his drop shot setups, which only vary by leader size and length, hook style, plastics, and weight shape and size. A drop shot can be fished shallow to deep, in open water or around cover, and in clear or dingy water by making slight changes to the above mentioned components.
Palaniuk then dives into tactical considerations, such as how to determine if you’re drop shot rod is balanced, when to nose hook, Texas rig, or thread your plastics, when to use a shorter 2- to 4-inch plastic, and when a longer 6- to 7-inch worm works best. What about choosing weights? Palaniuk uses teardrop-style weights exclusively due to snag resistance and bottom telegraphing and starts light and goes progressively heavier as drop speed and water depth demand.
TACKLE USED (retail links)
DROP SHOT SETUP #1 (nose-hooked plastic)
- WORM – X-Zone 4″ Original Slammer
- HOOK – VMC Drop Shot Hook, Size 2
- WEIGHT – VMC Tungsten Teardrop Drop Shot Weight, 1/8- to 3/4-ounce
- ROD – Alpha Angler DSR Spinning Rod, 6’10” Medium
- REEL – Daiwa Exist 3000 Spinning Reel
- LINE (main) – Seaguar Smackdown Braided Line, color – Flash Green, 15-pound
- LINE (leader) – Seaguar Gold Label Fluorocarbon Leader Line, 6-12 pound
DROP SHOT SETUP #2 (threaded plastic)
- WORM – X-Zone Lures 6″ MB Fat Finesse Worm
- HOOK – VMC Finesse Neko Hook, size 2
- WEIGHT – VMC Tungsten Teardrop Drop Shot Weight, 1/8-3/4-ounce
- ROD – Alpha Angler DSR Spinning Rod, 6’10” Medium
- REEL – Daiwa Exist 300 Spinning Reel
- LINE (Main) – Seaguar Smackdown Braided Line, Flash Green, 15-pound
- LINE (Leader) – Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon, 6-12 pound
BOAT & ELECTRONICS
- LIVE SONAR – Humminbird MEGA Live
- 360 SONAR – Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging
- FISH FINDER – Humminbird SOLIX 12 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G3
- BOAT – Skeeter FXR20 Bass Boat
- TROLLING MOTOR – Minn Kota Ultrex MSI+, 52”, 36v (112 lbs)
OTHER GEAR
- PLASTIC STORAGE – Bass Mafia The Brief Case
- TACKLE BOX – Bass Mafia Bait Casket 3600 2.0
- HAT – Rapala SnapbackHat