It was like plucking overripe grapes that were drooping from the vine. Whenever my partner, the late John Vandivier and I spotted a smallmouth on the sonar screen, we'd open the bail on our spinning reel, let the weight drop to the bottom and watch the fish streak up and eat the worms. This was almost 30 years ago and bass had never before seen a bait presented this way.
I first put it into practice at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship on Rainy Lake. And when a fish bit the lure, since there was no terminal tackle between the hook and angler, sensitivity was magnified and hook-ups percentages were high. More importantly, they discovered that drop-shotting allowed them to subtly shake baits in place and impart action without pulling them forward. When they cast the rigs and let them settle to the bottom and tightened up the line, they knew their baits were hovering off the bottom at the same depth the fish were suspended.
Seems they were knotting hooks a foot or two up their lines where they'd traditionally placed sinkers and tying weights to the ends of their line where they had previously put hooks. Rich and I were trading notes and he divulged the details behind a bass presentation some Japanese pros had devised. But that's precisely where I found myself in the late-1980s, thanks to long-time In-Fisherman contributor Rich Zaleski. It's rare to be given an inside look at a new fishing technique in its infancy, when those in the know are catching unconditioned fish, winning tournaments, and doing everything in their power to keep it under wraps. But it's just as effective-maybe even better-for catching walleyes. Drop-shotting is one of the hottest techniques on the bass fishing scene.
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