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Table
Rock Style Drop-shotting A Western finesse tactic is also a hit on the clear waters of Table Rock Lake. The tactic of placing hooks and baits above a weight has been practiced by saltwater, walleye and crappie anglers for decades, but this concept never caught on with bass fishermen until the late 1980s. Maurice Holybee, a southern California angler and lure maker, is credited with developing one of the first bass-oriented drop-shot rigs and then Japanese anglers introduced the technique to the tournament scene at the Lake Mead 1998 U.S. Open. Table Rock anglers have discovered the effectiveness of this finesse technique on their home waters. Table Rock guide Pete Wenners, and Bill Beck, a tournament angler from Reeds Spring, MO, have adopted this technique to catch off-shore bass on Table Rock Lake. Drop-shotting is most effective in vertical fishing situations. “One reason it works a lot better than a split-shot rig is because it keeps the bait up off the bottom about a foot or two,” says Wenners. A spilt-shot rig uses a lightweight to slow the fall of the lure but it eventually sinks to the bottom. A drop-shot rig with a 1/2-ounce weight also allows anglers to detect strikes easier than finesse lures attached to darter jigheads. “When you get it down to that 30- to 35-foot range you can feel the bite better,” claims Wenners. “A lot of people feel more confident if they can feel that actual weight rather than feeling nothing.” He believes the heavier weight doesn’t bother the fish either since bass usually inhale other heavyweight lures, such as 3/4-ounce jigs, dragged along the bottom. The technique works along the same long points and other deep structure Wenners fishes vertical with finesse baits on darter heads. “The bait seems to be the main key more than the structure. Basically I’m looking for streaking fish, ones that I can see on my locator,” says Wenners. “I’ve found it also works well on mixed gravel. On real big chunk rock it tends to get hung up quite a bit.” Beck catches suspended bass on the drop-shot rig by keying on main lake flats and roll-off points near the main channel during the summer. Looking for baitfish was also a key for Beck in pinpointing bass. “In July and August it is just phenomenal,” Beck claims. “The first time I tried it I thought is was really goofy looking. But it is unbelievable. It seems like you can outfish guys who use (night) crawlers by catching better quality. You would think that it would scare the fish off with that sinker hanging below the bait but it’s pretty awesome for suspended fish.” Water depth determines the tackle Wenners employs for his drop-shot rig. When fishing 25 feet deep or less, Wenners relies on a 3/8-ounce bell weight, but he opts for a 1/2-ounce sinker for deeper water. “The thing that’s great about the drop shot is you can use any kind of weight,” Wenners admits. “You can take a split shot and crimp it on there. I used some of my old bullet sinkers, sliding them up the line and crimping a little split shot on the end.” Since he’s fishing the rig in open water most of the time, Wenners ties a 1/0 straight shank hook to the rig and leaves the point exposed. His favorite lures for dropshotting include 4-inch finesse worms, plastic reapers, plastic grubs or tube baits. Sometimes Wenners enhances his vertical presentation by tying two lures (a finesse worm and French fry worm) on his dropshot rig. After tying a Palomar knot for the first hook, he leaves a long tag line for tying on the second hook (about 16 to 18 inches below) and the sinker (3 feet beneath the second hook). When using a 1/2-ounce weight, Wenners works his rig on baitcast tackle. He switches to spinning tackle for dropshotting with a 3/8-ounce sinker. Both of his reels are filled with 10- to 12-pound test green line. Holding his line tight helps Wenners keep his drop-shot lures off the bottom. “A lot of times the wind dictates which size weight I have to use to keep a tight line,” says Wenners, who imparts action to his lure with a steady pop of his rod “You can actually shake the bait without moving it out of place.” Wenners shakes the lure if he sees a bass streaking up towards the bait but then it stops. He also reels up the lure slowly to trigger a reluctant bass into striking. The natural look of this presentation makes the drop-shot rig so effective in clear water. “The main reason it works is the way the bait looks in the water,” says Beck. “The way you tie the bait on it makes the hook stand straight out from the line and it makes the bait stand straight out. It hardly takes any movement at all to really give the lure a lot of action. I’ve noticed when I wasn’t getting bit that I was overworking the bait. That finesse worm has a real subtle wavy action and it’s really easy to overwork it.” The deep-water specialist prefers using a 1/0 offset round bend hook rather than the small curved saltwater hook used by some drop-shot experts. “I’ve used a lot of hooks and it seems like with that 1/0 offset round bend, when you get bit, you just lift up and reel the fish in,” claims Beck. “Since there is no weight by the hook you hardly ever lose a hooked fish.” Beck uses a 1/2-ounce Bakudan drop-shot weight placed about 18 inches to 2 feet below his hook. “I tie a regular Palomar knot then I hold the bend of the hook upright and I take the tag end and run it back down through the eye of the hook. That’s what flips that hook out and makes it stand straight out,” says Beck. He believes making the hook stand straight out is the secret to making the lure look so natural. The long shank 1/0 hook extended out from the line also prevents Beck from losing hooked fish. He believes small drop-shot hooks are too close to the line, which acts like a weedguard and can actually deflect the hook away from fish. His favorite lures for dropshotting are finesse worms and a line of Berkley Power Baits designed for drop-shotting available in a variety of natural hues. He notices these lures produce best when the fishing is tough. The best color for his drop-shot lures last summer and fall was watermelon finesse candy. Beck lists watermelon red and green pumpkin as other productive lure colors for his drop-shot rigs. The mood of the fish dictates the type of tackle Beck uses for dropshotting. For aggressive fish, he favors bait-casting equipment and 8-pound test line. He prefers a baitcast reel for most applications because it prevents line twist, which occurs frequently when using a drop-shot rig with a spinning reel. If the action is slow, Beck scales down to 6-pound test line and a spinning rod and reel. A minimum amount of effort is required to work Beck’s dropshot rig. “Instead of shaking it and hopping it, I can just slowly rock it by pulling my rod tip up and down 1 or 2 inches and that makes that worm tail wave real subtle,” he says. Drop-shotting produces for Beck during the post-spawn when the fish move out to deeper water. Throughout most of the summer, he catches bass on the rig about 26 feet deep that are either suspended or on the bottom. The dropshot rig produces more numbers of Table Rock bass than quality fish in most situations. “It’s more of a smallmouth and Kentucky (bass) technique,” says Wenners. Beck agrees. “I catch a few largemouth and smallmouth on the dropshot, but the majority of the fish are spotted bass,” he says. While originally conceived for the heavily pressured clear-water reservoirs of the West, the dropshot rig has proven its worth as a viable alternative for catching finicky Table Rock bass as well. For information on shows, lodging and attractions in the Table Rock Lake or Lake Taneycomo area or to receive a free vacation guide, call the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-BRANSON or visit the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB web site at www.explorebranson.com. Copies of John Neporadny's book, "THE Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide" are available by calling 573/365-4296 or visiting the web site www.jnoutdoors.com.
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