How to Tie a Drop Shot Rig

Finesse your way toward a fun and successful bass fishing trip by tying on a drop shot rig. Learn how to rig up this natural presentation with these bass fishing Pro Tips.

Drop shot fishing can be a fun addition to your bass fishing repertoire. Great for finesse, this fishing setup presents a natural look for interested bass. The design of this setup suspends the bait above the weight, placing your lure at a specific depth in front of your target and off the muddy bottom.

Anglers wanting to try this popular fishing rig are just a few knots away from putting a line in the water. Use these Pro Tips to put some finesse in your fishing profile and learn how to tie a drop shot rig.

REQUIRED TACKLE

There are a few items needed to effectively tie a successful drop shot rig. This tackle includes:

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• Drop shot hook
• Soft plastic lure
• Drop shot weight

DICK’S Sporting Goods Associate Justin Lonchar says that drop shot weights are, “Unique from other weights in the fishing world. These come in a variety of weights, anything from 1/16 ounce all the way up to one ounce and attach by friction pull on the top of them.”

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION

To achieve that suspended-bait look, there are a few key steps to tying a drop shot rig:

1. Attach your drop shot hook to your main line via a Palomar knot. Make sure your hook point is facing upward and leave a tag end roughly 18 inches in length. “This is where the weight will be attached,” Lonchar says. Your tag end line determines how high your lure will sit off the bottom.
2. Thread your tag end back through the eye of your hook so that your hook point faces upward.
3. Attach your drop shot weight by threading your tag end through the eyelet and pulling toward the pinched top. The eyelet should create enough friction to hold the weight in place.

BONUS PRO TIP: If your drop shot weight doesn’t have a friction pull eyelet, you can simply attach your weight to your tag end via an overhand knot.

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5. Thread your soft plastic lure onto your hook. Lonchar recommends nose hooking your bait. Simply push the hook in from the bottom, up through the top and rotate so that the eye and lure are in one straight line. Make sure the hook point is just barely poking out of the front of the bait. For another presentation option, Texas rig your soft plastic.

Drop shot fishing can be a fun way to work bass outside of reaction lures. Use these angling Pro Tips to tie into an entertaining fishing trip with this effective rig.