Drop-Shotting Panfish

Drop-shotting Bluegill — The Author with a nice 10 inch Gill from Lake St. Clair

Drop-Shotting, also known as down-shotting or under-shotting, is a technique that was developed in Japan as a way to reach bass on ultra clear, heavy pressured, reservoirs. It was quickly adopted by bass anglers on the west coast of the US and spread through out the country and through the tournament ranks. It quickly became a favorite for many bass anglers fishing deep structure on clear reservoirs and deep natural lakes. The popularity of drop-shotting for bass has begun to naturally spill over into types of fishing. Recent advancements in and popularity of micro plastic designs in the ice fishing market has lead many pan fishermen to add drop-shotting techniques to their arsenal as well. But until just recently, the rest of the industry was lagging behind in both terminal tackle and rods for this specialized presentation.
RodsDropshotting requires very specialized equipment in terms of rods. In fact, the rod can make or break this technique’s effectiveness. What you want, is a rod with a high quality blank for sensitivity and a fast taper that delivers an extra-fast action. It will also need to have the ability to protect light lines in the 2 to 4lb range, or even lighter in ultra clear waters. St. Croix just recently released their
Panfish Series rods. This series has a rod that is up to the task, model
PFS70LXF. This is a super sensitive, 7 foot rod which has the right taper and length to protect light line.

Drop-Shot-Diagram — Image from hookedforlife.ca

Terminal TackleThe traditional drop-shot rig has a hook tied directly into the mainline, with a weight attached below. You don’t use any kind of snap to hold the weight on the line like you would with a perch rig. Instead you want the weight…

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