Well, I wasn't worried about it at all, hence my Hmm? and comment about not sure what difference it makes if much at all.

Yes, for one reason you more or less state, a 3/16s to a 1/4 oz. weight at its terminus sort of makes the point at least a bit moot . . . the extra gram or two up at the hook isn't much.

On the other hand, balazs might prefer really slowing things down to maximize the effectiveness of the drop shot in really tough fishing conditions when one can't get too slow. Backpackers struggle to cull a single ounce.

The jury is still out for me but I like a couple of things about the Gamakatsu Swivel hook: 8 out of 9 good hook sets is about as well as I have ever done with a drop shot; and, I have never made it through a whole fishing day with just one hook but I did just that yesterday.

Brad

I have studied drop shot presentation in a pool. When the salt dissolves out of a roboworm it becomes very buoyant and will almost suspend on a 1/0 thin wire rebarb hook. When I let the line go slack, it has an extremely natural movement. When I let the line go slack with a swiveled hook with a bead on it, the nose hooked roboworm dives nose first as if its on a jig head. Either presentation can catch fish, but I have my preferences.

This is good "intelligence" to add to anyone's mental database related to drop shot rigs. I wish I had a pool to study various actions. And, little tiny differences often DO work.

In one interview, they asked Aaron Martens about what he did the day of a tournament, what he planned for the next. He said he used a drop shot on 8 lbs. test and did well with it, but that he was going to drop to 6 lbs. the next day to get more bites.

I can't even very well see or feel the difference between 6 and 8 fluorocarbon, and both are supposedly more or less invisible to bass, yet here is a pro making the tiniest of rig alterations.

Since he has won 3 AOYs, I have to think he knows something about fine tuning and how valuable it can be.

Brad

That sounds good for a clear lake...not so much in Texas where most lakes are stained year round exception for a few that aren't. I fish with a baitcasting setup on straight 20-30# braid no leader and have caught fish all day on the drop shot. I use my own finesse worms that i shoot with no salt added(straight floaters). I've used 1/8oz weights up to 1/4oz weights in shallow water (same day and same areas) and still caught fish. Some like to feel the weight at the bottom and keep their line a little tight and let the currents do the work. A minor twitch here and there and WHAM! There is no perfect way to fish the drop shot when you have stained water. Our product was made in all honesty because of a trip to Monti when the VMC spinshot first came out. I caught one fish then all of a sudden started losing them close to the boat. I switched up to another new spinshot out of the pack and same issue. After the last spinshot i realized all the hook tips had rolled. Boooooo!. My buddy at the time was using the Down-Shot hook and was out catching me big time. So when i got home from that trip the idea of adding the Down-Shot hook with the clip at the bottom came out. Easy to use and no need to retie when losing weights. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to another company or those that use the VMC spinshot and now the Gamakatsu rig...We just feel we made it better..Some have come on this forum and bashed us because we made something better....Since 2011 three more DS rigs were made using the Owner J-Hook, RigNHook and Wide Gap Plus based on feedback from Lake Fork fishermen especially a close friend of mine Mr. Mead...We have customers from coast to coast that have purchased these DS rigs(not boasting keep reading). What does that mean...basically, they've been used and tested in many different bodies of water and they have been more successful than the "other " brands from the responses we received. I enjoy DS fishing due to the simplicity behind it. It's one of those techniques that is always on deck. Thanks!

Brad/Balazs do not take offense to what I have said. It is a mere opinion based on 100's of hours of fishing the technique back before it was cool to do so. I understand the need to "suspend" a bait or "slow the rate of fall".....what I am saying is that you can control those by changing weights, baits and line/leader material all the while using the same hook. As far as Martens goes....6-8 lb. line is not needed to have success with the ds technique in 90% of the lakes/reservoirs in Texas. 10 lb. test flouro is the lightest I would ever go. Don't confuse that as me saying you can't use that light of a line. You certainly can!! Anywho....good luck and tight lines.

Yes, again Shawn, let me repeat that I have no problem with the extra weight; that was a comment made by balazs. I was just "accepting it" as another point of view to a rig and fishing presentation with multiple opportunities. And, I did defend it a bit against the LMAO comment by simply mentioning that the current AOY drops from a microscopic 8 test line to a more microscopic 6 test line . . from one day to the next, to get more bites. If dropping from 8 to 6 can induce more bites, then there is "something" to small changes that makes a difference.

By the way, I can't have a problem with the Gamakatsu Swivel because I only fished it one time, this past Saturday, and as I wrote, I had a really good hook-up ratio: 8 out of 9. I was reporting a good outcome.

Carlos, I have never heard anyone, though I'm a bit new to the forum, knock or disparage riveratackle.net's products. I've ordered from you and really liked what I got.

I still haven't heard Carlos respond to my question regarding whether his current DS offerings, there are 3 I think (one not pictured), all require two knots and a separate line for the piece running down to the sinker. Maybe I am rigging it wrong and there is an expectation that a single line is first tied off on top then pulled through the lower swivel opening.

And, I see the photo Carlos attached in a response. Carlos, do you still make a DS with the pinch clip on the bottom?

Brad

We will make the spin-clip, It just didn't make the DS page on our website due to popularity...it's in the secret menu though....Shoot me a pm and I can send you a pack to try. Thanks!

This is a forum in action! Great respectful point and counterpoint. I've learned a lot.

Thanks to all in this thread.

RW Fred, thanks! I think this thread covered a lot of valuable ground. It shows how complex even the simplest of fishing presentations can be.

Carlos, that sounds great! I'll PM you and just place an order for a few of various sizes.

I spent the summer learning to drop shot, love it by the way since I lean toward finesse/soft plastics/ slow fishing. But, I only used the small hook/ light line approach.

What I want to do is try some of the spins with the clips for larger presentations knowing that the drop shot is not just a light line presentation.

I think something in the 3/0 or 4/0 range would be an interesting alternative to a Texas rig with the sliding bullet weight.

And, I'll report my results back to the forum!

Brad