Just posted a video of the deadsticking trip from last weekend. Couple of key lessons learned:

1. Thumper pulled in plenty of fish but catch the aggressive ones and move on. We thumped them in every stop but they didn't always bite.
2. We used 2 oz weights and 4' flukes. They liked Chartreuse and Pearl on this day, we caught all of our sandbass on bait but the striper were 50/50 on bait and deadstick
3. Super still baits were more effective, barely twitch them
4. The bite was really like, crappie thump vs. striper slam
5. We varied thumper speed with depth, slower in shallow water, faster in deeper...

https://youtu.be/0Nn4K2dWAA0

Enjoy the video!

Enjoyed the video! Thanks for posting! My “deadsticking” skills need a little work, I move to much. Learned a few tips and tricks!

Lol, I missed about 10 fish to 1! I am not used to that winter bite not to mention I normally use circle hooks so don’t have to set the hook!

Solid post and enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.

I haven't jumped on the thumper train but the only thing I would add is: when in doubt set the hook.
Sometimes the line can become a little bit "heavy" and not till you lift that rod tip do you realize that there is a fish on.

As one of my guide friends put it, "hooksets are free!"

As the water temps decline, heavy line, push ups and tail slaps are more common.

Stinger hooks placed thru jigs eye will help hook up ratio. Down sizing also helps when using tandem set up. Screen full of target fish and few bites , hold pole perfectly still, use jack rabbit on troller for 2 to 3 seconds turn off troller and wait for the bait to catch up as it pendulums horizontal back to vertical. The movement away from the fish will elicit numerous strikes, hungry or not.
You have nothing to lose by trying this productive method, it is perfect for pulling fish out of tree tops. Most effective with jigs in tandem, one ounce first followed by half ounce three feet below.

Ok so use the trolling motor for a short burst of speed, got it. Will try that tomorrow! Thanks for the tip!