How do you work it when you cast it out?

I fish it most of the time like a C-Rig. Obviously the bait is above the weight but I get more bites just dragging it at a slower pace. If fish it back to the boat within 10 feet or so, and have had fish eat it when I begin my retrieve to make another cast. I don’t feel there is a right or wrong way to fish it. It just flat out gets bites when it’s tough!

If I'm fishing it in brush, if I feel the weight into a brush pile, just stay there for a bit and wiggle it. Don't be in any hurry to move it out of good cover. Sometimes you gotta just piss that fish off to get it to bite. Got a nice 3lber doing that yesterday. Just need an offset hook so you can fish it weedless.

shake it along. my waters like 1-4 foot clarity though. I like to use the smallie smashers and shake it back to the boat because the smallie smasher will make bubbles.

I first start out by holding it still after the weight hits bottom. Then I move it a little then hold again. If that doesn't get bit, then I shake it a little and then hold it still. If I get bit reeling it back to the boat to make another cast, then I shake it quite a bit.

I also drop shot with a bait caster and use a 1/0 Owner rigging hook and Txpose it so it is weedless and use a 1/4 oz. drop shot weight.

When in rocky non bushy water I use a drop shot with Exposed size 1 Owner mesquito hook if I want the bait to dance. I use 3" -5" plastics of all kind nose hooked on this rig when the fishing is tough and have caught many 7-9lbs bass doing this. It gives your bait way more natural action then using a texas style offset or straigt shake hook. If you want to get daring...this really works good around trees and brush piles too. You just might lose a few baits...but man will you be catching fish.

If fishing brush piles use 1/0 owner wide gap Offset hook and 5-6" worms Txpose for more weedless presentation.

I've been using a 2/0 Yama hook. I've fished the 1/0's as well but just feel more comfortable with a bit larger hook and it doesn't seem to matter on bites. If I'm not in bushes, I usually throw a robo 2 straight shank and nose hook it. What's your thoughts on the 1 vs 2 sized hooks? If I get a 5lbers that buries itself in the grass, I just feel more comfortable getting it out on the larger hook.

I have caught bass up to 9 LB on the drop shot using # 1 and 1/0 hooks but have also had some bigger fish pull off when they got into the standing timber. I think patience is the key and to try not to horse them so much. Also being the co-angler you can't always get the boater to pull up the poles and chase the fish. Particularly when they are not catching anything and won't put on the same bait.

I use to throw it out and leave it still but after judging for elite anglers and watching them shake it I started doing that and believe my bite ratio has improved. I fish it two ways.
One off the bottom shaking it and the other is letting the bait relax and go to the bottom and then back up.

Current makes a lot of difference too. If you have decent water flow you don't need to shake it too much. If not, I generally shake it every 5-10 seconds.

Have you actually looked at the presentation of a nose hooked bait on a mosquito hook vs a Texposed one in clear water or in a swimming pool so you can actually see the action of each set up? I have seen the Txposed one in a swimming pool and it has plenty of action. I don't ever use a mosquito hook with a bait nose hooked because of the cover I fish on the drop shot so I don't know if it has more action. I would get hung up all the time with a mosquito hook and a nose hooded bait in the places I fish a drop shot.


That must be an awesome lake you are fishing if you catch many 7-9 pound bass from it on a drop shot. Is it local?

One more question, Is it better to have way more action with a drop shot than less action to trigger the 7-9 pound fish to eat it? Most youtube videos about drop shotting say not to give it much action, but they might just be fishing for numbers and not bigger fish.

A 1/0, 1 and 2 are three different size hooks. I use either a 1 or 1/0 for finesse worms. I use a 2/0 for trick worms.

Can you explain how a nose hooked bait has way more natural action than a bait that is Txposed? I rigged it up both ways this evening and looked at them in the pool and could not see a difference.

Mine never stops moving. On the shake and on the reel.

I catch way more by shaking it than letting it sit still, but I still try it just sitting there just to see if they want it that way. I shake it quite a bit if I catch one reeling it back in to make another cast.

Hey EZ,

Sorry for the delay...been busy trying to make the house a home.

I have found the nose hook gives a bit more action and presentation to the smaller baits. I use a lot of 3" baits dropshotting for best results and the Texstyle hook setup doesn't give much action let alone work on the baits i use. To get some of the bigger bites in the non windy brite sun shinning days, wiggle the worms a little but not much. I prefer to work it from deep to shallow water to keep contact with the bottom.

I rather not fish this rig if the fish are biting anything else though...but It has been a great tool.

Also try wacky rigging a 3 or 4 inch senko on dropshot...omg...that too is killer on the tough days