As most of you do, I frequently sit down and watch as many video's on a particular technique or product that I can find. I've never used a drop shot, but it looks pretty straight forward. The thing I haven't seen is when and where to use it. What kind of weather, cover, bottom, color, and time of year? How many of you use it..and do you have much success with it.

Thanks in advance!

I dont use it a whole lot but when I do I like to do it when there is a bunch of grass, hydrilla etc, growing off the bottom. I like to make the leader where it's just long enough to hold the bait up over the grass and fish it that way. It can work anytime of the year and works just as well from the bank as it does the boat. I tend to use it though when the bite is a little tougher and im finding myself having to downsize my plastics and slow my presentation down. Its a great tool and really fun way to catch bass once you get the hang of it!

start fishing it and you will learn quickly that you can fish it in just about any situation with a couple of adjustments! good luck my friend!

Tex-pose your worm/bait & you can fish it anywhere.
Ability to keep the bait where you want it & still impart action to it.
You can cast it to the bank & work it back like some traditional baits or run over a piece of structure with your graph & just drop it straight down like a jigging spoon.

With the drop shot the key is fish it real slow. If you think you are fishing it slow enough and you are not getting bit slow down even more.
It can be a killer when it is fished right. Some times I don't even retrieve it. Just put right where I know it is gonna get seen then pull it up tight and let the current or rock of the boat wave the bait around until it p!sses somebody off enough that it gets hammered.

Agree with all the above, and do not be afraid to put a fluke or minnow type bait as well as worms.
Some people do what is called a power drop shot, heavier line and weight with a larger worm in cover works well.

One of my fav ways to fish, when I'm not throwing flies. I use roboworms 99% of the time. Very productive for me. I normally tie off 2 hooks...double drop shot.

I like a zoom centiped wacky rigged on the drop shot hook so it is waving at both ends.

I can't wait to get back on the water and try it out. I think thats all I'm going to take with me...force myself to learn it.

I've seen the wacky rigged drop shot, and will try it, but what about the roboworm? Just get those at Academy?

I like drop shot a lot--very versatile--you can vary the leader length, line type, hook type, and weight depending on the situation. I use the palomar for hook to weight. Drop shot is a relaxing technique, and gives your arms a rest from cranking, flipping, and swimming.

Drop shot is my go-to during the spawn, with a very short leader to weight (about six inches)--keeps the bait right in front of the bedding fish's face. During the spawn, I'll use 10lb mono and vary the bait between lizards, craws, salamanders, creatures, and egg scavenger fish colored flukes and small LFT magic shads.

Post bass spawn (during the shad and blue gill spawns), I'll lengthen the leader and use more shad and blue gill colored flukes (whatever the post spawn bass are feeding on)

As the weather warms, I'll be using more craws, worms, and creatures.

A variation of the drop shot that I really like for lots of grass on the bottom is a heavy drop shot (see Donald Harper's posts)--I use 65lb braid to a one oz weight with a 3-0 or 4-0 EWG hook 5 inches above the weight. The heavy weight will punch a hole in the grassy cover, to get to the bass hiding under the grassy cover.

I'm a braid only guy, but pre-rig my drop shots & put them in a baggie. Tiny spro swivel to attach to main line braid & then I have a fluorocarbor leader with the hook & as much or little tag for the weight. Saved me time & frustration & think that's even more critical to have some ready to go when you're in a yak. Also allowed me to keep using braid on my main line.

As said, when nothing else seems to be working, is a great time to try it. It's a true "do-nothing" rig, especially if you are on a boat, you'll see/hear people say "wiggle a little now and then" but chances are, if you are on a boat, you are wiggling constantly without realizing, keeping it STILL is the challenge.
Try it in some shallow water with visibility first, just to get a feel for what it looks like under the water as you move it.
Also, if in open water where you can drop it straight down, (or submerged cover also), you don't have to let the weight hit the bottom, just let it fall to the depth you want, the weight keeps the lure "sticking out" whether it's on bottom or not.
Only time NOT to use it is if fishing through heavy cover, as the exposed hook (unless you t-rig it, which I've had good success with in grass at Ray Roberts in particular) will snag very badly (when rigged in the "traditional/correct" method, the hook is fully exposed and pointing straight up, bad news if you pull it up over a branch (where it hooks straight into the bottom of the branch).
Anyhow, try playing with it first in your nearest pond (most are clear right now) just a few feet under, and you'll see how a tiny movement makes it dart around very naturally. That combined with low lateral movement, makes it very enticing for lazy bass, key is putting it near/in front of them (and fighting off the sunfish which LOVE pecking at it, wait till the lure starts swimming or pulling firmly before setting the hook to reduce the false hooksets). Fish nearly hook themselves on this rig, a smooth "pull" set the opposite direction from where the lure is moving, is preferred to a snap-hookset, since you should be using much lighter line for this presentation.

Academy doesn't sell Roboworms. I get mine at Barlows Tackle.

Dick's also has roboworms, I bought several packs on clearance last season, and it's the only thing I use them for (drop shotting).

Another wacky technique that works at times use two worms
on the same hook.
Put the first worm on hooked in the middle wacky style,
the second worm on tip of the nose hooked.
A lizard as the second bait works good also.
Makes it look like one attacking the other.