Getting ready for another season :o

I wondered if there was any one here fishes
with two or more hook offerings on one line?

What conditions would you be fishing?

Do you think line size or visibility plays roll?

Hey Joe,

Generally speaking, If I am Drop-Shoting, I am fishing a two-hook rig. I usually run a small creature type bait on the bottom like a baby brush or a small lizard and a finesse worm on top. I find that if I use two distinctly different colors on each hook, you can get a good color patten on what the fish like best. Tangling is definitely an issue when you hook-up, but it's worth it. Good Luck!

Chris

...aother rig that I have had a lot of success with is using a jig in the place of a drop-shot weight. This has worked well for me in cold water where you would be working a jig very slowly anyway. I call it a Jig-Shot rig! You heard it here first!!

Chris

I'm thinking the jig is on the bottom and some kind of hook above it. Right?

What about line sizes? any favorables?

I've used both methods and although I catch fish on both hooks I would say 80-90% of my fish are caught on the top hook (usually a #2 with a small reaper or 4" worm on it). I use 8-lb test and seem to do OK with it.

On the average how far apart are you spacing the baits apart?

Joey - I have tried 2 and 3 baits.
3 baits was kinda rediculous because it took too long to get to the bottom and it wanted to twist around like crazy. If you're using 3 baits you probably have to use some pretty small baits or a big weight.

I did get some fish at Calero a few years ago using a small brown football jig on the bottom and a 6" worm about 15" above that.
The bigger fish at the jig, and the smaller ones ate the worm.
That rig has been around for a while, I saw several guys using it when I fished some pro/ams about 3-4 years ago. Another one that guys were doing was putting two baits on a c-rig by riggin a super short leader to a bait, and then a long leader to another bait. Most times though, I just stick to one bait these days. It's just more convenient I guess.

Has anybody ever caught two fish at one time on these rigs?

It kind of makes sence to me to fish the two rig combo.
Two are better than one - I guess

Just kind of seems like a lot of work to set up.
God forbid if I kept loosing the setup from snags.

Hey JC...
I used to do this every so often up in Utah on some of the smallmouth lakes. I'd use a football jig on the bottom and a worm up about 12-15". When you do this though, you're going to want to make sure and use one of the small wide gap hooks for your drop-shot bait. Because if you get bit, you don't know which bait is being eaten. If the jig is being eaten, you're going to want to be able to get a good hook-set, instead of just reeling and sweeping up like you would do when using the drop-shot hooks. Make sense? And yes, I have caught two fish at the same time on this rig before. Two smallmouths...a 2.5lber on the jig and then a fiesty 14" ate the worm right after I set the hook on the jig fish. I was watching the whole thing...

Being able to see the fish bite
Could this mean the water was clear?

So do you find that line size vs. visibility plays any roll?

Does any one use a leader of flourolcarbon?

I've used a 2-hook setup several times, with some success, but I've also broken off a couple of fish with it (who knows exactly why the line broke, but knot strength -- or lack thereof -- may have been the culprit). I've heard that the 'backside' of the Palomar knot can be more prone to breakoffs, so that if you hook one on the bottom hook, the 'tag end' under the top hook might be vulnerable to the added strain of fighting that bottom fish.

As Rob indicated, the convenience of a one-hook setup, for me, is the biggest factor in not going to two. It's just that much more work to set it up for two, with the added probability of additional hookups somewhat questionable (i.e., not worth the effort?).

Dave Rush did a pretty compelling demo at one of the ISE fish tanks a couple years back, which had some bigger fish going on point on the craw-patterned worm rigged just above the weight, with some smaller fish showing only mild interest at the shad-patterned bait a couple feet above.

It left a powerful impression, but again, that convenience factor of just one hook wins out, in most cases, for me.

Damm so much to learn, so little time.

Thanks guys

One of these days we need to sit down and
show me on how you tie up your rigs. please ;-)

Just to make sure i'm doing this right..

The only time I broke off was fishing the Invitational two years ago (when Mitch won) that was a direct result of fishing a two hook rig. The problem was the fish bit the bottom worm then ran around a piling and when I was bringing the fish back around the piling the top hook snagged the piling and gave the fish enough leverage to break off. The fish did jump right before (with witnesses!) and was about 5 1/2 lbs which would have jumped me from 6th to...1st x(

Oh well, my luck was better in the 2003 Invite! :D

Todd

Yea a bunch of you guys brought in good fish on your drop shoting @ Clear Lake this last year.

Not to steel your thunder on the one that got away...;-)

Speaking of Clear Lake pillings
While fishing with a pointer minnow around some docks I got hung up on a pilling.
After a few trys on getting the snag out as I made my way over to un hook the lure I get nailed
and land a nice 3 1/2# bass. He took it right off from being stuck on the pilling.
Wouldn't mind that happing more offen. Nice lure retrival system :)

Boy, this drop-shotting has really become the technique of the day! Everywhere I go, or whatever I've been reading in the results stories, everyone seems to be hanging a dropshot rig. I was surprised to hear how much it's being used, obviously in more shallow situations, on the Delta & Clear Lake, even for the BASS events (a good backseater technique?).

Also, for this time of year, many of the guys I've been querying at Calero have been getting whatever fish they're able to catch on a dropshot (although I met 'Dave' out there yesterday, fishing from a tube, but he caught his on a *spoon*, off the infamous point across from the launchramp).

Oh -- and as for line: well, I'm 0-for-5 on my '04 fishing excursions so far this year, so I can't say it's worked for me *yet*, but I've got 8-lb. P-Line 'FluoroClear' on my dropshot rod. Aaron Martens plugs it on his dropshot video, although he may use 6-lb test most often, at least in clear water conditions. Sounds promising though, what with fluorocarbon's supposedly more-invisible characteristics & all.

Time will tell, of course, but for the time being, I'll just keep on workin' it til I get a few more d'shot hookups under my belt.

up here in redding, I drop shot 50 % of the time...I use a 1 hook setup, two hooks are a mess(if i need to i'll rig two rods drop shot..1 high with a shad color, one low with a craw color) I use 6lb p line flourclear on a bass pro shops 6'6''ML bionic blade rod...Just keep plugging away, this technique is the best when they wont bite anything else..if you have too dead stick it for 30 seconds...then lightly shake it...some basic colors that WILL catch fish are: arrons magic(1&2) margarita mutilator, ok blood, blueghost, and any baby bass. when the shasta region comes up here, this will be a setup everyone will have to have, it catches too many fish not to have it on at all times. CATCH YA LATER, ryan

Yea buddy... Going to have to book mark this for sure!

This is what i'm talking about sharing the good stuff.

Thanks guys

Does anyone fish with braided on this kind of rig?

Kind of thinking - Wouldn't you feel the bites more?

in a clear water lake you couldn't, they would just spook to easy.But at clearlake I would say if you are going to flip that drop shot into cover(tulies,docks,rocks)I would say, yes! throw on some power pro, i would go with 20 lb and fish it farly fast, flip it in there shake it, then flip again. Also i would, and this is just me, throw a bigger bait(6-8 inch worm, 5"senko, or some sort of small creature bait) so the bass is more likely to look at the bait and not the line. Just my thought, interesting idea.....Hey by the way how much are your "4-eyed" swimbaits(in the hitch pattern). I am going to CL in march, and thought Id try a swimbait(for the first time) out..Email me at reddingbasser04@aol.com if ya wanna talk about it there. Ryan

I think having the knot up higher from the bottom bait causes a weak point in your line. When you hook up on the bottom presentation. Maybe if you used a dropper loop for the drop-shot hook. You would probably lose some of the action on the drop shot bait though.

Do any of you fish the drop-shot up off the bottom. You know, like half way between the bottom and surface? I always bounce the weight on the bottom. I've let the bait fall with a closed bail and taught line with some success.

I don't use braided line, but I like to use flourocarbon a lot because of the sensitivity and abrasion resistance and the idea that they might not see it as well doesn't hurt. I love the Yo Zuri even though its a hybrid its a great line and much cheaper than Sugoi.
CZ

Flourocarbon also sinks where braid floats. That makes it easier to sink a bait with less lead too.

I've used both an all mono and braid with a flourocarbon leader below the swivel set up and I have caught fish both ways. You do have a better feel for what's happening with the braid/flouro combo. I have never used the braid in a clear water lake with much success though, but at Clear Lake and the delta it seems to works fine:-)

I have also tried the two hook rig but didn't like it much and don't use it anymore. And, I have tried using a jig for the weight haven't had much success(on the jig) that way either but I did lose some nice jigs in the rocks.:-( I will continue to do the jig shot thing however since it may pay off big someday, ya never know.

Thanks everyone for helping out

I was going to ask has anyone caught fish drop shoting @ night?
But I answered my own question the other night by catching a 2#er bass on a wacky rigged shot. :)

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By the way how did Pat do fishing that tournament?