Drop Shot... Hook.... Heck.... Help! 2025
Zoff reply :
Guys... need some... I guess... alternatives... to the drop shot hook. I have been using Gamakatsu splitshot/dropshot hooks. I have been getting really great bites. Awesome bites... violent even. Problem... can't get a solid hookup. In the past two days I have lost as many hawgs. I get the little 2 and 3 pounders all the time. Yesterday... about a 12 pounder. This bugger was a serious pig. Hard strike... bent rod.... set the hook... fight and off. Today... about a 7 pounder with the same scenario. They throw it like it never dug in. I have been having this happen all last summer as well. Tried the lift, soft set and tried the hard set. Same problem. I got a 5 pounder in today and, when unhooking him, I noticed the hook was very hard to remove but was barely sunk. Not even to the barb. Hooks are new and sharp. It was like it was clipped onto the upper jawbone. Like the hook was too small but I was using 1/0 which is usually enough. Is there a better hook? Alternative hook?
iabass8 reply :
Those are the only hooks I use and I've never had an issue with them. Aaron Martens takes the same hooks and bends them out just slightly and says he has better hook ups than he's ever had. Maybe try that.
Felix77 reply :
I was going to make the same suggestion as iabass8. Here's the vid with his description on that tweak.
Felix77 reply :
I also use the VMC spinshot. I have had awesome hooksets with that thing.
Zoff reply :
Aswesome! 10-4. Thanks guys!
flyfisher reply :
i want to know where in VA you are catching 12 & 7lb bass.....
georgeyew reply :
On 1/22/2013 at 6:20 AM, flyfisher said:i want to know where in VA you are catching 12 & 7lb bass.....
Me too...
As for the hook, Trokar hooks are "really" sharp.
Zoff reply :
The 12 pounder was in my pond and the 7 was in a private pond at Master's Inn... a Christian retreat near me. The Master's Inn is not fished heavily except for bluegill by the kids.
Zoff reply :
For the record... I know the weight of the one in my pond as I have caught it before. The other was an estimate but was quite large.
TrapperJ reply :
I recently tried my first run at drop shot and went with the VMC spin shot, got my first bass on it the other day seemed to work great!
Its so different cause i am used to using such a BIG hook and this dinky 1/0 hook with the worm nose hooked. I'm like awwwww geeze i just know there gonna bit the tail and rip it off, but its something to do with they attack the head of the creature, and i hooked up with my first drop shot bass just fine. It worked when nothing else was working for me that day.
Comfortably Numb reply :
On 1/22/2013 at 6:20 AM, flyfisher said:i want to know where in VA you are catching 12 & 7lb bass.....
I was gonna say the same thing LOL.
I just started drop shotting this winter for the first time. The fish are 30' down. I started with straight 6# flouro and could not feel much.
I swithed to 15# braid with the same 6# flouro 3' leader and feel the bites better.
I am only catching 2-3# fish but have not lost one yet with these standout hooks. I use the #1 hooks. I just lift and reel. Those bigger fish have much tougherbonier mouths though
http://www.ebay.com/itm/260865841394?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Just realized are Ebay links allowed???
eyedabassman reply :
On 1/22/2013 at 5:30 AM, Felix77 said:I also use the VMC spinshot. I have had awesome hooksets with that thing.
My vote is for the VMC spinshot also. Very sharp and not many fish get off.
detroit1 reply :
I don't want my d/s bait spinning around so i stay away from those spinshot type hooks. I don't like the standouts either. Too much "hardware" near my little bait.
OK Bass Hunter reply :
Owner Mosquito Hook in size 1 and 1/0.
ClackerBuzz reply :
ah man, i wish i had a 12 lb pet.
Zoff reply :
On 1/23/2013 at 11:25 PM, ClackerBuzz said:ah man, i wish i had a 12 lb pet.
lol... Wish i could catch it again but is getting shy. Harder and harder to hook. Have to be stealthy and sly... throw stuff its never seen before. lol
Nitrofreak reply :
He has them in a pond and in his fish tanks at home lol, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE !!
Although they are not 12 lbers like in his pond they are still cool to see in a tank.
Out of curiosity, are you letting the fish get the bait all the way in it's mouth? in other words a pause before you try to set the hook.
Another thing may be your rod, I know you like HD stuff like I do, are you using a soft or slow enough tip?
Zoff reply :
On 1/24/2013 at 1:17 AM, Nitrofreak said:He has them in a pond and in his fish tanks at home lol, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE !!
Although they are not 12 lbers like in his pond they are still cool to see in a tank.
Here's a bad pic of the tank.. (3 of the 4 bass and the bluegill... actually you can see the tail of the 4th on the left.)
On 1/24/2013 at 1:17 AM, Nitrofreak said:Out of curiosity, are you letting the fish get the bait all the way in it's mouth? in other words a pause before you try to set the hook.
Another thing may be your rod, I know you like HD stuff like I do, are you using a soft or slow enough tip?
I am letting the fish have time to "walk" about 5 or 10 feet with it. My setup... until Saturday... is a 6'6" Berkley in Medium Fast and a Mitchell Avocet with 10lb line. Saturday it will be upgraded to a 7'6' in Medium Light or so. No Kiddin'!!! lol
Nitrofreak reply :
HEY !!
It looks like they have grown a little in their new tank !!
I think that new rod you will find to be much better for the drop shot for sure....NO KIDDIN !!! LOL !!!
PS: Make sure the tip comes straight up when you are setting your hook too.
Zoff reply :
Yeah they have grown.
Rod tip straight? As in toward the fish?
00 mod reply :
Walking 5-10 feet might be letting them have it too long. Also just got a chance to try the new Gamkatsu Swivel shot g-finesse hooks. I like them alot!
http://www.gamakatsu.com/fishing-hooks.php?pid=1233
Jeff
Nitrofreak reply :
On 1/24/2013 at 1:57 AM, Zoff said:Yeah they have grown.
Rod tip straight? As in toward the fish?
Yes and lift straight up on the rod, also check out the hooks 00 posted they are great drop shot hooks !!!
WCCT reply :
On 1/23/2013 at 11:16 AM, OK Bass Hunter said:Owner Mosquito Hook in size 1 and 1/0.
+1
Nitrofreak reply :
May want to refresh your memory and watch Glenn it's perfect.
See if that helps buddy.
Fishes in trees reply :
The drop shot hook that works best for me so far is the Gamakatsu wicked wacky hook, with the little tube glued to the hook shank. Threading the line through that little tube always keeps the hook aligned right. I've got all the sizes that they offer, 1/0 through 5/0 but I seem to use the 2/0 the most.
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
Just a matter of personal preference, but it's always surprising to me how big folks go on DS hooks (or most tackle for that matter.) I usually use a size 6 or 8 and boat many 5+ pounders on them. They've never let me down, and I can't really remember losing a fish on them once the hook's been set. My 2¢.
Nitrofreak reply :
On 1/24/2013 at 5:05 AM, Snakehead Whisperer said:Just a matter of personal preference, but it's always surprising to me how big folks go on DS hooks (or most tackle for that matter.) I usually use a size 6 or 8 and boat many 5+ pounders on them. They've never let me down, and I can't really remember losing a fish on them once the hook's been set. My 2¢.
It's not personal preference it's the conditions in which you fish, for example if I am using a 2 and I am catching some larger fish, I know there is a chance to catch bigger fish, #2 may be too small for me at that point and I will change the hook to a larger size, big mouth's and small hooks just don't equal to a huge success rate.
Preference has a lot to do with the situation, it's not the standard of what we all choose to do.
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
On 1/24/2013 at 5:27 AM, Nitrofreak said:It's not personal preference it's the conditions in which you fish, for example if I am using a 2 and I am catching some larger fish, I know there is a chance to catch bigger fish, #2 may be too small for me at that point and I will change the hook to a larger size, big mouth's and small hooks just don't equal to a huge success rate.
Preference has a lot to do with the situation, it's not the standard of what we all choose to do.
That's understandable, and by no means would I ever question a persons hook choice if they're catching fish. For me personally, I've found that I have a higher hook up ratio when using the smallest possible hook for the size of fish I am targeting. Admittedly I am a overtly finesse oriented, and I also tend to downsize baits more than most (so this is definitely a quirk of mine, and not the norm.)
Nitrofreak reply :
There is nothing wrong with being an overly or overtly finesse type of fisherman, you will catch more fish that way and will usually find more fish than the rest of us during frontal conditions...ie , it's a good thing lol !!
I am normally swinging for the fences myself, my baits tend to be larger by choice, I want to seek out that big bite and I will miss out on catching scores of fish, but the fish I do catch are generally good size fish.
Sometimes I will get lucky and find a school or two packed up on the bottom of a piece of structure somewhere and have a great day, others not so much, we all have our ways of doing things, I think thats why I love this site so much, we all learn something from each other and it's a lot of fun picking up on new things to try, and even more fun having fun with each other.
Glad to see you posting !!!
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
On 1/24/2013 at 6:13 AM, Nitrofreak said:There is nothing wrong with being an overly or overtly finesse type of fisherman, you will catch more fish that way and will usually find more fish than the rest of us during frontal conditions...ie , it's a good thing lol !!
I am normally swinging for the fences myself, my baits tend to be larger by choice, I want to seek out that big bite and I will miss out on catching scores of fish, but the fish I do catch are generally good size fish.
Sometimes I will get lucky and find a school or two packed up on the bottom of a piece of structure somewhere and have a great day, others not so much, we all have our ways of doing things, I think thats why I love this site so much, we all learn something from each other and it's a lot of fun picking up on new things to try, and even more fun having fun with each other.
Glad to see you posting !!!
Nothing but respect for the big fish hunters. I have a good friend who I fish with pretty regularly, and he always pulls out the big irons. While I typically do better in numbers, he has caught some of the biggest fish I have ever seen in his pursuits (including a 14lb. 3oz. Virginia bass.)
On the other hand, I have caught some real dinks using large baits. I've caught plenty of bluegill on a XL Minus 1.
While it's counter-intuitive, I have caught most of my biggest fish on small baits. I caught my largest bass of 2012 (7.5lbs.) on a 1/16oz. jighead tipped with a 1.5" grub while crappie fishing. Go figure.
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