I recently received an inquiry from an angler about to purchase his first dropshot rod and was looking for advice on whether he could use a regular rod, or would need something more specific. I had to stop myself several times from pounding out a quick reply, and after reflecting more thoroughly on the question, I realized there’s no one answer.
I personally have and use five different rods for dropshotting. Each is different, and each was adopted over time to address specific needs. And, I’m not even talking about power-shotting large plastics, which is simply a different style of flip-pitching baits. Let me explain.
Dropshot rods mostly all have one thing in common, and that’s a soft tip. Matched up with a strong lower 2/3’s of the blank, and that’s pretty much it. The soft tip is there so you can check for bites without necessarily lifting your dropshot weight off the bottom and pulling the bait away from the target. It also allows fish to engage your bait without the fish detecting artificial or un-due resistance. All of this is based on a stationary bait presentation, which is not always the case.
Dragging dropshot baits behind the boat is never a great idea, but sometimes it’s the only way. Specifically, I’m thinking about rivers with current and being swept along in a boat. Trying to maintain a stationary position is impossible, which is why you instead execute a sort of controlled drift while keeping your line as near vertical as possible. Detecting the difference between bites and what you’re drifting over is crucial. Hard flat featureless bottom and you’re probably wasting your time. Rocks, transitions, drops, etc. are different and often present ambush points for fish. This is when a more typical spinning rod comes into play. Again, a good stiff bottom 2/3’s, but a more typical extra-fast tip found on your worm and jig rods. Heavier weights like ½ or ¾ might also mean going medium-heavy power. Thus, drifting deep over transitioning bottom can be accomplished with any decent spinning rod with the power and action needed to manage lighter 10-15lb braid, heavier dropshot weights and stronger river fish – often Smallmouth Bass. Continue reading here – http://lawrencegunther.com/?p=811