Entry 191-3

Bass Fishing with Debra Hengst

Part 3: When to Drop-Shot

Question: Debra, were you using any other tactic in deep water other than dead-sticking the Zero?

Hengst: Yes, I was. I was using the drop-shot tactic with the Strike King Finesse Worm. I like the watermelon and-white-flake-6-inch finesse worm for the drop-shot tactic..

Question: How were you rigging your drop-shot rig?

Hengst: I used the drop-shot tactic on a baitcasting reel with 12-pound-test Sufix line. I used the swivel with a No. 1/0 Zero hook and a 3/16- or a 1/4-ounce bait on the line. On the third day of the tournament, I put two keeper-size bass in the boat on back-to-back casts using this tactic. I was fishing a bluff, and when the lead hit the bottom, I’d lift the lead up off the bottom and twitch the bait very lightly. I fished the drop-shot tactic in some of the same places where I’d caught bass on crankbaits during practice. But when the weather turned cold, and we had a fog delay during one of the tournament days, I decided that the bass would probably take slower-moving baits like the finesse worm rigged on a drop shot better than they’d take the Strike KingSeries 5 crankbait.

We had really-crazy weather during this tournament. On the first day, we had a fog delay for two hours, and because I was making a 45-minute run before I ever started fishing, my fishing time was cut down drastically. On the second day, we had 70-degree weather, and I had to take off my heavy clothes and strip down to my t-shirt. On the third day of the tournament, we had 40-degree weather, so those poor old bass didn’t know what to do because the weather was changing so much. But I knew the bass would hold where I was fishing, even though the weather was changing fast each day of the tournament.

On the first day of the tournament, I fished the Wild Shiner. Although I had several bass flash at the bait, for some reason, they just didn’t want to take it. But I was able to put one keeper-sized bass in the boat that I caught on the Wild Shiner. Then I began to fish the drop-shot tactic with the 3X Finesse Worm in a watermelon-and-white-flake color. I’d tie my finesse worm about 16 inches up from the lead.

The real secret to catching these fish was barely jiggling that finesse worm just enough to get the fish’s attention. I was getting a slow-reaction bite when I’d cast the drop-shot rig up close to a bluff and then slowly move it back to the boat. Most of the time, the bass wouldn’t take the worm until it got right back under the boat. My retrieve was unbelievably slow.
One of the reasons more fishermen don’t catch more bass in the winter is they don’t slow down their fishing enough to get the bass to bite.

All of us are accustomed to fishing fast. We like to fish fast, and often, we believe that the more water we cover, the more bass we’ll catch. In the winter months, once you find the fish, you must remember that you have to entice them to bite. You have to fish really, really slowly to get this kind of bass to take your bait, especially when you’re fishing in deep water. There are no spotted bass in this lake like there are in many lakes in the South. Oftentimes, if you have spotted bass, you may be able to fish a little bit faster. But those largemouth like a slow-moving bait when the weather and the water’s cold.

That’s the reason why I changed tactics from the crankbait to the Wild Shiner, then to the Zero, then to the Z TOO and finally, to the drop shot. By switching baits, I was better able to put a lure in front of the bass that moved at the speed they wanted to feed. Oftentimes, even if you have the right color and the right type of lure to catch the bass, if you don’t move the bait fast enough, the bass won’t take it. At other times, if you move the lure too fast, the bass won’t take it. The speed at which you fish the lure has an awful lot to do with whether or not you’ll catch bass. In this tournament, I had to use different lures to match how the bass wanted to feed.

Next: Wild About the Shiner

Contents:

• Part 1: Where I Found the Fish
• Part 2: Deep Fishing
• Part 3: When to Drop-Shot
• Part 4: Wild About the Shiner
• Part 5: What I Like About Tournament Bass Fishing