How to Catch Common Sunfishes Pt. 2 | Drop-Shot Rig

How to fish the drop-shot for common sunfishes. 🐟 Fishing the drop-shot for bass is typical but it also works for panfish like your bluegill, redear sunfish, longear sunfish and so many other species. We’ll cover how to tie a basic drop-shot rig, how to fish the drop-shot, and what tackle and baits work well on the drop-shot.

There are so many effective baits on the drop-shot; it's not just for soft plastics. I've shared only a few in this video. Hopefully many other anglers will share their go-to baits in the comments!

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#fishing #dropshot #freshwaterfishing

CHAPTERS
0:00 KNFS Intro
0:38 Basic Needs: Hook, Weight & Line
2:50 How to Tie the Drop-Shot
5:13 Not Just for Clear Water
6:12 Baits & Lures
7:40 Fish-Filled Tangent
8:24 Back to Baits & Lures
10:14 Proven Hooks
11:16 Hook Size to Species
11:49 Drop-Shot Isn't Easy...
12:42 Fishing the Drop-Shot
13:30 Koaw's Choices for Tackle
14:34 Share Your Drop-Shot Tips/Tackle

[KNFishingSmarts]

Please share your drop-shot tips below! I didn't go in-depth into this rig as that would been a 2hr video.

Although this comes naturally to most anglers, I do want to add that the distance off the bottom your bait will sit will be dependent on your rod tip angle and how far out your cast was tossed. If you tied your hook 10 inches off from the weight and you're directly over your bait then you're bait will be 10 inches off the bottom when your weight is on the bottom and you have no slack. If you tied your hook10 inches from the weight and you've cast out 20 ft then you're bait will be pulled at an angle (dependent on your rod tip position), lessening the vertical height off the bottom. Casting farther and/or needing to sit higher over the bottom means you should at least have about 12" between your hook and weight. I'll probably make some graphics of this on koaw.org when I get the method 2 page done. Oh no...that means I have to do trigonometry!

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[rudyrademacher]

Watched the video this morning and went out to the stingy city lake early afternoon and hot. Usually catch 2-4 fish. Tied the knot per your instructions and baited per instructions. Wow with the hook up properly caught 22 (they weren’t very big but it’s a heavily fished lake). Number 4 Aberdeen hook worked great. No one else was catching anything. What a blast!! That was the best knot video I’ve seen (the color helped). Thanks

[chadburton]

Loved the detail about how you play the bait on the drop. I loved the knot tying part too, I have trouble finding good knot tying vids, they all move too fast, have weird angles, or skip details. This was really really good.

[robertwhite]

I’m a huge panfish guy. Crappie, red ear, bluegill and perch are my target species 90% of the time besides for four or five trips each year up to Erie for walleye, and a few trips down south for saugeye. The #4 Gamakatsu hooks are the hooks I use 90% of the time. I absolutely love them and have no need for any other.

[luevang]

Wow so much information! Super organized video with detailed diagrams! Thank you so much for making this! 10/10

[seasgarage]

This needs to be titled, or at least included in title, the best video for step by step knot tying. This has helped so much.

[mrrooter]

6:49 The berkley plastics are so great! I just got into fishing again and have been slamming bluegill on the one inch silver minnows. I have been using them on a 1/32 oz jig, but my dad was using them on a drop shot and he was catching just as many.

[RonMTube]

I love targeting sunfish but have always avoided drop shotting, mostly because I just don't enjoy it as a fishing method (I usually fish soft plastics on a jig head). None the less, it is something that works and your video has inspired me to try again. Thanks.

[troyseal]

If you want a great lure to fish on a dropshot for bigger sunfish use a Pautzke trout worm. They are stretchy like mule fishing lures. You can trim it down if you like. You can catch a bunch of fish on one worm.

[steveheck]

Good detailed video. Love it for bass, now you got me wanting to try it for sunfish. I have some 20 year old koi in a pond, that look about the size of yours. Maybe a meal worm on real small hook. Glad you like to catch all kinds of fish.

[peggyparrow]

Love panfish videos ! I stopped buying magazines because they are all about catching biggest baddest fish that most times dont taste good to eat ! They have very few storys on panfish !

[paulisemonger]

Great info well presented. No gimmicks just plain facts taken from experience. Subscribed.

[joebuck]

That’s a lot of Great information Koaw. It was really good to see you on Panfish Nation Thursday.

[stephenballard]

Fantastic information.

This is one of my favorite ways to ice-fish for perch and panfish, too. One of my favorite lakes has a lot of milfoil that piles up on the bottom right after first ice. Drop shot gets it down the hole quick, and hovering right above the weeds (keep ypur tag a little long and fiddle with the depth.

Wiggly small plastics like bream bugs, PowerBait trout worms, or half a nightcrawler will get me LMB, perch, bluegills, and trout. Tipped with waxes or spikes on a slow day.

Even the wind will make plastics on a tight line shiver in place.

[jaybae]

beautiful fishes bro, and thanks for the tips. tips or no tips, i am happy just watching you fish.

[stephenballard]

Great video. Excellent info, mixed with good footage.

I use dropshotting a lot for perch, crappie, and bluegill while icefishing. On lakes with rocks bottoms or weed beds, it's good for holdong a line snugand a bait high enoughbto be seen while "dead-sticking" with occasional little jigs, shakes and wiggles.

Works well with bait like red worms, tiny Gulp minnows and light, skinny, wiggly plastics like bream bugs or Berkley trout worms.

It's also good for getting. Way down to really deep crappies. Some of our Western lakes I may be fishing for crappies 45' deep, and it takes ice flies a LONG time to sink that far, but drop-shotting a glowing plastic using a little bigger sinker keeps your line in the water more, even if you have to set the hook 4 foot high or something.

[eboninkdeathliquidnecrosis]

Most educational fishing vids out there.

[jamesanderson]

Enjoyed your video. Thanks for posting

[HauntingMouse]

Subbed, excellent video, look forward to more

[PanFishWeekly]

Another great video, and my favorite rig for panfish