Drop Shots

I got a DVD on catching panfish. One of the methods was using a drop shot rig. Does anyone use a drop shot rig for ice fishing?

Thanks,
Mike

I have tried it in the past and I do not think it help all that much. I think it is no different than pounding your jig on the bottom and than lifting it up slowly. At some time you just have to try for yourself to see it will work for you. When I did do it it was mostly in shallow water.

Funny I was thinking about that not too long ago. I discounted it for a couple reasons, but I thought one thing that might trigger a strike would be that when the weight hits the bottom, the line goes limp and the jig comes to a more natural stop. More natural than say jigging when it comes to an abrupt stop.

To me it seems like more hassle than it is worth, but I might try it if the bite is slow and I get bored.

When I do, I think I am going with a tiny plain hook with as little weight possible. Fishing with a weighted ice fly would seem to defeat the purpose.

I do a single or double hook drop shot type of set up for pan fishing a lot during the summer when fishing deeper water. Deeper water being the key factor in that decision.

I use a variation of the method with a diamond jig/meat combination in its biggest size as the “weight” on the drop-shot, and one soft hackle wet fly tied 6-12 inches up the line off of a dropper. To my understanding, this is not legal in MN, but I’ll fish it in WI or border waters with a WI license.

This is a great big-fish and finicky fish tactic. You can’t believe how many gills will ignore a free wiggling spike to go for the fly.

Joel

This is one of the more comon methods of catching perch on Devils especially in deep water. And it works but I’m a bit too lazy to set it up and use it.

Thank you to everyone who responded. As always, this site is a wealth of information.

Mike

Quote:

---

I use a variation of the method with a diamond jig/meat combination in its biggest size as the “weight” on the drop-shot, and one soft hackle wet fly tied 6-12 inches up the line off of a dropper. To my understanding, this is not legal in MN, but I’ll fish it in WI or border waters with a WI license.

This is a great big-fish and finicky fish tactic. You can’t believe how many gills will ignore a free wiggling spike to go for the fly.

Joel

---

This is a great way to use a Dropper off of the main line. I like to use a heavier 8 to 10# line for the fly, this will allow it to stay more horizontal off of the main line. This can be a great trigger for Gills when they want a small presentation and you want to get it down the hole quickly.