The dog days are officially upon us. In many places around the country, the sun is blistering right now. Simply put, trying to convince a giant bass to eat right now can be tough. Even up north in my neck of the woods, water temperatures are pushing up pretty high making it one of the most difficult times of the year to consistently catch fish.
Personally, when the bite gets this brutal, I like to put down the baitcaster and pick up a spinning rod. If you want to actually put fish in the boat instead of just going home with a bad sunburn, you need to tie on a drop shot.
It is hands-down the ultimate trump card in the finesse fishing world. Whether you are pitching it up around shady boat docks, dragging it across off-shore rock piles, or dropping it straight down on schooled up fish using electronics, nothing can get a lethargic summer bass to bite quite like a drop shot. And it works great for both smallmouth and largemouth.
But… there’s a zillion different finesse worms and minnows out there, where do you even begin? I recently gave you my full drop shot guide, but here’s a more specific breakdown on my favorite soft plastics. If you are tired of getting skunked in the August heat, look no further.
1. Roboworm Straight Tail Worm – $3.97 – $4.99
Colors: Aaron’s Magic, Margarita Mutilator, Morning Dawn
The OG… you can’t go wrong with a straight tail finesse worm and the Roboworm is tough to beat. The action, the colors, the cost, the durability… every way you slice it, the Roboworm Straight Tail worm just flat out gets bit. When I can’t get a bite on anything, drop shotting with the Roboworm is my #1 all-time go-to bait.
2. Berkley Lab Series Flat Worm – $14.99
Colors: Violet Morning Dawn, Tactical, Ember Jelly Fusion
The new Lab Series from Berkley is next-level. Their signature Powerbait formula, plus their Signature MaxScent technology is combined with their new MaxScent rapid release slime to create the pinnacle of flat worm bass fishing. The Lab Series also features minnow profile and a finesse worm profile, which work great on a drop shot as well.
It’s certainly pricey, but if you want to take your bass fishing to new heights, this is the ticket.
3. Great Lakes Finesse Drop Worm – $6.99
Colors: Morning Dawn, Green Pumpkin Purple, Matte Black
Great Lakes finesse have become one of my go-to brands for smallmouth fishing, but you can catch a ton of largemouth with their products too. Jig head minnow fishing, finesse swimbait fishing, tubes, Ned heads and finesse jigs, they do it all. Generally, I prefer to drop shot with some kind of worm profile, whether it be a flat worm or finesse worm, as opposed to minnows or creatures, and this one from Great Lakes finesse has some incredible action. It sits perfectly flat in the water, has the subtle movement you’re looking for, and it is incredible durable.
4. Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow – $6.99
Colors: Ayu, Pro Grape, Matte Black
Like I said, I generally prefer a worm profile, but when it comes to smallmouth, I will sometimes go for a minnow and I’m going right back to Great Lakes Finesse and their Drop Minnow. Much like the Drop Worm, it sits perfectly flat, and those ribs in the body help give it the kind of subtle action that drives smallmouth crazy.
5. Raid Japan 1Way Hybrid Dice – $9.99
Colors: Green Pumpkin Seed, Aomiso, Scuppernong
When the worm isn’t working and you want to change it up, try some kind of JDM creature or dice bait. The Japanese are arguably the greatest innovators in bass fishing. It seems like most of the hot new techniques in bass fishing (the urchin/Coike crazy being the most current example) blow up in Japan years before they make it to North America. The tiny Coikes/urchin baits can be deadly on a drop shot, but they’re pretty hard to get right now so here’s one of my favorites that I’ve been using for the past couple years.
RAID Japan is a phenomenal Japanese bait company who make a number of great soft plastics, as well as hardbaits, but their 1Way Hybrid Dice has been money for me on a drop shot. When the fish have seen every worm and minnow in town, hit them with something new… they can’t help but get curious, and then you let the action of the bait do the rest.
The Setup
Of course, the first step to fishing any technique is to find the right gear to fish it effectively. It’s a finesse technique so we’re talking spinning rod, braid to fluorocarbon leader, finesse hook and soft plastic. As far as the rod goes, you want something super sensitive to detect those subtle bites. If there was ever a place to spend money on a rod, a drop shot rod is one of them. Save money on your reaction bait rods, spend on your sensitive technique rods.
Spinning Rod
I like 6’10” medium light, but you can go up to a much longer rod if you like. My personal favorite is a Fenwick World Class 6′ 10″ Medium Light Extra Fast (you can fit your pencil weight into the handle perfectly), but I’ll link a few options below at different price points:
Reel
You’re going to want a spinning reel in the 2500 to 3000 size range with a smooth drag, and a bit of speed. If you’re fishing deep drop shots and want to pick up line quickly, the Abu Garcia Revo Rocket is the way to go… it’s lightning fast making you super efficient out on the water.
Abu Garcia Revo Rocket at Tackle Warehouse – $229.95
Line
Line is super easy… braid to leader and I generally go 8 pound for both, although you can generally go thicker on the leader line if you’re fishing around shallower cover. A drop shot is one of the techniques where how you tie your line is very important. In order to get your hook sitting correctly, you’re going to want to tie it on with a Palomar knot, and then leave about 12-24 inches of tag end depending on how far off the bottom the fish are sitting.
And the most critical part: Feed your tag end through the front of the hook (the side where the hook bend is) and out the back of the eye. When you pull it tight, the hook should sit flat (perpendicular with your line) and the hook point should be above the shank. If the hook point is down, you did it backwards. Then, attach your weight to the end of the tag.
Main Line: 8 lb braid (sensitive, no stretch, casts far)
Sufix Revolve Neon Lime – $23.99
Leader: 6–10 lb fluorocarbon (nearly invisible in clear water and abrasion resistant)
Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon – $30.99 – $185.49
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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