Drop shotting
Method · Last reviewed 2026-08-10
A finesse rig with the weight below the hook, letting a small soft plastic be worked in place, off the bottom, without moving anywhere.
Drop shotting inverts the normal arrangement: the weight goes on the end of the line and the hook is tied in above it, so the lure sits off the bottom at a fixed height. That single change produces a capability nothing else has — the lure can be twitched, shaken and animated indefinitely without travelling anywhere.
That matters when fish are located but reluctant. A conventional retrieve gives a fish one chance to commit as the lure passes; a drop shot gives it an unlimited number, held at exactly the right height, with the angler able to keep working it until curiosity or irritation wins. It is the reason the method transformed perch and zander fishing when it arrived in Europe.
The height of the hook above the weight is the key adjustable, and it should be set by where the fish are sitting rather than by habit.
What it is
Lure fishing with a finesse rig in which the weight is attached at the end of the line and the hook is tied in above it, so that a small soft plastic is suspended at a set height above the bottom and can be worked without being retrieved.
How it works
The weight rests on the bottom and anchors the rig. The hook, tied in above it with the point standing away from the line, holds the lure horizontally. Shaking the rod tip transmits movement down the line to the lure, which quivers in place because the weight is not moving. Takes are usually felt as a tap or as weight arriving on the line.
What it is for
To present a small lure, at a controlled height, to fish that are located but not chasing — around structure, in deep margins, in cold water, or where a conventional retrieve moves the lure past too quickly.
Setting it up
- Set the hook-to-weight distance by where the fish are: short for fish tight on the bottom, longer for fish sitting off it.
- Tie the hook so the point stands out from the line at right angles, or the hooking angle is wrong.
- Use the lightest weight that maintains contact — the point is finesse, not casting distance.
- Work the lure with the rod tip, keeping the weight still, rather than retrieving.
- Use braid with a fluorocarbon leader; you need the sensitivity and the low visibility both.
Advantages
- Keeps a lure in the strike zone indefinitely.
- Extremely effective on fish that will not chase.
- Fishes vertical structure and steep margins well.
- Very light tackle, so it is enjoyable and easy to carry.
Limitations
- Slow — it does not cover water and is therefore poor for locating fish.
- The weight snags readily on rough ground.
- Ineffective in strong current, which sweeps the light rig.
- Light tackle is outgunned by an unexpectedly large fish.
Conditions
Drop shotting suits still or slow water, moderate to deep margins, and fish that have been located but are inactive. It is at its best in cold water and around structure, and at its worst in strong flow or when trying to find fish across a large area.
Common mistakes
- Retrieving the rig instead of working it, which discards the entire advantage.
- Tying the hook so the point lies along the line rather than standing proud.
- Setting the drop length by habit rather than by where the fish are.
- Using a weight far heavier than needed, so nothing subtle is felt.
- Persisting in fast current, where the method simply does not work.
Where to go next
What it catches
Ballan wrasseWeedless soft plastics worked over and into rough ground — a recent discipline that turned wrasse from an incidental capture into a targeted sport fishery.
European perchBig perch hold tight to structure and will not chase, which is precisely the problem a drop shot solves.
European sea bassSoft plastics fished with a controlled drop over reef and in estuary channels, worked slowly for fish that are holding rather than hunting.
Smallmouth bassDrop-shotting presents a small bait above bottom at a fixed height, which is the answer to smallmouth holding tight to deep rock where a bottom-dragged bait snags.
Spotted bassSpotted bass suspend deeper and over steeper structure than largemouth, and a vertically presented bait held off the bottom is the standard approach to them.
ZanderDrop-shotting suits zander particularly well because it holds a small bait at a fixed height above the bottom, which is exactly where they hunt.
What these connections rest on (6)
Practitioner consensus — 6 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Ballan wrasse
An established way this species is taken recreationally in north-west European waters, recorded because it is true rather than because it satisfies a gate.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore and boat practice in north-west European sea angling for the species and method described, presented across multiple independent contributors.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this quarry to this method, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
European perch
Modern light lure practice, described independently across contemporary sources. Note that this claim cannot rest on the twentieth-century book literature, which predates the technique — see docs/evidence.md.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary drop shot practice for perch.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Drop shot and light lure practice from a separate editorial tradition.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
European sea bass
An established way this species is taken recreationally in north-west European waters, recorded because it is true rather than because it satisfies a gate.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore and boat practice in north-west European sea angling for the species and method described, presented across multiple independent contributors.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this quarry to this method, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Smallmouth bass
Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.
- IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Spotted bass
Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.
- IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Zander
A practitioner claim about presentation, labelled as such. The mechanism — bait held off bottom in the fish's feeding layer — is the part that generalises.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Drop-shot presentation for zander in British waters.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike Anglers' Club of Great Britain guidance on pike care and handling — Pike Anglers' Club of Great Britain, 1977 (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of light lure presentation for zander, from a source independent of the angling press.Passage read and verified
Related techniques
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Lure fishing
Categorical placement.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Drop shotting within contemporary lure practice.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Light lure categorisation from a separate tradition.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
What you fish it with
- Drop shot rigWeight below, hook above, bait suspended at a chosen height off the bottom. The rig is the technique.
- Palomar knotThe defining knot of the technique rather than merely a compatible one: tied with a long tag and the tag passed back down through the eye, it stands the hook out from the line at right angles, which is the whole presentation. Nothing else in the catalogue does that job.
What these connections rest on (2)
Practitioner consensus — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Drop shot rig
That a method is conventionally fished on a particular terminal arrangement, drawn from angling literature and from widely restated practitioner description rather than from testing.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK lure and predator angling practice as reported by practitioners, including braid-to-lure connections and finesse rigging.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- How to Tie Fishing Knots — uni, blood, improved blood, surgeon's and loop knots — Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (Take Me Fishing) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: A contemporary national angling-participation body's knot guide, covering the connections used in modern lure fishing and the materials they are tied in.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Palomar knot
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK lure and predator angling practice as reported by practitioners, including braid-to-lure connections and finesse rigging.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- How to Tie Fishing Knots — uni, blood, improved blood, surgeon's and loop knots — Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (Take Me Fishing) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: A contemporary national angling-participation body's knot guide, covering the connections used in modern lure fishing and the materials they are tied in.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Skills behind it
- Line memory, stretch and bite detectionDrop-shotting depends on feeling a light take through a vertical line, which is the presentation stretch damages most.
- Spinning, casting and retrievingDescribed as spinning by most people, with nothing rotating at any point.
- The kinds of lure, and what each imitatesA finesse presentation in which the lure's action comes from the rod tip rather than from the retrieve, which is a different way of thinking about a soft plastic.
- Why fish follow a lure and turn awayPresentations that hold a lure in place remove the constant-speed problem entirely, which is part of why they work on inspected fish.
What these connections rest on (4)
Practitioner consensus — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Line memory, stretch and bite detection
Low-stretch line is treated as part of the method rather than as an option in drop-shot practice.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary lure angling practice with modern materials and lure types.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Saltwater lure angling practice with the same materials and lure types.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
The kinds of lure, and what each imitates
A link from a practice or a piece of equipment to the explanation of what it is for. The two records are halves of one answer and the edge is what lets a reader arriving at either find the other.
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK coarse, match and predator practice as reported by practitioners, including lure and line convention.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of contemporary tackle convention, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Authoritative guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Spinning, casting and retrieving
A clear case of the broadened modern usage.
- FAO fishing gear types and fishing technology information — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Gear classification distinguishing rod-and-line lure methods and reel types.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Scientific evidence — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Why fish follow a lure and turn away
A method that answers the failure belongs beside the failure.
- The Ecology of Vision — Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1979 (Scientific literature)Relied on for: Underwater visual environments and the way detection changes with range, depth and water condition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Compared with
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Light rock fishing
Two techniques a reader is genuinely choosing between for the same problem.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: UK shore lure fishing practice: tackle scale, presentation and ground.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK angling practice and the adoption of imported techniques as reported in the angling press.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly