Drop shotting?

[JamisJockey]

Okay, so i fell off the face of the earth. When I moved to Utah I started fly fishing and haven't targeted bass in years. Now, I want to learn to drop shot. I hear its deadly, especially in deeper water. Hook a homie up, what tackle, techniques, and knots do I need to know for this? How can I apply it to fishing from a kickboat. Help!!!!!!!
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[cat_man]

Any knot will do for the sinker on the bottom, but for the hook/bait, you should use the palomar knot.

The Palomar Knot is another very simple knot for terminal tackle. It is regarded by the International Game Fish Association consistently as the strongest knot known. It's great virtue is that it can safely be tied at night with a minimum of practice.
[ol][li]Double about 12.5cm of line, and pass through the eye. [/li][li]Tie a simple Overhand Knot in the doubled line, letting the hook hang loose. Avoide twisting the lines. [/li][li]Pull the end of loop down, passing it completely over the hook. [/li][li]Pull both ends of the line to draw up the knot. [/li][/ol]Here is a link to a page with these instructions and a picture of how to tie it:

[url "http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/page6-1.html"]Palomar Knot[/url]

Senkos are an excellent bait to use for drop-shotting. Let there be a few feet of line between the sinker and the bait. You can fish it vertical below your tube in deep water, or you can cast it out in middle depths and hop it back to you.

Watch out if you do it at Jordanelle, it can be very deadly, however there are tons of snags too with all the trees and brush that is submerged there. Deer Creek has less snags, but also less fish too.
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[high_and_dry]

Do you typically nose hook the senko's on a Split Shot hook, or use an offset worm hook as you would fishing the senko weightless? I would think the later would loose less plastics, but I've not yet tried senkos on a drop shot rig. Are there other plastics you like to DS, and find effective? We've done pretty well with the short paddle tail worms caked in garlic and salt, but boy do they stink up the hands. Best to wear gloves when you can.

We've been catching a lot of mini smallies casting to shorline structure at jordanelle, but we would like to try our hand at catching and releasing some larger ones for fun & photo's. Are the larger bass typically deeper at Jordanelle this time of year, and hows the best way to locate them. I'm assuming that working the areas out from the rocky shoreline structure is a good starting point, but any other constructive advise you can offer is greatly appreciated.

One other question I've been wanting to ask;

I've heard you all mentioning the Rock Cliff area quite frequently. Is this the south steep section that lies below the road to kamas?

Regards
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[cat_man]

I am no expert on Jordanelle nor on drop shotting. I like to fish senkos "wacky style" which is weightless, hooked in the center so that each side hangs down below the hook in an upside down 'U' shape. It slowly flutters down to the bottom and drives bass mad. That might not work that well at Jordanelle, simply because you will snag a lot, but it works FANTASTIC at Deer Creek.

I believe most drop shotters using senkos will nose hook them. You really don't need to cake on the garlic and salt. Many senko type stickbaits are impregnated with salt already, or scented, and then they are not so smelly on your hands. Even non-scented ones work well most of the time.

I'm sure the bigger bass are hanging out deeper this time of year to escape the higher water temperatures in the shallows. The small ones hang out in the shallows to avoid becoming dinner to the big ones, lol.

Rock Cliff is the arm of Jordanelle where the Provo River enters, yes, on the side of the road to Kamas.

Hope that helps.
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