Dropshot conquered

Regular readers may know that dropshotting is method I've really been trying to get to grips with. The more I've done it the more I've learned and now I finally find myself at a point where I can say I feel I've actually conquered the method and can fish it with confidence. My most recent session on the Loughborough canal really highlighted it to me.

It was mid afternoon when I arrived and with it being a mild and sunny day the boats were quite active. The water was quite turbid and visibility was down to about six inches. Because of this I opted for a mepps to begin with due to the flash and vibration they put out. This was pretty short lived because a snag claimed it on my 4th cast and I then switched to a small kopyto shad.

A fruitless half hour was spent working my way up to the next set of locks whereupon I decided to set up the dropshot. I saw a snippet on Facebook the other day where Des Taylor had setup a two hook tandem dropshot rig and I really liked the look of it so I decided to try it for myself. I dropped the rig straight off the rod tip into the turbulence caused by the lock overflow and then gently twitched the rod tip up and down. A gentle tap had me strike and a tiny perch dropped off as I lifted it out of the water. I dropped in again and almost Imediately had a hefty thump on the rod and found myself playing a nice canal Chub of around 3lb, a good start!

No more bites were forthcoming in that swim after that and I soon moved on towards a moored boat further along the towpath. Straight away I had a couple of strange pulls where the line seemed to tighten ever so slightly, they were so gentle they could've almost been the lead tripping over a stone or branch on the bottom but they somehow felt 'different'. This was proved when I struck one and swung in a tiny Perch.

Now I knew what to look for there was no turning back and over the next hour or so perch after perch succumbed to the fox micro fry. I was amazed because in my mind the colour of the water should've put them off but it didn't seem to make any difference at all.

I did have a few takes which gave a proper pull which good be felt through the rod but the vast majority where the ultra gentle line tightening type I mentioned previously. Strangely enough, although I was using a double dropshot rig, every single fish I caught was on the bottom hook. I tried fishing just one on its own but I never had a rap but as soon as I rigged up the second hook again I began catching again, weird!

All in all I probably caught something like 20odd fish and had twice as many bites, most enjoyable and all on a method which has been a real problem for me to get to grips with in the past.

 

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