rigged is to drop it in some clear water
– even a bucket or your bathtub – and
see if it stays horizontal while at rest.
Staying Soft
all crankbaits wiggle, but some
are clearly better than others. it’s the
same with drop-shots.
adding salt to any soft-plastic
material not only adds weight but
also rigidity, making the plastic less
flexible. on a bulkier creature bait
used for flipping, that might not be
as big of an issue, but on a slim,
finesse drop-shot bait that relies on
maximum action with minimal move-
ment, it’s a big deal.
that’s the tricky part about a
drop-shot worm: in order to make it
neutrally buoyant, manufacturers
also often make it too stiff.
Back when drop-shots first hit
the scene, the only way to get a
neutrally buoyant worm that was
also flexible was to hand-pour the
plastic. the plastic molecules in a
hand-pour are typically less dense
and more flexible than an injected-
plastic worm.
WINTer 2020 I FLWFISHING.COM
fortunately, technology and design
have caught up with the technique.
roboworm was one of the origina-
tors. the company figured out a way
to create hand-pour flexibility with an
injection process. Meanwhile, other
companies have gotten around the
issue through design. the yamamoto
shad shape Worm, for instance, has a
skinny tail that allows for maximum
movement while the main body
retains its neutral buoyancy.
again, this can often be tested in
your tub. shake your drop-shot and
watch what the lure does. if it just sits
still, scrap it. if it sits horizontal but
wiggles with even the slightest twitch
of the line, you have something that
can tease a bass into biting.
Tried and True
so, now you know what to look
for in a drop-shot, but what if you
don’t want to spend a ton buying
various baits to test?
fortunately, we’ve already men-
tioned some of the best ones out
there in this article. the roboworm
straight tail Worm is still, arguably,
one of the best on the market for
nearly every application. if you’re
looking for a bit more of a shad pro-
file, the yamamoto shad shape
Worm is a perfect small-shad imita-
tor. Jackall just re-released the previ-
ously discontinued ishad, which is
another to check out. the Jackall
cross tail shad is also one of the
best on the market. and another
sneaky favorite of many top pros is
the strike king 3X elaZtech Z-too soft
Jerkbait.
the selection outlined above pret-
ty well covers all the common
shapes used for finesse drop-shot-
ting, but there are plenty more terrif-
ic options out there. trial and error is
generally the best way to find what
works. test it, try it and then go
catch some bass with it.
Baits from previous page listed from top to bottom:
Strike King 3X ElaZtech Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, Roboworm Straight Tail Worm,
Yamamoto Shape Worm, Jackall Cross Tai Shad, Jackall iShad
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