Next to the stick worm, which can be drop shotted, very few rigs can catch fish like the drop shot. I will share a few of my best drop shot baits for bass fishing and a few ways to rig them.
Best Drop Shot Baits – My Favorites
While this isn’t a complete list, here are some of my favorite drop shot baits.
- The Robo Worm Straight-Tailed Worm has to be one of the original staples. This is the worm that got me started fishing the drop shot rig. My favorite colors are desert craw, morning dawn, and margarita mutilator. Get Your Roboworms Here
- The next is probably the Half Shot Half Shell by Strike King. I love the green pumpkin and desert craw colors. The magic color can also be deadly. This bait was made with the intent to be the perfect drop shot bait and it is a killer when they are focusing in on small forage. Get Your Half Shell Worms Here
- The Dream Shot by Strike King is the next drop shot bait in mind. The flat bottom from the open pour tech makes the bait seem to flow and come to life with the smallest movement in the water. I love the magic and the green pumpkin in this worm. Get Your Dream Shot Here
- The next in the lineup is Big Bite Baits Smallie Smasher. I love the way this bait reacts in the water when worked. I wasn’t sold on this one until I watched the Tactical Bassin underwater footage video. Now it is a staple in the tackle box. My favorite colors are green pumpkin purple flake and smoke purple flake. Get Your Smallie Smasher’s Here
- Another great worm is the Zoom Finesse worm. This worm has been one of my favorite finesse worms for years and the purple smoke color is magic for me sometimes. This color can be hard to find, but it is by far the best color in that lineup for me. Get Your Zoom Finesse Worm Here
- Last, but not least are the oddball baits like the Zoom Fluke and the little tiny crappy bait that I show in the rigging photos below. There are times when the bass want a little bigger bait or a lot smaller bait. When they are looking for a bigger meal, a bigger worm or the Zoom Fluke comes into play. With the Fluke, I like the shad or baitfish colors. When they are focused in on super small bait, I will drop my leader line down to 4-pound test and fish an ultra-small crappie bait nose hooked on a #6 mosquito hook by Owner. Get Your Zoom Fluke Here
Best Drop Shot Bait Rigging Options
There are a few ways to rig the drop shot and different styles of hooks and weights. I show a few hooks that I like to use above and will some rigging styles below. If you can get away with it, nose-hooking the drop shot baits seems to provide the best action and hookup rate. If you are fishing around too much brush or cover rigging it weedless is the best. I use a variety of hooks for rigging weedless, but the straight shank hook shown at the top is my favorite. There is a VMC Neko hook that works great for this style. Another option is the rebarb hook by Robo Worm.
Another assortment of drop shot baits in one of my boxes.
Drop Shot Baits – Best Advice
If you are just getting into bass fishing, I really encourage you to get your hands on some of these drop shot baits and give them a whirl. While drop shotting isn’t my favorite tactic, it seems to work when the going gets tough. If you need to get a bite, you can’t go wrong with any of the baits listed above. Rig them, cast them out, and let the bait do most of the work. Slow working/dragging the drop shot seems to do the trick.
You can vary retrieves and add action, but most of the time, simply dragging the bait back to the boat will do the trick.
Drop Shot Baits – How to Rig a Drop Shot
Get Your Drop Shot Weights Here
This video will show you the best ways to rig and fish a drop shot bait.
Hopefully, this helps you!
To your fishing success,
Jonathan Burke