Bass commonly school up around deep water timber during the winter months. A Texas rig drop shot worm is one of the most efficient setups — there’s minimal fouling, and it has a fast fall rate which is crucial when targeting bass with forward-facing sonar. Pro bass angler Wes Logan shares his go-to drop shot setup when targeting bass around deep trees and brush piles.
TERMINAL TACKLE BREAKDOWN
It’s challenging getting a lure to a bass sitting in 30- to 60 feet of water with speed. We’ve covered how to fish a Jigging Rap for deep bass, but the presence of timber requires a snag-resistance presentation. Logon prefers Texas rigging a finesse worm on a straight-shank drop shot hook. Consider rigging it with a cylinder drop shot weight, which sinks faster than tear drop and round ball varieties in the same weight (less water resistance). A 1/2-ounce weight size gets it done. Logon switches back to a tear drop-shaped weight around brush piles or in shallower water. Regarding hooks, Logan achieves the straightest rigging and best-hooking percentages using a straight shank finesse drop shot hook with a keeper. He prefers hooks with keepers positioned further down on the hook shank to prevent the plastic from sliding up the line.
ROD, REEL, AND LINE SETUP
Drop-shotting winter bass in clear water is a light line affair. A sensitive medium-light spinning rod spooled with a small diameter braided mainline to a 7-pound fluorocarbon leader sinks fast (small diameter) and presents the bait as naturally as possible.
FEATURED PRODUCT (retail links)
- HOOK – Gamakatsu Finesse Heavy Cover Hook Buy at Omnia Fishing Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- WEIGHT – ARK No Chip Tungsten Skinny Drop Shot Weights Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- ROD – ARK Reinforcer Series Spinning Rod, 6’10” Med Lt Buy at Tackle Warehouse ARK Reinforcer Rod Review
- REEL – Lew’s HyperMag Magnesium Spinning Reel, HMS200 Buy at Omnia Fishing Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- PLASTIC – Zoom Z3 Original Worm, color – Prism Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- LINE (fluorocarbon leader) – Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon, 7-pound Buy at Omnia Fishing Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- LINE (braided mainline) – Sunline SX1 Braided Line Hi-Vis Yellow Line, 12-pound Buy at Omnia Fishing Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- FISH FINDER – Garmin EchoMAP Ultra Fishfinders Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- FORWARD-FACING SONAR (FFS) – Garmin LiveScope Plus System Bundle Buy at Tackle Warehouse Garmin LiveScope Plus Review
- TRUCK – 2023 Toyota Tundra Limited
