The Bubbashot, Texas Rig Dropshotting Largemouth Bass

[Attila]

I've been doing a lot of dropshotting over the last couple of years, and so this year I wanted to try the application for largemouth which were situated in their normal hideouts. This technique became an option after I stopped catching fish on a usual Texas rigged soft plastic presentation with the weight pegged above the bait, causing it to sink right down to the bottom. In several areas the bait disappeared from the bass' view and would never get picked up.

The Gear

7'3" Daiwa Tatula Elite MH/F Brent Ehrler Multipurpose Baitcaster Rod (2023 Edition)
Daiwa Tatula Elite P/F Baitcaster Reel, 7.1:1, 12.1lbs Max Drag
12lbs Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon

The Business End

Roboworm 4 1/2" Straight Tail in Martens Madness
Owner 2/0 Down Shot Offset Hook
Ultra Tungsten 3/8oz Cylinder Dropshot Weight

Locations

Beside and underneath docks w/ both heavy and sparse cover
Sand flats w/ sparse weed cover in shallow water, less than 3' deep.

Conditions

First use was during an extended heat wave that saw temperatures in the mid 30's for several days. The second use was during a cold front that was passing through the Kawartha Lakes recently.

Why thin and not fat?

Roboworms come in a fat and a slim size. I'm thoroughly convinced that the conditions I fished in played a part in the fish eating the thinner, smaller worm as opposed to the thick ones.

A word about the technique and the hooks....

There were times that the fish didn't want the bait moved at all, and there were times when they wanted it moving very slowly. The cylinder weight was great at moving through both weeds and debris in each location it was used. I decided on the 2/0 hooks because they were big enough to get a great hookset into the fish but also allowed the bait to move naturally and freely in the water, something that is important when fishing soft plastics.

These hooks are INCREDIBLY sharp. If you end up using them, please mind your fingers. Also, as opposed to the heavy hookset we often use when Texas rigging, the gear I used saw great penetration through thick jaws with minimal effort. It really made fishing this technique a joy and easy on the joints.

If you're interested in the knot I used, just post below and I'll describe it in detail.

Have fun out there, and enjoy the time you have.

[Attila]

Owner hooks mentioned.

[Attila]

Note the hook placement, and that the skinny worm was just the ticket in the conditions mentioned.

[Attila]

And the end result....fun times.

[crappeeeman]

Nice fish. Excellent in depth report. Good luck on your fall fishing.

[Fozzy47]

Great post...very informative.
Thx,

[Rook]

whoa - great post with awesome detail...thanks very much... ROOK

[shawking]

Great Report ! Did you ever think about your own youtube channel?

[juicemanfta]

Your post is excellent.

Thank you!

[Attila]

Thanks to everyone for their kind words.

Regarding a YouTube channel....I appreciate that someone thinks my posts could be used to create that type of content.

Truth be told, I did think about it at one point in time.

IMHO, there are already more than enough channels out there devoted to fishing. Heck, YouTube is where I found most of my content on the topic itself. It led me to think...why are there so many channels out there, putting out so much similar content? What's the end game?

Then when you think of how much you'd have to do to set yourself apart from all the other channels out there...the camerawork, the angles, the editing, appropriate lighting, ensuring that you have enough content to put together more than a 3 minute instructional video....no thanks.

I'd rather make one post a year, filled with all the information, a couple of pics to include with it, and post it on a great site like this one so that those who want to read it and learn from it can do so.

Besides....having less time on the computer and more time on the water makes us all better fishermen.

Attila