Drop-Shotting for Perch

Drop-Shotting for Perch
Paul Elt
There are few things that
come to us anglers that can be
described as “revolutionary”.
Every week it seems the latest
rig or bait turns up which
will “take your water apart”
- but in truth most are just
adaptations of something we
already use, and soon they are
dropped for the next fad or
we just return to how we were
originally fishing. I’m a great
believer that the simplest
methods are usually the most
successful, so when I first
saw the drop-shot method
being used I was blown away.
Not only was it completely
different to anything I’d ever
seen before, it was simple,
effective and not only did
it work, it was darn right
deadly! I think the best thing
to come along for specialist
anglers since perhaps the
hair-rig for carp anglers in the
70s...but I would say that I
suppose as I’ve just smashed
my perch personal best with
a monster late summer fish of
nearly 5lbs!
It all started last winter. I
was perch fishing on a really
1
Lawrie with a nice Drop Shotted Zander
dire day for predators; bright
and clear with a heavy frost.
My carefully laid bed of
chopped worm and maggots
was being rudely ignored by
every perch in the area! I’d
already prepared myself for a
blank session when I spotted
an angler move into the next
swim down and within an
hour or so land 3 nice perch!
Later he came over for a chat
and kindly showed me the
method (I had only recently
heard about it) called dropshotting. On my return home
I grabbed the laptop and typed
it into the search engine,
enough information was
soon gleaned and with the
method being very popular
in Europe, videos were
watched and articles read
repeatedly. Of course this is
only a starting point, actually
learning the technique would
be a different ball game! That
very week Des Taylor wrote
in the Angling Times about
how good this method was
for big perch on the SevernAutumn couldn’t come quick
enough for me!
lure. This was confirmed
when the first of a string of
small perch immediately fell
for the set up when fished in
deeper water. Often the lure
was hit within seconds of
reaching the bottom and some
action was put through the
rod tip, truly exiting stuff.
Paul’s Drop-Shotting Set-Up
With all new methods the
tackle you use must be
suitable for the job and
with nothing in my tackle
shed coming close I spent
the summer kitting myself
out. Correct choice of rod
is paramount; a short, soft
tipped lure rod is required, so
after trying a few in the tackle
shop I decided on a Drennan
E-Sox 7ft 1.5lb model in
conjunction with a small
fixed spool reel. I chose the
Drennan FD4000 Feeder Reel
as with a good front drag
system it looked ideal for the
job. This was loaded with
0.23mm diameter PowerPro braid attached to around
4ft of 6lb Fluorocarbon, and
then comes the revolutionary
part! A size 2 Drop-shot hook
is tied direct onto the line
via a Palomar knot, which
2
sits around 1 foot above
the Drop-shot lead, which
itself is attached via a simple
overhand figure 8 loop.
When held tight the hook
should stand at 90 degrees
next to the fluorocarbon.
Lure selection comes next,
with several companies
having a good choice ranging
from 10cm to 13cm in various
colours and patterns; I’ve
been using the Fox range
initially. I spent a few weeks
experimenting at every
opportunity, short trips to the
local river testing the action
of the lure in clear, shallow
water and it soon became
apparent that very slight
movements of the rod tip that
tightened and slackened the
mainline braid imparted the
most life like actions in the
Using the softest lure rod I
could get away with, it soon
became apparent that the
‘knack’ was to work the lure
in a set static position without
moving the 14g dropshot
lead (which is set below
it) - getting a feel for what
is going on below the water
takes time plus practice, and
obviously becomes harder
the deeper the water in which
you are fishing. The key is to
be in perfect touch with the
lure and lead together and it
is certainly a case of trial and
error. In strong winds this
can prove to be very tricky!
Over the next few trips my
technique improved rapidly
and from several different
venues both Perch and Zander
homed in on the method and
noticeably, the size of the
fish started to improve too.
Preparing to Cast
Paul Playing a Good fish on the E-Sox Spinflex 7ft rod
For example, some 3lb perch
started to make an appearance! One of the advantages
of the Drop-shot is the ability
to fish the lure tight to snags
or structures, here methods
like livebaiting become difficult due to the bait becoming
tangled amongst the snags,
but the drop-shot lure can be
simply flicked under bushes
or dropped straight down beside bridge supports, and then
teased into action. Takes are
often instant and explosive,
and this is when the backbone
of a decent lure rod comes
into play as the perch certainly seem to fight harder when
hooked on a lure!
Last season I was lucky
enough to land some lovely
big perch on various methods
culminating in a new Personal
Best of 4lb 5oz from a local
3
club run water; the fish at
the venue not only growing
to specimen proportions, but
are also stunning looking
fish and I am fortunate
to live relatively close! I
found myself with an early
Autumn opportunity to try
the method out, and arriving
at the venue I found it clear
but still very weedy with
cabbages and reedbeds. Not
to be perturbed, I knew the
drop-shot would come into
its own! Fishing several
“Perchy” looking swims
Gorgeous 3lb+ Perch on the Drop Shot
a hit and after a short battle
a simply enormous perch
was laying in the long grass
at my knees, lure protruding
from its cavernous mouth!
The method had proved its
effectiveness again with a
sensational river Perch of 4lb
12oz!
With the first chill of Autumn
in the air I’m sure this method
is going to get a lot more
attention over the next few
weeks….
Drop Shot Hooked Perch Close Up
using Polaroid Glasses it
was possible to watch some
lovely big Perch move in but
not attack the lure! A large
Pike appeared on the scene
shortly afterwards and so I
decided to find a new spot
and return later. Moving
downstream to an area with
a tinge more colour, a small
hole was located amongst a
bed of thick cabbages, so I
flicked the lure into the spot,
tightened the line and flicked
the rod tip half a dozen
times, then slackened to
allow the lure to flutter down.
WHACK! immediately I had
Paul’s sensational 4lb 12oz Perch on a Drop-Shotted Lure
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