** NOTE ** This is the second installment of the Troutbitten Short Series covering Drop Shot Nymphing.
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Contact lies at the heart of tight line tactics. The ability to be in touch with our flies at any moment is what makes these rigs and techniques so effective. Even when we aren’t fooling trout, we have so much control over the system that we can be certain of our drifts. We can leave an area and move on, simply because we know that we fished it well.
Tight line and euro nymphing is not about being in contact at every moment, but the option is always there. The Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig that I fish most days allows for underwater presentations that begin with casting power, with precise placement of the fly and tippet, providing managed slack at just the right moment upon entry and continuing with great control throughout the drift.
Whatever the leader system, all tight line rigs have contact to the flies at their core. It’s the ability to be fully in touch with the flies and therefore fully in control of their path — that’s the secret sauce.
And undeniably, extra weight equals extra contact from rod tip to the fly (or the weight). So is extra weight always a good thing? Surely not. But for many river situations, overweighting the system, just a bit, is the key to success.
Extra weight = extra contact = extra control.
However, a big responsibility is dealt to the angler with extra control. If you’re truly in control over the course of the fly — of the speed, depth and current-seam travel — then you’d better get it just right.
Drop shot has become my most frequent solution for an overweighted approach that aims for more control over the course of the flies.
READ: Troutbitten | Over or Under — Your Best Bet On Weight
Sometimes | Other Times
In Part One of this Troutbitten Short Series on Drop Shot Nymphing, I covered a bit of the history of drop shot styles, and I went through my own background with placing weight at the bottom of the rig.
I fully acknowledge there are many great reasons to choose drop shot. Some fly anglers do so always. I do so sometimes. Because I enjoy a flexible approach on the water, I reserve drop shot nymphing for those moments when it’s the best option for the conditions and my goals. But as the years have passed, as I’ve grown confident and have refined my system a bit, drop shot now occupies a larger portion of my nymphing time on the water.
So here, in part two, I’ll detail the reasons why and when I choose drop shot. It fills a niche in my full system of nymphing, and it fills it perfectly. But when drop shot isn’t the perfect fit, I clip off the weight and choose a different method.
Joey. Good times.
Hello, Riverbed
When I truly want to touch the riverbed, when I want to bounce, touch, tick-tick-a-tick-ta-tick-tick on the bottom, I choose drop shot.
I might desire that bottom ride for a host of reasons (detailed below). But when I do, drop shot is the answer, because it’s the cleanest and most efficient way to feel, touch and tick the bottom without hanging up, and it allows me to place flies at exactly the levels I choose.
I’ve said for years that the worst concept most commonly taught about nymphing is that we must get down and touch the bottom with the flies. I prefer gliding nymphs through the strike zone more than riding on the bottom.
READ: Troutbitten | Forget the Bottom — Glide Through the Strike Zone
The strike zone article linked above holds some critical points, and it’s well worth the read if you haven’t thought this through. My favorite way to drift nymphs is getting clean strike zone rides, drifts that rarely touch the riverbed but simply glide through the cushion of water near the bottom, where most good things in a river happen.
But when great strike zone rides at the speed of that cushion don’t get it done, then a lower, slower presentations might be the key. In fact, it often turns lousy action into fast action.
I grew into nymphing decades ago, using split shot about ten-inches above the point fly. Later, with the advent of tungsten beads for flies, I learned the (sometimes) advantages of weighted flies. But in either case, frequent contact with the riverbed resulted in all-too-common hang ups. (No, jig nymphs don’t make much difference.)
READ: Troutbitten | Split Shot vs Weighted Flies
So, like every other nymphing angler, I was forced to choose between getting low, but not so low that I spent more time retrieving snags and tying knots than actually fishing. Before drop shot, touching bottom was an unsolvable conundrum. I caught more trout, but it came with sincere frustration. And I’m sure this is why many anglers don’t like nymphing.
Discovering the strike zone was a turning point for me, and I became a better angler when I learned to read the sighter or indy speed to help me ride about six inches off the bottom.
Those strike zone rides are still my baseline approach. And yet, there are many situations where trout want it slower, when using contact with the riverbed to decelerate the drift is the answer. And a drop shot rig is the obvious solution.
There is no better way to deliberately touch the riverbed than with a drop shot. Whether the goal is just a few ticks on a twenty foot drift, or a long, slow roll throughout, drop shotting is the perfect tool for that kind of ride.
And that’s why I use a drop shot nymphing rig on a tight line.
READ: Troutbitten | When Drifting Low Isn’t Low Enough
Photo by Josh Darling
Benefits
Here are the major payoffs for choosing drop shot.
Far Fewer Snags
A round ball simply hangs less frequently than a nymph on a hook. The round balls with hook eyes that I now use are unbeatable. A single round split shot works great too. And a series of split shot at the end of the line is pretty good. All of them hang far less than a fly. It’s a fact. Fewer snags means more fishing and more fun.
Precision Levels
When the goal is to get drop shot on the bottom, the riverbed provides the reference, and we tie our nymphs on the leader above the shot, at whatever level we choose to target.
I most often rig up so my lower fly is riding in the strike zone. And yet, with extra bottom contact on the drop shot, that point fly is going slower than the pure strike zone speed. (Read that again, because it’s a crucial point.)
My upper fly might be anywhere from just above the strike zone to almost near the surface. Where are the trout feeding? What level of the column? That’s where my upper nymph is going. And with drop shot touching the bottom, I have precise control over that placement. There is no guessing.
Feel It
Good tight liners know that strike detection is visual. We don’t wait to feel a fish to set on it. Instead, we learn to read the sighter for depth, angle and drift speed. Then we set the hook when the sighter does anything unexpected.
READ: Troutbitten | Strike Detection is Visual
In a drop shot system, strike detection remains a visual experience, but drifting becomes tactile as much as visual. We feel the weight of the drop shot on the rocks as we see that same effect on the sighter. These two senses working together give us added confidence about the drifts. Feedback from the drop shot touching the riverbed — the feeling of it bumping — travels through the line, through the rod and into our hand. It’s an unmistakable advantage. It’s an addicting sensory experience that results in better decisions on our end of the line and more trout in the net.
The Stutter
The “bounce” in a Provo Bounce Rig is how the flies jiggle and bump every time the shot touches. This, I believe, is one of the main attractions of a drop shot system. Because that minor wiggle, that almost incidental stutter, is a trout trigger on many days.
Imagine an emerging mayfly, as it rises through the column, trying to break free of its shuck on the way to the surface. Mayflies and caddisflies jerk and contort their bodies during the process of emergence. They have short bursts and darts throughout their emergence, and the drop shot tick, with a nymph attached above, must be a damn good imitation of this behavior. Fish on.
Balance Against the Wind
We can overweight the system in many ways — with heavier tungsten beads on the flies or with split shot attached traditionally. But my favorite way to overweight the system is drop shot
It’s no secret that extra weight is a great way to beat the wind. On a tight line rig, extra weight helps prevent the sighter and leader from becoming a sail in the air.
Likewise, the extra bottom contact of a drop shot system can anchor the rig against some very strong winds.
Extra Distance
Overweighting also allows for longer distances with no consequence of leader sag.
Sag equals drag. And every tight line leader suffers from sag at some distance. However, there is enough weight to counteract the effect of any line and leader sag. Of course there are downsides with overweighting the system too much. But the point remains. And long drag-free, tight line distances can be achieved with a drop shot system and extra weight.
Photo by Austin Dando
Clean Flies
Many fertile rivers have vegetation, moss, algae, salad, etc., growing on the rocks. And touching the bottom with a traditional rig results in dirty flies every time they touch. I’ve fished rivers like this with egg patterns and had to clean my fly every other drift.
What’s the solution? Drop shot.
Let the shot touch the bottom and keep the fly six inches up. The difference is remarkable, and I’ve gone hours without cleaning my flies in this kind of water.
Strike Detection
With a tight line from rod tip to drop shot, almost every take from a trout results in some indication on the sighter — either a tick, jump or pause of the sighter. And quite often that take is also felt.
But herein lies a key drawback to a drop shot approach . . .
If we’re touching the bottom many times over each drift, then we’re asking ourselves to guess with every contact.
“Is that a fish, or is that a rock?”
Fish or rock? Rock or fish? What caused the pause? What created that stutter in the line? Often, a trout eating the fly looks and feels no different than does a shot or nymph touching the rocks.
And yet, after seasons of fishing, after thousand of hours spent nymphing with a drop shot and feeling that riverbed, the soft mouth of a trout transmits a slightly softer sensation to your hands than a hard rock, and we notice that difference.
Set the hook! Fish to the net.
Lose Just the Shot
For many anglers, drop shot is their choice for fishing deep and heavy water where snags cannot be retrieved. Drop shot can be rigged in a way that breaking off loses only the shot, leaving the nymphs intact.
It’s a good strategy that works often enough. But it requires a bit more rigging, with extra knots and various diameters of tippet. That time investment is, frankly, too much for most people. And I don’t use drop shot this way very much.
One can also allow the split shot to slide off the end of the line with each hang up. But for me, this doesn’t work as advertised. Instead, the shot slides off upon minor pulls, and I end up wasting more time than I’m saving.
Remember this Troutbitten mantra: If it isn’t easy, you won’t do it. I think this applies to all fishermen everywhere. So keep the rigging as simple as possible. Make changes easily and save time.
When I do find stretches of water where snags can never be retrieved, then I might take the extra time to rig differently and let the drop shot break off first.
The Decisions Are Yours
Drop shot nymphing on a tight line system puts you, the angler, in control of every part of the drift. By using the riverbed as a reference, you then choose the speed, level and lane-travel of the flies.
That control is a double-edged sword. While the benefits of contact and control are infinite, there is a downside — you must get everything just right. Ultimate control is a big responsibility. And in many ways, it’s easier to choose a pair of light nymphs with no shot and simply track the nymph’s progress downstream, letting the river make all the important decisions.
Learning and refining that presentation is a daily challenge.
There’s much more to cover in this drop shot nymphing series, so subscribe to Troutbitten and follow along. (It’s free.)
Fish hard, friends.
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Enjoy the day
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
I can’t believe there aren’t over fifty comments already. Let me be the first. I really like this series, Dom. I think that it’s going to help a lot of people become better anglers.
Now, for my question. I’ve been alternating between a standard tight line and a drop shot system for a while now, and I’ve noticed something curious. I have a theory to explain it, but I’d love to hear what you have to say, Dom. Basically, when I tight line, I have much more success using a sighter than an indicator. However, when I drop shot, the inverse is true, that is, I have much more success bounce nymphing than sighter fishing. Why do you think that is?
Hi Alex,
Thanks for the kind words.
Your question: there are too many thousands of variables within your style, your strengths and your situations to make any kind of guess on that. But I’d like to hear your own thoughts.
In my experience, and through guiding, I don’t see the difference that you mentioned.
I will say, I rarely use drop shot for indy fishing. I drop shot for the extra control and contact. And I’ve learned to feel that bottom, keep flies gliding through and sense the strikes.
Cheers.
Dom
My theory, for what it’s worth, is that the nymphs jiggle more when there’s an indicator and split shot that are not quite in synch. In other words, the bouncing of the indicator isn’t steady a steady motion, it’s more like a stretching and letting go, which gives the nymphs a very enticing action.
BTW, I tried your ball and hook eye idea yesterday and it really works. I never once hung up to the point that I wasn’t able to extricate my weight with a simple upstream pull.
Cool thoughts.
Drop shot must be very effective,to the point it is illegal in California. I fish some high,fast water during winter,and while usually have consistently good results,there are days that 6 hours gets 2 fish. I need to utilize this for more then the 10 minutes I give any new system!!
Dom- you just keep getting better and better. Another great series. And, I really like the way you write!
Well, practice makes progress. And I’ve written a lot. Thanks for the kind words, Jim.
Make sure to check regs for your state. Drop shot is illegal on flies only waters in Michigan
Right on. I covered that in part one, and I’m not going to mention it every time.
Actually, in Michigan, drop shot rigs can’t be used in any river or steam unless the fly/lure/hook is on a dropper at least 3” or longer.
Each gear restricted water, including designed “drowned river mouths” may have slightly different regs, so you need to check the Fishing Guide carefully.
Good stuff
If you want the ultimate in snag-less drop shotting, substitute a small snap swivel with micro-slinkies using steel shot. Super easy to change a wide array of very precise weights that provide a very smooth drift and almost never hang up.
I respectfully disagree with this, Rick, on a few points.
More hardware down there means more hang ups.
More hardware means more knots, more to fiddle with and more rigging.
The simple ball with a hook eye cannot be beat. Carrying a few different sizes is all that is necessary. We have precision weight adjustment if desired, however the advantage of the tight line rig is that we can fish so much water with one weight.
Lastly, the slinkies and hardware of micro-swivels is just a different thing. We simply don’t need that much weight. These tight line rigs are designed to get flies and weight DOWN quickly, without the need for much weight. The unfortunate consequence of me using the term “overweight” is that people start thinking about a LOT of weight. But that’s why I’ve put the numbers out there. 1/32 oz is my most common, and I rarely go more than 1/24 oz. For reference, the 1/32 oz is about the same weight as a tungsten beaded #12 stonefly in my box.
Drop shot rigs have been around for a long time. So there’s a lot of carryover and mixed ideas. A lot of it can work. But again, we just don’t need the weight and the hardware and the bother of the slinkies.
Those are my thoughts.
Thanks for reading.
Dom
Great series Dom, really excited for more. I fished yesterday with drop shot only and I think that this article addresses some of the issues I’m having. In the fast deep water I had great success and I can see how beneficial this can be in the right conditions. No underwater snags for the day.
“That control is a double-edged sword. While the benefits of contact and control are infinite, there is a downside — you must get everything just right.”
This is the crux of it all and will get me back out drop shot fishing only, till I get it just right. Can’t wait for the next piece.
Thanks Dom
Dom
Just a quick follow up to clarify. I’d be glad to send you a few if you’d like.
Correction: small snap (no swivel) which is optional. You can tie direct to micro-slinkies which have a nylon eye.
The slinkies I am referring to are not the traditional lengths and weights you might be thinking about.
Here are some technical comparisons to help.
I’ll use “grains”, a little used unit of mass equal to 64.8 mg. Grains are still used to quantify the mass of lead or steel shot in hunting.
1/32 oz = 13.7 gr
1/24 oz = 18.2 gr
One lead BB shot = 8.5 gr
One steel shot = 5.1 gr
Micro-slinkies use steel shot making for precise weighting options and are environmentally friendly.
1 shot micro-slink = 5.1 gr
2 shot micro-slinky = 10.2 gr
3 shot micro-slinky = 15.3 gr
4 shot micro-slinky = 20.4 gr
5 shot micro-slinky = 25.5 gr
They provide super smooth drifts and a small handful will last a lifetime. Many years ago I met Joe Humphries at a sports show and gave him some samples. Low and behold and they showed up in one of his nymphing videos.
He sent me a handwritten thank you note and an encouraging review.
Rick,
How do you make your slinkies?
Thanks,
Alex
Hello Alex
Materials/Equipment:
Steel (or lead) BB shot
Green nylon parachute cord
Soldering iron with
interchangeable tips
Cut and seal cord at double length
with appropriate tip
Cut double sealed cord in half
Insert desired number of shot
Seal the top end of cord leaving a bit of room for the eye
Use needle tip to melt an eyelet in the cord
You can skip the eyelet and attach slink using a small.snap. This allows for quick and easy weight changes
Or you can eliminate the snap and tie directly to the eyelet
Micro – slinkies can be made using
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 pieces of shot.
1 Steel BB = 5.1 grains
1 Lead BB = 8.5 grains
I manufactured slinkies commercially back in the 80s and 90s for Great Lakes steelhead. Made tens of thousands, eventually switching to steel for environmental reasons but ended up preferring the drift with the less dense material.
Lead @ 11.3 g/cc
Steel @ 7.6 g/DC
Good luck
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the offer to send them, Rick, but I’ve used slinkies. For me, they are simply more trouble than they are worth. I understand your weights there. But I can’t understand why go through all the work to make and use micro slinkies. They do not hang up less. Maybe they hang up less than a split shot, but they don’t hang less than the drop shot balls. And if you’re using weights in the 25 or less centigram range (I refer to cg rather than grains), then you won’t have that kind of steady bottom contact anyway — that won’t be the goal or the result.
Give it all a try, and you’ll see what I mean.
I’ll get into rigging and weight in the next couple articles, but these points remain:
More hardware down there means more hang ups.
More hardware means more knots, more to fiddle with and more rigging.
The simple ball with a hook eye cannot be beat. Carrying a few different sizes is all that is necessary. We have precision weight adjustment if desired, however the advantage of the tight line rig is that we can fish so much water with one weight.
These slinkies are not the “ultimate in snagless drop shotting.”
That’s my only point. Obviously, there are a lot of great ways to do things, and if it works for someone, then great. I only leave my comments in opposition here to keep things clear. And I do enjoy the exchange of ideas.
Cheers.
Dom
Greetings Dom…….great articles. Where do we buy the drop shots you like so much? Thanks
Hi there. They can’t be bought. Just buy ball jigs and clip the shanks. I also take the shine off of them with baking soda and vinegar.
Hey Don, what is your recipe for the baking soda and vinegar?
Thanks
John
My phone keeps correcting Dom to Don?♂️ Sorry
Oh I don’t have a recipe. I just throw some backing soda in a bowl with the jigs and add some vinegar. It bubbles. It settles and I let it sit for a half day, then drain the liquid and let it sit a bit more. That usually takes the shine off them. If anyone knows a better way, I’m all ears.
Cheers.
Dom
I knew I would find the answer if I dug deep enough into the Holy Grail of all things drop shotting. BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR. BEEN HAND DIPPING IN ENAMEL UP TO NOW. PAINFUL
There ya go.
My favorite line of this article: “Remember this Troutbitten mantra: If it isn’t easy, you won’t do it.”
I also think the dropshot rig is great, but I too struggle with the shot/tungsten putty/weight setup. You mentioned cutting off the lead ball from small jigs in Part 1, do you know of any non-lead alternatives? The “hook-eye” on a weight sounds terrific, wondering if anything is produced commercially out there for the bass or saltwater guys that we could adapt and use? Perhaps we could request a tackle company to design something to our specs??!
One other question? When you aim to keep your flies 6 inches off the bottom, how long are your nymph dropper tags?
Thanks Dom for your wonderful contributions to our sport.
Thanks, Glenn. I appreciate your support.
I would simply use jig hooks, add tungsten beads and anchor them to the hook with either thread wraps, super glue and/or lead substitute wraps. Then clip them off.
Cheers.
Dom
Glenn, here’s an idea: get some really cheap hooks (cricket hooks, for example), mount a cheap bead (brass, tungsten), using super glue and thread as a base and dam, in the normal place, and then cut off the rest of the hook right behind the bead.
Thanks for the clever idea, Alex, I’ll give it a try!
Right on
I’ve been experimenting with drop-shop rigs starting, uh, this morning at my desk watching the news, typing things up. Here’s my problem. If I want the tagged fly (on a 4-inch tag) to ride 6 inches above the riverbed, where do I attach the tag on the tippet? If the tippet is riding 90 degrees to the riverbed, the math is easy, 10 inches. But if I’m guiding the rig at 45 degrees, the tag tie-in point moves up to 14 inches or thereabouts. But the leader angle moves over a range (zer0 to 45 degrees, say, or more) to match current speed or maybe other factors like the need to suddenly drop the rig down in a depression or over a high point. Sooooooo, is there a compromise tag-tie in point I should think about, or some other manipulation I need to think about? Thanks much, and really forward to the next articles in this series. BTW, I attach the tag using a sliding loop. Toney
HI Toney,
Good thoughts. You lost me there with how the 4 inch tag, six inches up from the shot could end up 14 inches above the riverbed. I think it’s ten inches. But really, here we are almost splitting hairs. The fact is the tag gives the fly some freedom to move and a range to operate. That’s a good thing in my experience. And I think we can have pretty high confidence about where our fly is within, let’s say, the length of the tag.
Like I said, I’ll address rigging in an article soon, but for now, I’ll say that I don’t take the time to rig sliding droppers. For me, it’s just another thing that takes time and eventually discourages anglers from using drop shot. More knots, less fishing time, more frustration. Keep it simple.
Cheers.
Dom
Thanks, Dom. Yup, I see your point about the fly swimming within a range. I just want to make sure that when guiding the leader at, say, 45 degrees to the riverbed, that the fly doesn’t drop too low. I’m looking forward to reading the next articles in the series on rigging! Cheers!
Right on.
Hey Don,
Can’t wait for the next part. Having trouble with seeing how to tie up the rigging. Could you give us just a very short version.
Regards
John
Hi John,
The leader recipe is in Part One.
Make sense?
Dom
Excellent series. You’re like a detective.
Ha. That’s a funny comment. Cheers.
Dom
Hi I’m 72, been tight line nymph fishing since Humphrey came up with it. We use to use a flat mojo line. My problem is that my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, plan on focusing on the drop shot method with one fly to keep it simple. Plan on fishing by feel. Spent decades on honing my strike instinct on steelhead and salmon. My problem is line length, the mono line is invisible to me when casting. When you take about line length are you looking at point fly , start of tipit or leader. Thanks have a great day..
Hi Del,
Thanks for the comment.
Couple things:
First, as much as I like and admire Hump, I wouldn’t say that he came up with tight line tactics. Who know who should get the credit for that? But no doubt it occurred many years before Hump.
Second, I fear that using drop shot to feel BECAUSE you cannot see the line is not going to work out for you. Put it this way: you need to SEE the sighter to set things up so you an then FEEL the drop shot. Also note, you will only reliably feel weights of about 1/32 or more.
As I read your question, I suspect that you may not be familiar with a sighter. What I’m writing about here is a drop shot system on a tight line rig. A good tight line rig is built with a sighter before the tippet section. This is a colored line and VERY visible line, that is held ABOVE the water. Only your tippet goes under, and not all of it.
So, build a visible sighter into your leader, and you will see it. If you still cannot see the sighter, add a Backing Barrel to your sighter or two, or three. I promise, you can see your sighter if you keep it dry. Essentially, it should never touch the water.
https://troutbitten.com/2021/10/08/the-backing-barrel-might-be-the-best-sighter-ever/
Make sense?
Dom
Hey Dom, thanks for the article, great content as always and it resolves some of the conundrums I have had when fishing heavy water and struggling to get down into the strike zone. I have used the drop rig before to solve this, but in such deep (6ft +) and fast water there’s so much going on between the surface and the strike zone, I never felt truly in touch with the flies. Using heavy flies was no better. Maybe that’s just water that’s hard to fish period. Any thoughts there are welcome. My real question has to do with the concept of sink rate. Devin Olsen talks about this in terms of varying fly weights and fly material to manage the sink rate so your fly gets into the zone at the right time to be in front of the fish (rather than below the fish in most of his examples). He specifically will often slow his sink rate to achieve this. While I’m sure varying the weight in the drop rig you can achieve a similar effect, it seems like the point of the drop rig is to get that weight ticking bottom as soon as possible so you are putting the flies at the depth you want early to get a longer and more controlled drift/drag. In essence, both approaches I think are trying to achieve the same thing, get the fly to the fish, just working within the limitations of the approach. That said, do you ever want to slow down a sink rate with your approach? Or is your goal always to be on bottom as soon as you can because you’ve essentially ‘set the depth’ of your flies and need that reference point to make this work?
Thank you so much for a detailed review of the drop shot rig. I live close to the Provo River and the technique is well known.
Question for you. How do attach the jig head weights? Do you simply use your preferred fly knot? Do you ever attach more than one?
Hi David,
I usually use a Davy Knot. Could use a Clinch or whatever you prefer.
No, I never attach more than one. The beauty of the ball is how well it rolls when it touches. More balls would complicate things.
Cheers.
Dom
Hi Domenick, did I miss the rigging method for drop-shot fishing? It has always intrigued me and I want to start learning it. Great articles as usual.
Yes, it’s in part one, my friend. Links are above.
Dom