Everything you NEED to know about the DROPSHOT!?!? 

I know that techniques such as the Hover Stroller have taken off, and lots of anglers are happy with the discovery of that way to fish now. I'd do something with the minnow shaped bait. But it wouldn't be very like most riggings.

I would set aside a couple of rods and rig them up a bit different than drop shots or hover strollers. I'd use a straightened out hook like you would work with a needle for sewing with. I'd take my fishing line. Tie to the needle that I created. I would thread the fluorocarbon line down through the head of the minnow. And then come out with the needle somewhere underneath and to the mid-section of the bait. Pulling thread and needle the whole ways through the elaztec bait. What I'd then do is I'd cut off my needle and thread one or two tungsten beads on the fluorocarbon. And then re-tie a proper 'small' short-shank hook on the end of my fluorocarbon leader. Then I would thread my short shank hook back into the bottom of the bait in some way. Enough so that it held in place (a short shank hook with a small bait keeper pointing up to the eye of the hook would be ideal).

What that achieves is a small piece of tungsten weight underneath the soft plastic minnow. Which is actually outside of the soft plastic bait, but threaded on the fluorocarbon leader. And a small hook that is mounted underneath the soft plastic bait. And pointing down. Now what do I have? I have something like the long shank hook and elaztec lure that was shown. Except I've moved the weight and the small hook. To the mid-section of the lure. While the fluorocarbon line enters into the bait. From the top and just slightly back from the front nose of the bait. Like in the way that hover stroller rigging works. Except, unlike the hover stroller. Might weight is not up front. It's further bait. I would fish this thing by snapping it the odd time in the water. In the manner that one might snap a jerk bait through the water. Unlike a jerk bait lure though. This thing would go down deeper on it's own weight (the small piece of tungsten won't carry it to the bottom very fast). However, one could animate a quite interesting and slow journey to the bottom. Using a bait that does not sink very fast. The idea of having most of the hook and weight 'outside' of the elaztec material. Is that from a hooking to land ratio. I've found it best, if less of the hook is buried in the bait itself. That's the hitch with long-shank weighted hooks. Most of the metal that you need to land the fish. Is buried somewhere in the bait.

Another way to do it, might be to use a small treble hook (and the up-point of the treble is used to connect the hook to the elaztec underneath, leaving two treble hook points exposed). And the small tungsten bead in front of that treble hook on the fluorocarbon leader, prevents the hook point from getting jambed up inside the soft plastic. While also adding some strategically placed weight at the bottom side of the elaztec minnow lure. It's a kind of a 'line through' swim bait, done on a croppie size miniature scale. I'm surprised that croppie anglers like John Soukup have never used it for that species too. As I said, the rigging has some aspects of a hover stroller rigging to it too. Except I am putting the weight in a different location, to where hover strollers position there's (at the front). My weight is more underneath, outside the bait and at mid-section. Not at the front.

Listening to Todd talking about braided lines and frog fishing. I think what I'm talking about, is like a frog type of approach or bait (a bait that just happens to be beneath the surface when it swims, but one throws it on straight braid like a frog). But sized down a bit in line diameter quite a bit. It is essential though, a swimbait, frog bait, braided line thing for species like small mouth bass. Small mouth should have it's own equivalent to the frog bait in large mouth fishing. I think, is what I'm trying to say.

Maybe brand of braid🤷‍♂️

Most likely Palomar knot, then poke the tag end down through from the top of the hook eye before attaching the weight (makes the hook sit horizontal)

Yeah probably Palomar. My son just ties a uni. You can still put the tag end through the hook with just about any knot👍

@@Larry77777 right. Yeah I used that for a while. My friend showed me a really great knot which keeps the hook perpendicular to the main line like you want it. I’ve lost some fish this year and I’m not sure if it’s this new knot I’m using. Lost fish last year on a drop shot like more than I cared to lose. Im just trying to break it down because I feel like my line rod reel and hook set up is good.