Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Is there any other species?
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mike304
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Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by mike304 » Mon May 04, 2015 9:04 pm

Does anybody out there ever try using a jig as a drop shot weight? I rigged one up last season but never got around to trying it. I'd hear about it somewhere but was just wondering if anyone had tried it, and did it work. In a way it sorta makes sense, giving you another opportunity for a bite.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by BucketHunter » Mon May 04, 2015 10:00 pm

You have to tie a dropper rig because the tag end of most knots when under pressure will usually fail on you.
I don't know what it is called but I use one that Redfish guys use for a double jig rig.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by Inspectorlee » Mon May 04, 2015 10:55 pm

It'll work, but as I've said in another post, it defeats part of the purpose of the dropshot rig. Dropshot weights have a swivel clip that pinches the line. This way, when the weight gets snagged on some rock/wood/structure, you can apply steady pressure and pull the line off. Your lure and hook will be saved, and all you need to do is slide on another dropshot weight and you're good to go; no need to re-rig the entire thing.

By using a jig, you are losing that benefit. And the fact that the jig has a hook (unless you use one with some type of brush guard) means it is even more likely to hang up on rock/wood/structure. And if it does, you're going to have to snap the line. At this point, depending on your knot tying abilities, the line will either snap at the jig (saving the lure and hook) or the line will snap at the hook, resulting in you losing the entire rig (lure, hook, jig).

The final decision might come down to the type of structure you'll be fishing on and how risk-averse you are. Good luck.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by BucketHunter » Tue May 05, 2015 12:21 am

It's entirely advantageous here in most areas of the Great Lakes, where dropshotting and dragging a tube are the two most common techniques for deep water Smallmouth.
I've seen guys in tourneys run two drop shots and a tube. You need to upsize your line a bit to offset the percentages when it comes to knot strength and failure rate, but when it comes to just covering water on flats the size of 50 football fields, it makes sense.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by Mattman » Wed May 06, 2015 6:47 am

Illegal in some areas. Only one lure is allowed in some areas. Using a jig and then another hook/bait up your line constitutes more than one lure.

Check your local regulations.

I know guys that do it, where legal.

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mike304
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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by mike304 » Wed May 06, 2015 8:22 pm

Mattman wrote:Illegal in some areas. Only one lure is allowed in some areas. Using a jig and then another hook/bait up your line constitutes more than one lure.

Check your local regulations.

I know guys that do it, where legal.
Not a problem in NY, We are allowed 15 hook points per line.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by Mothercanucker » Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:34 pm

Need to try it on sand and gravel but would not where I can get snagged. I couldnt handle losing jigs, drop shot hooks and drop shot bait at one time. Plus the time to re rig afterwards...

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by saoulons » Mon Feb 15, 2016 2:18 am

Tried it a couple of times but, for me, it was just too much hardware on a single line and couldn't quite get the patience to really fish it for a long period of time (felt too much like a novelty rig). It also took me almost 20 minutes to rig it up - used VMC Spinshots (2 of them) and put a snap on the bottom leader so that I could switch out the jig as needed.

Conceptually, it makes sense, but I just couldn't get the confidence in fishing it. I also wasn't sure whether to use a DS rod or a Jig rod. In the end, I would rather have two rods on the deck - a traditional drop shot rod and a jig rod. I guess I'm old fashioned ;)

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by mark poulson » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:21 am

In a winter tournament at Castaic Lake, a guy in another boat near me used an ice jig as the sinker on his drop shot, and a 28lb striper ate it. It took him ten minutes to land it. So I know it works, but I've never tried it myself.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by oops » Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:58 pm

This may not be legal depending on the regulations in your area. Where I live, it is not legal in freshwater as far as I know, but I have done so in saltwater where I have found it very effective.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by fati » Fri Apr 01, 2016 2:09 am

I will try it this year when Ill go jigging for walleye in northern lake where its harder to get snag, should logicaly give you X2 chances to get a bite.

But if im doing this in my river near by I will prowly get snag.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by mark poulson » Fri Apr 01, 2016 1:11 pm

If you use heavy enough line, like you would normally fish a jig on, and fish the setup like a jig, you'll get bit.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by Randingo » Thu Apr 14, 2016 12:18 pm

mark poulson wrote:If you use heavy enough line, like you would normally fish a jig on, and fish the setup like a jig, you'll get bit.
I think this is right: you have to fish the jig and upsize your DS components. The thing is, though, I think it dilutes the effectiveness of both parts of the rig. You're much better off in the vast majority of situations simply fishing a dedicated drop shot on a dedicated rig, and the same with the jig.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by oops » Thu Apr 14, 2016 7:04 pm

Randingo wrote:
mark poulson wrote:If you use heavy enough line, like you would normally fish a jig on, and fish the setup like a jig, you'll get bit.
I think this is right: you have to fish the jig and upsize your DS components. The thing is, though, I think it dilutes the effectiveness of both parts of the rig. You're much better off in the vast majority of situations simply fishing a dedicated drop shot on a dedicated rig, and the same with the jig.
I'm sure this is true. I didn't mention it before, but when I've used this rig successfully, I've just used it as my 2nd rod that I've let drag across the bottom while drifting and actually fishing with my primary rod.

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Re: Using a jig as a drop shot weight?

Post by cure-hb » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:51 am

will you snag all the time if you put a jig on the end of your line?

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