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Utilize the ‘Slow Drop’ for Finicky Bass

(By: Jerry Carlson)

photo of jerry carlson

It was not a typical early season outing. For some reason, the bass were not in an aggressive mood and showed little interest in our offerings. Since we had caught scattered fish here the day before, I knew there were plenty of fish around. We just had to find the right combination to trigger them.

It was my fishing partner that unlocked the mystery of the tightlipped fish. The switch that he made was extremely subtle yet highly effective. He continued to utilize the six inch PowerBait worm we had been fishing with, but instead of a 1/8 ounce jighead, he switched to a 1/16 ounce head. This tiny little change caused the jig and worm combo to drop very slowly. It proved to be the slow drop that they wanted.

It had taken a couple of hours, but we finally located the school of bass that had spent most of the summer roaming along the upper lip of a specific drop-off. Although the exact location changed frequently, the overall piece of structure that these bass utilized did not.

I knew from previous trips that there were quite a number of fish in this school. Now that we had located them, we stood a good chance of pulling 15 to 20 bass out of this under water gathering.

At first, we had fish on every cast, but the action died out much more quickly than expected. We switched over to a small skirted jig with a plastic trailer that offered a slower drop and stuck a few more fish. However, it just didn’t seem like we had caught the quantity of fish we should have.

Past experience has taught me to switch to an ultra slow drop presentation before giving up on a school of fish. This time the lure of choice was a six inch finesse worm hooked through the middle in the wacky worm style.

It didn’t take very long before we discovered that there were plenty more bass in this school that were interested in eating. The tantalizing fall of the lightly weighted finesse worm was more than they could handle. With the help of the slow drop, we easily caught our 20 fish out of that school.

The process of experimenting with different presentations is a natural and necessary part of fishing. Although the experimentation factor is true for all species, it can be especially true of bass angling.

For some reason, these critters have their days when they just want a different look. This different look can come in a color change, a change in retrieve speed, or size of the lure. Of all the changes that work for me, I believe that moving to a lure with a slower drop is one of the most effective things I can do.

Achieving a slower drop can be accomplished in more than one way. One method, of course, is to utilize less weight. This is not as simple as it sounds.

I have met with a lot of frustration when trying to fish with a light weight jig worm combination. Although my standard go-to weight is an eighth ounce, dropping to a sixteenth is not as easy as picking up a smaller jig.

The hook size becomes a real issue when going to a light jighead. Sixteenth ounce jigs are not made with big hooks and the small hooks don’t cut it.

Over the winter months, I believe I have solved this dilemma. I discovered a small tackle company called Outkast Tackle (www.outkasttackle.com) that makes quality bass jigs out of environmentally friendly bismuth. The plain jigs come in 1/16 and 1/32 ounce sizes yet maintain a larger hook. Skirted jigs are also available. These jigs appear to be ideal for the slow drop philosophy I have come to believe in.

The other ‘slow drop’ fishing tool that has been incredibly effective for me is the finesse worm. Although I have fished with these worms in a variety of ways, I find that the wacky style, with the worm hooked through the middle, is as effective as anything.

There are times when I will hook finesse worms in the characteristic weedless style. This is especially true if I am pitching under docks. I don’t like to use exposed hooks in my dock fishing because of the increased chance of getting hooked on something under the water.

Every angler I know has a list of favorite go-to tricks to trigger strikes from lethargic fish. These tricks incorporate a variety of fishing strategies. From my personal experiences, I have found that fish love to pick up a dropping lure.

However, I have also discovered that the speed of the drop often plays a big role in how much attention the lure gets. When fish are in a neutral or negative mood, this fact is especially true. In other words, to get the drop on bass, you need to present a hanging lure that falls in a slow, tantalizing fashion.