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SEVEN CASTS
Coastal Companionby Seven Casts · Coastal Virginia
Sheet 17 of 28

intermediate rig

Lure presentation

Drop-shot rig

A finesse, mostly-vertical presentation: drop straight down or cast out and let the weight settle, then shake the rod tip gently to give the suspended bait a subtle, hovering action without moving it far

Water
lakeriver
Drop-shot rig schematicTop to bottom: main line, hook, bait, leader, weight.

Schematic, not to scale. Hover, tap, or tab through the parts; the drawing isolates each one.

Terms usedMain lineHook sizesLeaderSinker

Components

As listed in the rig record, top to bottom.

  1. Main line tied to a hook using a Palomar knot, leaving a long tag end
  2. Tag end run back down through the hook eye a second time so the hook stands out from the line
  3. Weight tied to the very end of the tag end, below the hook

Setup

Hook
A small, thin-wire hook sized to the finesse soft plastic used, nose-hooked or wacky-rigged so the bait hovers just above the weight, off bottom.
Weight
A small, usually cylindrical drop-shot weight — just heavy enough to hold bottom in the current and depth you're fishing, sized up or down as conditions change.

How to fish it

A finesse, mostly-vertical presentation: drop straight down or cast out and let the weight settle, then shake the rod tip gently to give the suspended bait a subtle, hovering action without moving it far.

When to use it

  • Deep timber, drop-offs, and bass suspended off the bottom
  • Cold or heavily pressured water where a subtle presentation wins
  • Clear water and light line

Common mistakes

  • Using too heavy a weight or too stiff a rod, which kills the subtle shaking action that makes this presentation work

Variations

Freshwater finesse rigs: the same idea, adjusted

Rigs drawn from the same schematic family — heavier, lighter, or with one part changed for a different fish or water.

All lure rigs

Where to use it

Water this rig is documented for

Spots marked “species match” document a fish this rig is for and the way it is fished — a place to try it, not a report that it has been fished there.

All fishing spots