Drop Shotting with Charles Sim
By Lawrence Euteneier, Captain, Blind Fishing Boat .Com

You would think that as a fisher without sight I would have already mastered drop shotting, a finesse technique that relies on the sense of touch. However, my love for the technique just doubled thanks to sage advice passed on from Charles Sim, holder of the Canadian record for heaviest one-day limit of Bass, 30.35lbs.

Charles and I set off for Muskrat Lake to pursue late-season Smallies. Charles positioned the boat about 30-feet out from the cliffs with depths below the boat of 40 feet plus. We hopped our baits down the submerged rocks each time slack line was picked up to feel for the tell-tale pressure of a Bass. When detected, ample time was taken to reel in slack line prior to setting the hook.

When drop shotting, there most often is no actual bite – it’s more of a pressure. Having a rod with a very soft tip is important for sensing pressure on the end of the line without imparting a tug sensation to the fish. The fish needs to engulf the entire bait and hook, and they are generally in no particular hurry.

The dual action of drop-shot rods serves multiple purposes. The soft tip assists in both detecting fish on the end of the line without their being spooked, and in preventing the fine wire hooks from being spat during the fight. The rod’s stiff backbone allows the fisher to set the hook with a sweeping movement, and to control the fish boat side.

Charles uses a size 2/0 fine wire worm hook in most cases, tied to the line using a Palomar knot. He has witnessed far too often fellow fishers using stand-out hooks experiencing spat hooks at boat side. Having brought stand-out hooks myself, I ignored this wisdom and ultimately lost the largest fish of the day, yup, right next to the boat. I did manage to partially redeem myself by boating a 3lb, 14oz Smallie, and in total, lost only the one fish and boated nine.

The distance between hook and weight preferred by Charles is around 18 inches. Less than 12 inches and fish are more likely to sense pressure from the weight. When fish are suspended above the bottom or to get your bait above the weeds, increase the distance.

Due to the cast-and-wait nature of drop-shotting, I often found my line behind the boat. Charles suggested that any more than 45 degrees behind the boat is too much, and that fishers on the rear deck should always cast about 33 degrees towards the bow.

Charles uses 8lb fluorocarbon line when drop shotting. Fluorocarbon is invisible under water and has minimal stretch allowing for greater sensitivity to the fisher. It also eliminates the need to tie on leaders, but the line itself is stiffer than both mono and braid and can lead to line management issues if not reeled in under pressure. I used 20lb braid, which is easier to manage on the spool, but is more visible to fish making fluorocarbon or mono leaders a must.

No matter how hard I pinched on my split-shot weights, they were no match for the craggy rock cover we were fishing. I became a convert to Charles’s drop-shot weights. These weights differ in that they possess a special swivel/line gripper that holds to the line without crimping or tying. Use the least amount of weight possible to efficiently lower the bait to the bottom. The smaller the weight the less likely fish will be spooked. Charles uses a heavier (1/2oz) weight for fishing post-spawn Bass to allow action to be imparted to the bait without pulling it away from the target. Drop shot weights range from 1/8 to 1oz, but more common sizes are ¼, 3/8 and ½ oz.

Charles Sim is no doubt a great fisher, something I had the pleasure of witnessing first hand. Thankfully, he’s also a very patient fishing coach.

(Lawrence Euteneier is the founder of the Blind Fishing Boat, an initiative to open the sport of fishing to the over 11 million Canadians and Americans with vision loss.)