Drop shot set up on tip up.

[duramaxdan]

So got to fooling around with my tip-ups due to free time. Here is what I did, been thinking about this for a while. Normally fishing my tip ups my set up is 30 lb Dacron with a 6 ft 8 lb leader. I connect the two different size lines with an albright knot and a touch of clear nail polish to help keep everything in place. I tie on a #6 baitholder and add a split shot or two 12 to 18 inches from hook. done. that rig never failed to produce, why change if it works? I don't know, free time? obsessive compulsive disorder? definitely! So today I split up half my tip ups with normal rig and the others i tied up a drop shot rig on. Here is the set up 6 ft leader 8 lb floro. polymer knot to the hook feed the tail end up and through the eye of hook and on the end i attached a 1/8 oz casting sinker. yup no finesse drop sinkers on hand. Going to see how this performs. Have any of you out there try this? Can this be refined? I will let you know how this test goes. I fish for whatever will bite! would be nice to use a drop weight then i would be able to move weight up and down without having to retie weight on.

[schaffman]

I switched to this set up last year and it was my best year using tips ups ever.     The largest fish I caught on this type of set up last year was a 5lb bass.
The only pain is keeping the trailing line and sinker from not getting tangled after use.     I also noticed that the fish are getting caught in the corner of the mouth and not gut hooked.   

I don't set the hook but take up the tension and let the hook do the work.

I have not tried it on any of our trout lakes yet but I've caught bass, crappie, panfish and pickeral.

[Jibber82]

That is very cool.  Keep us updated on your experience.  I would worry that the fish might feel slight resistance from the weight when taking the bait, but I guess if its light enough this would not be a problem.

[duramaxdan]

So my normal set up out fished my new dropper rig 5-0. Traps were set up within 20 ft of each other. No flags besides wind flags on the dropper set up and multiple calico's and a pickeral on my normal rig. Not calling it quits on the dropper rig, will need the rest of this season and many more to come before coming to a conclusion.

[fishermanna82]

that is what i do except i use a hook with a liter on it.

[OTIS]

Maybe use a three way swivel and run your main line to one eye, the drop weight to another, and a hook and leader from the third?  I may try this.  It seems like it would be a faster setup than the conventional way you stated because you wouldn't have to sound for bottom first.

[Poppa Don]

I've used the dropper rig in the past and have found it quite good. The only things I would change on your rig is, I would put a small jig  (Nuckleball or standup jigs work well) on the bottom with a minnow that is big enough to be able to lift the jig off the bottom. The minnow will struggle to lift off the bottom and when it get tired it drops back to the bottom disturbing the mud or banging the jig on the rocks attracting Lakers, Walleyes, Herring and Ling. Never caught a Whitie on this rig yet though. I would also tie on another hook about a foot above the exsisting hook tied to the line. 

Fish Safe and Often.

Poppa Don

[Perfect Hook Set]

I planed on trying this

[tjkpopup]

i do like whats in the picture but with a three way swivel connected to the sinker 1.5 feet away and a steel leader off 6in of line...

[no3steel]

thats the rig i have been using for years.

[gil_lunkage]

ive tried it with limited results

[duramaxdan]

so a half dozen trips fishing for different species on different lakes i have seen for  myself that the drop shot rig doesn't out fish orunder fish the setup with split shot above the bait. And half of the fish i caught on the drop shot were hooked deep, makes for a real pain when having to retie. i am going to stick with shot above the bait but keep on e tip up rigged with the drop shot. Only change I will make is instaed of having hook right on the line i am going to stand it off using  dropper loop.

[Chaki17]

Have tried this with some success but the tangle sometimes isn't worth the hassel.  It works good if you're have trouble keeping your shiner out of the weeds.  The 3-way swivel that was mentioned I think only adds to the mess if you're shiner is full of it he'll wrap himself up good.