On the drop?

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

When fishing on the drop with a waggler, what is the best rig, and how do you spot bites properly?

 

(First post so hello to everyone)

[Newt]

Hi DC and welcome.

 

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No idea on the waggler question but you should get some excellent suggestions pretty soon.

[DavyR]

When fishing on the drop with a waggler, what is the best rig, and how do you spot bites properly?

 

(First post so hello to everyone)

 

The most common rig is to place the bulk of the shot immediately under the float (or locking it on either side of the ring), and spread the remaining shot loading equally down the line, stopping 1-2 feet above the hook. These shot will normally be size 8 or 10.

 

This gives a nice even "drop", using small baits in water up to about 6 feet deep. For deeper water, or if there are a lot of small fry attacking your bait, more of the shot loading could go further down the line, to speed the bait past the troublesome tiddlers.

 

The key to good bite detection with a waggler is to "dot" the float down so only a tiny portion shows (just enough so that you can see it) and to use an insert waggler rather than a straight one where possible. These have a slimmer tip and show up small bites more effectively.

[Steve Walker]

My typical on-the-drop rig for a shallow (< 5') stillwater would be:

 

A Drennan Dart, Stillwater Blue or similar, set to the depth of the water. Lock in place with all of the shot except: 2 No 8 at half depth. 1 No 8 half way between those and the hook. 1 No 8 about 6 inches from the hook. You want a float sensitive enough that you can see the effect of each group of shot settling, which is why it needs to be something with a long, slim antenna. I don't personally bother dotting such floats right down (as I would for a thicker tip), but nor do I necessarily wait for the float to go under to strike.

 

 

You need to figure out how long it normally takes each shot to sink and settle. This will take a bit of trial and error because you can't do it without bait on the hook and you can't know whether you've got a bite because you are still trying to work out how long it takes to settle when you haven't. Anyway, once you know how many seconds it takes for each shot to settle and the float to sink a little more, you cast, feed and count. If the float is late registering a shot, strike. Once the bait has settled, leave it a little while and then repeat the process.

 

The most efficient way of fishing on the drop is with a pole or whip, in my opinion. For that, I use a little cane stemmed float with a spherical balsa body and a nylon bristle. Since it is less prone to tangling, I use a string of No 8 or 10 shots evenly spaced down the line.