Smallmouth Bass Fishing With A Drop Shot

Steve Smith of Commerce, Mich. shot this fascinating GoPro video of a smallmouth bass’ reaction to a drop-shot bait dropped on its nest.

Repeated casts were made to the fish in about 6 feet of water on a lake near Detroit. Watch the entire eight-minute video, as some scenes were close-ups and the bass’ reaction is more visible in some more than others.

And while the video certainly displays how the bass will move the bait off the nest (the hook point was removed and the bait was glued to the shank), it illustrates other factors of interest to anglers.

For example, Smith purposely used heavy white braided line with a 15-pound fluorocarbon leader which didn’t seem to be a factor to the fish. The braid was quite visible but the leader wasn’t. Also, notice how the braid tends to have a bow in the water, an indication of how braid wants to float more than fluorocarbon.