Locations?

[SKMO]

I often fish two hooks on the DS rig, especially when I am having problems getting fish to bite and want to try a couple colors. It is kind of a pain, and I usually do not mess with the two hooks when they are biting well. You have to lip land every fish because even a little 8" fish shaking it's head can lead to a tangled mess.

I also sometimes use a 3/8 oz jig on the terminal end for weight, with a single hook above. It seems to work best when they are so tight to the bottom you can't see them on your electronics. I have tipped the jig with a worm or grub, but what has come to be my favorite is the little 3" Eakins Crawfish jig trailers. Sometimes maybe 40% of the fish I catch are on the jig rather than the worm above it, more commonly maybe 1 out of 5. I seem to catch quite a few SM on the jig when I use it. I think it does put more fish in the boat but obviously is a little more prone to hang up, not too bad though if you texas rig the plastic on the jig. Make sure you use a real light wire jig, because the normal "lift and reel" hookset with the dropshot is a marginal hookset with a jig.

I don't like to use the 2 hook or jig/hook setup around trees or brushpiles for obvious reasons.

If you break off the whole rig, tying on a swivel, and two hooks plus the weight can take a while. I keep a dozen or so single and double hook rigs made up and ready to tie on. Take about an 8" length of one of those foam lake toy "noodles" and make a bunch of score marks about 1/4" deep all the way around the foam. Pre-tie your hooks and leaders and wrap them around the foam, burying the mono in the score maks you made, and burying the hooks in the foam. This is nice and neat and they won't come unraveled. Saves a lot of time and aggrevation on the water.

[Don House]

Don House a couple of years ago had a great bite later in the afternoons, fishing from mid-day on. I don't remember if it was now or later, but If it was now, I don't believe we are seeing it. Don can let us know.

Well Mr. B no I have not seen it yet, for me it really slows up by 1:00pm. I did have about 2 weeks of really good deep DS spots. Been working the same old deep water docks and even some trees, but it is still alittle early for that one, and it was paying off. But hear in the last week they have seemed to moved back over to the long points and on the bluff ends for me and moved away from suspending, now on the bottom in 25 - 35 foot or as Bill says eating lobster.

These SM are just eating the F/B jig right now in a burnt orange color trailed with a small craw or a baby brush hog for me, well atleast this week. Monday of this week we started out at 5:30am and by 7:00am we had 7 very nice SM just in one spot, unreal! So not yet but I check these spots everyday I'm on the Rock, it won't be long!!

Also to add to the list here is a fun way to use the drop shot rig. I starting playing with this two years ago, instead of using plastics I started to tie on a few rabbit hairs and alittle deer tail to a # 4 or # 2 drop shot hook and making a really neat looking drop shot fly. I have played with all type of fur, hair and streamers in just about every color you can think of. I would go out and catch a few spots and most of them would spit up a good shad then match it the colors and away I go.. And yes I have tried the double hook drop shot works well in open water with these same fly's when I'm chasing schools of fish or on long points.

Good Fishing Everyone

Capt. Don