The wonder method bandwagon, what’s your biggest disappointment?

[binka]

I’m on a bit of a fashion and fads thing at the moment what with the camo thread as well.

I’ve been thinking back and without a shadow of a doubt my biggest disappointment in terms of the latest wonder method is undoubtedly drop shotting.

I know that some can make this work for them and I really gave this a go but despite getting home with a right arm that felt like its owner had won a free subscription to the adult channel I just can’t get it to work for me, fish yes but anything above a few ounces no.

After two or three hours I would invariably end up digging my heels in to the bankside to find a worm whilst I dreamt up an improvised leger rig for a six foot rod!

What has been your biggest disappointment in terms of the latest “wonder method”?

 

[sam vimes]

I've not even attempted any drop shotting after my dismal experiences with the original overhyped lure fishing fad of the mid/late 90s, jerk baits. I'm not willing to part with any cash for suitable gear.

However, this time round, I do actually know some folks that are having some success with big perch when drop shotting. They do seem to have had to resort to fishing commies though.

 

[S-Kippy]

Drop shotting for me too. I fell for it large and though I know guys who do really well I can barely get a knock....from places that I know are stuffed with perch.

Hardly surprising really....I've never done any good with lures,ever. Got a lovely box full of little rubber wriggly things though. Oo-er missus !

 

[Harvey]

I’ve been thinking back and without a shadow of a doubt my biggest disappointment in terms of the latest wonder method is undoubtedly drop shotting.

Oh... That's disturbing. I'm about to buy two Drennan DropShot rods, and two Fox Rage Ultron Pro 1500 reels. I don't know how many yards of highly coloured braided lines I have ordered. And lots and lots of shads and jigheads from Poland.

Had I known that the Poles were such experts on this kind of fishing, I could have filled bags with goodies this summer. Relax shads, for example. I thought they were american, but they're made in Poland. I went to Gdansk for vacation with the missus and the vee one, and actually visited a local tackle store. They had lots and lots of predatorstuff (lots and lots of everything, really), which I just walked past, not even offering it a single glance. I didn't stop untill I reached the coarsehooks department. I have never seen so many different patterns of Owner hooks in my entire life. I bought quite a lot of them. To decent prices.

All the large perch on the list this year, have been caught on jigs. So I will give it try. It's the kind of lurefishing that resembles coarsefishing the most. You can f.ex. dropshot a lobworm, if you loose confidence in the softbaits.

A 4'' Relax Kopyto Motoroil Glitter mounted on a 10 g jighead with a 5/0 hook will hopefully land me something really nice. I hope.

 

[duncan_m]

Good thread topic - the problem with subjective assessments is that there are so many other factors! The good angler fishing the right spots well at the right time with most methods will catch - the poor one can struggle with any method!
12" chunks of wood and trebles fished hard and fast scored heavily one day on the bay by Lomond golf course but never again elsewhere (and I've not been back to the bay since) - but now I don't even lug one around. They weren't touching live baits that day which is why we started trying alternatives.
Dropshotting is just another variant (refinement) on jig fishing isn't it? Probably the most fished method of all time worldwide (in its widest sense). Tying the hook to act as boom, snood and hook all in one being the 'trick' but in anything but still water I wouldn't see it as optimum - but simple!
Then again I had better go off and try it ?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Yep Dropshotting for me also !!

I had not caught a thing until I saw a bloke on the Sonik stand at the last 5 Lakes Carp Show and told him his Dropshotting rods were NO GOOD and they did not work ?

He asked me about the set up I was using and suggested I use a Light Pole Elastic on the bottom part of the rig and a heavier lead, I now use a 3/4ozs Ardsley bomb.

Although I have only caught Perch up to around the 1 pound mark now, the change in rig has certainly helped.

Bob

 

[Hugh Bailey]

Having had some enjoyable but only moderately successful sessions on the canal with soft plastics, I tried the waggled and chopped worm instead. It seems, for perch at least, a much more selective and successful approach. Both times I've tried I have exceeded anything I've achieved with lures, so I've pretty much abandoned the lure rod. IT didn't help that the mice ate the cork handle last winter though.

 

[john step]

Lures in general and anything plastic in particular ie maggot corn etc.
I do use plastics to balance "proper" bait though.

For the life of me I cannot see that a plastic fish or worm jigged up and down will be more effective that the real thing jigged up and down.

I have caught on"plugs" but I find sink and draw dead uns much better.

 

[steve2]

Boilies, never caught much on them.
Never caught much on lures till I went lure fishing and left all the other tackle at home. Now caught plenty of fish, including a few unusual fish like roach and rudd.

 

[chrissh]

Same for me drop shotting was the biggest disappointment after watching hours and hours of video on YouTube and spending pounds on the set up trying for days – weeks - then months to get a bite 1 year later the kit was on eBay was I glad it sold (I pity the poor sod that brought it)

 

[arthur2sheds]

Another drop-shotting mug here.... that said I love the method and because you are fishing almost instantly it's great when you only have an hour or two.... another method that I've not had too much luck with is the Zig Rig.... just can't get em to work consistently.... once had 7 fish in an afternoon on the method including a 24lb'er.... since then..... Nowt....!

 

[bracket]

For me,of late, it's been the shotgun pellet feeder. I cannot get that device to function with any kind of consistency. Pete

 

[robtherake]

For me,of late, it's been the shotgun pellet feeder. I cannot get that device to function with any kind of consistency. Pete

Me neither; it seems to discharge when it jolly well likes, if the mechanism bothers to engage at all, that is. I'm pleased you mentioned this one - was certain it was me being a tit, as per...

Anyone else struggling with the scoop-shaped pellet feeders? Some of them have sharp edges on the scoop mouth, causing mysterious break-offs (at far less than the line bs) until you suss that the "tail" of the remaining section of line is exactly the same length each time and level with the sharp edge. I complained to Preston, who were very nice about it and sent out a selection of replacement feeders by way of an apology, but have lost confidence in the method, which seems to be flawed from the outset.

 

[wa1115]

Dropshot.. I say that at the minute but started Dropshot in January with brilliant results on the river close to boats when the Perch are all schooled up. Tried it a few times at local beck with terrible results but and I emphasise 'but' because in the winter this is an excellent way to catch plenty of perch and the odd pike. Ponds / commercials not so good for Dropshot as not so many bait fish and the perch don't seem so predatory as they do in canals and rivers (possibly because used to eating maggot). That's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it..

 

[pf0x]

Another drop-shotting mug here.... that said I love the method and because you are fishing almost instantly it's great when you only have an hour or two.... another method that I've not had too much luck with is the Zig Rig.... just can't get em to work consistently.... once had 7 fish in an afternoon on the method including a 24lb'er.... since then..... Nowt....!

Ditto. I love the idea of lure/drop shot fishing but I'm totally useless at it. I can catch pike but perch? On a lure? Not a hope.

I actually enjoy sitting down. Baiting up. I enjoy watching a float or waiting for an alarm to go. I don't 'need' to be active.

I'm rubbish at carp fishing full stop. I'm not anti carp but put me on an overstocked puddle and I'll catch the odd one but that's it. Meanwhile the bloke up the bank is into his 20th of the day......

 

[qtaran111]

It's a shame to see drop shotting taking a bashing, although not surprised as its one of the latest fads being jumped on by the tackle manufacturers, papers etc. I don't think it's any more "faddy" than chods, zigs, glugs, etc which seem aimed more at catching the angler than the fish.

Drop shotting has its place and for me is perfect for canals cos it's light and you can roam with the advantage of being able to keep the lure stationary in the swim (unlike spinning or jigging). The rod, reel and line is also flexible to use with jigging or with a worm instead of lure. Most times I see others doing it they make the same mistakes, casting out too far, retrieving like they're spinning or wagging the rod up and down like they're hammering in nails.

As for me, the "wonder method" I always fail at is bread. I know it's not a fad (or longest running fad ever) but my old man says its a wonder method and I can't catch a cold on it.

 

[thecrow]

Since this thread was started I have tried to think back to whether I have ever thought of anything as the new "wonder method" I can honestly say that I cant think of any method where I have thought it was the wonder one, might be down to me being a cynical sod.

What I have fallen for in the past have been ground baits and flavours (mostly naturals and essential oils) some of which have certainly been better than others but "wonder bait" never. One that I have found to catch almost everywhere I have used it is Mexican Onion Oil, fairly expensive and very very smelly so I suppose that's something I have fallen for in the past.

I think I would be quite good at drop shotting as the shake I get in my right hand when using it for anything might just be the right movement for that method

 

[steve2]

Just pick up a email from a lure website, latest import from America the Ned Rig. Suppose to be better than Drop shotting. If it takes off throw away your drop shotting gear, it's old hat now and join the Ned rig bandwagon.

 

[thecrow]

Just pick up a email from a lure website, latest import from America the Ned Rig. Suppose to be better than Drop shotting. If it takes off throw away your drop shotting gear, it's old hat now and join the Ned rig bandwagon.

Looks to me like something you might find in the bushes on popular waters

 

[neil1970]

Totally agree with the dropshotting.

This method was my introduction to lure fishing in April 2014 - I did catch a few fish, and have done since when I've bothered to try it, but 'normal' lure fishing ie jigheads, plugs, jerkbaits and spinning has been much more fun, and much more rewarding.

---------- Post added at 16:44 ---------- Previous post was at 16:40 ----------

Looks to me like something you might find in the bushes on popular waters

Yep, tried it once and will give it another go, I guess its no coincidence that the lure in your post is called the 'TRD' - add a vowel thats last on the list and ...