It's in essence an unobstrusive, delicate rig. Now bear in mind you can use a drop shot or heavy drop shot rig, with one or more soft lures. Also imagine lures of different sizes on the same line.
With faster moves the shot (or the lure-shot) will move particles from the bottom.
So you can use it in summer with some room for innovation.
Now in summer that wouldn't be my preferred one, whether on small shallow canals or bigger rivers. There's the cochard weight which works super well. Otherwise, wobbling dead bait on drachko rigs. Note that one single tackle box lets you carry the limited elements that those 3 techniques require!