Three Days at the Bassmaster Open on Famed Lake Amistad, Del Rio, Texas
By Derrek Stewart, original 2/16/14, updated 12/30/25
If I had to choose only
one technique to use while fishing from the back deck as a co-angler in bass
competition, the dropshot would be it. The dropshot technique is versatile,
catches big bass, and has proven to be a tournament-winning technique. It's a
great fish-catching tool that can adapt to a multitude of conditions.
A Typical Drop Shot Set-Up
My First B.A.S.S. Open
Rapala Pro Troy Lindner Pre-fishing the Devil's River
I'm on another great road trip
with my travel partner, professional bass angler Troy Lindner. Troy and I have
traveled from Los Angeles to Lake Amistad, Del Rio, Texas. An amazing journey
packed with excitement and challenges throughout.
The Bassmaster Opens are draw
tournaments with a non-shared weights format. After two days of competition, I
made the final top 12 cut, relying heavily on the dropshot technique, which I
adjusted daily to stay effective.
Fishing behind my
professional angler draws was demanding. Each day, the pros fished in different
areas, pushing me to observe and adapt. My catches only happened after detailed
adjustments, showing how persistence and flexibility can lead to success.
Day One
Day One Draw from Japan, Deps Pro Kenta Kimura fishing Castle Canyon.
My draw for the
start of the tournament was Japanese angler Kenta Kimora. I was excited to see
how Kimora would fish and to learn from him and his unique approach. Exposure
to new water, new methods, and the different ways anglers fish is the prime
reason that I travel and compete outside my home waters.
Despite my gear and
protection, the bitterly cold morning with temperatures at 30 degrees
Fahrenheit and a sub-freezing wind chill made fishing extremely tough. While
driving in the boat, the wind and temperatures produced a painful brain freeze.
While fishing, the temperatures caused water on my line to freeze in the
guides, making casting a real challenge, adding to the difficulty of fishing in
such conditions.
Regardless, I was
there for one reason. I had to power through the brutally cold conditions,
create bites, and capitalize on opportunities when they presented themselves.
While observing Kimora, I noticed he was fishing with plastic crawdad baits. We
started on a relatively flat area with scattered submerged brush.
His bites came
slowly, but he would catch a bass periodically. I didn't want to copy directly,
as I fished the same water after him. I also detected that placing your lure on
a bush was key. I rerigged my dropshot set-up with a Rapala Trigger X scented worm
in a Margarita Mutilator pattern. I also switched my dropshot weight to a Team
Davies Ventana dropshot weight.
The Ventana is the
world's only internal rattling dropshot weight. I selected a 1/2-ounce weight
for a few reasons. 1) The heavier weight would help with casting/ pulling line
through the iced-up rod eyes. 2) This size weight would help cast further away
from the boat, possibly water not tapped by the Pro. 3) The conditions were so
cold that Kimora's slower pace allowed me to pull the
heavier weight through the brush without snagging
I also selected the
Ventana primarily for the rattle. Seeing the Pro use craw imitating baits, I
used the rattle to create low-frequency clicks, helping bass locate my worm.
All my bites happened when I slowly moved my worm until I felt a bush. Once my
worm was on the bush, I would shake the Ventana slightly and periodically. This
tactic worked, and I managed to place a Co-angler limit in the livewell.
Day Two
Bassmaster Elite Series Angler Gary Klein Recapping Day Two with Tournament Director Chris Bowes
My draw this day
was Matt Lee, Jordan Lee's brother. The Lee brothers were making a name for
themselves in competitive bass fishing. Jordan would later go on to win
back-to-back Bassmaster Classic Titles.
Running to a much
different area of the lake, we fished long tapering points and isolated high
spots throughout the day. I started rigged with a dropshot, the same as day
one. Day two wasn't nearly as cold, but the conditions were still tricky, and
the bite was just as slow. Lee was catching bass, and anglers, both Pros and
Co-anglers, around me were scoring. I wasn't getting
bites.
Observing Elite Series Pro Edwin Evers and his Co-angler
While watching for
clues, I noticed that my dropshot, when I was making another cast, that my teardrop Ventana was covered in silty mud. Observing this, I knew what to
do. I switched my Ventana to a round ball tungsten dropshot weight. It was time
to bounce ball, similar to Halibut fishing, on a micro-scale.
I wasn't getting
bites with the Ventana or the worm, so why not switch the worm colors too? I
rigged a two-toned brown and dark blue/purple worm color and slightly shortened
the drop length (the distance between the worm and the weight). On my next
cast, I started fishing more vertically. I intended to bounce the round
tungsten ball on the bottom sediment, creating a muddy cloud and a thumping
noise. It was another way to help lethargic bass locate my worm. It worked, and
again, after considering the conditions and adjusting, I started loading my side
of the livewell.
After weigh-in on
day two, I was delighted to see that I landed in eleventh place, securing a
spot to fish with the top twelve in the day three cut. Outstanding, I was
stoked.
Day Three
Professional Bassmaster Angler and Amistad Guide left, the Author Center and Pro Angler Troy Lindner
I drew Pro-Angler Kurt Dove, a local bass fishing guide on Amistad. That was excellent. Who is
better to fish with than a successful local guide? Dove covered more water and
a more varied structure than any of my Pro Amistad draws.
For a long time,
neither of us caught a fish nor had a bite. Nonetheless, this was my first
B.A.S.S. event, and I was fishing on Championship Sunday. 138 Co-anglers missed
the cut and would love to trade places with me. Regardless of what happened the
rest of the day, I was happy and positive.
Dove did explain
that he thought the bite situation would have been better at the initial stops.
He went on to say he was after bigger fish in these earlier locations, and he still had his prime water, a numbers-over-size location, to visit. After
another relocation run, he shut down the outboard, telling me this was
basically the final area before weighing in, a grass flat 15 to 20 feet deep.
Throughout Dove's
earlier fishing spots, rock dominated, so I was fishing with the Ventana on my
dropshot set-up. However, on this grass spot, the Ventana was occasionally
hanging up on the grass; I based this on the pace Dove was moving through the
area. I also had a couple of subtle bites but didn't hook up.
I then noticed
grass strands floating on the surface. Due to the subtle bites, I wanted to
present my offering more slowly than Dove had the boat moving. Based on my
observations, I retied my drop to be somewhat longer than the floating grass
strands (18 inches) and switched to the Team Davies standard teardrop weight
and a shorter ice-blue Trigger X worm. The standard teardrop is slimmer than
the Ventana, and it would slide more easily through the grass.
Observing the length of the grass, I tied the length of my drop (the distance between the hook and the weight) longer than the grass to compensate for the angle of my line. I wanted the worm to be at or near the top of the grass. Because I'm casting away from the boat, and not fishing the drop shot rig straight up and down, a longer drop was necessary to keep the offering where I wanted it.
I watched Dove cast
directly forward of his boat, so I asked if it was okay if I cast forward but
at an angle away from his targets. Thankfully, Dove replied that he didn't
mind. I didn't need permission, but I like to show respect and stay out of the
Pro's way. I prefer to avoid having the Pro react to me, adjusting boat
position and other factors, because they're fishing against what I'm doing,
rather than staying out of their head and allowing them to hopefully forget
about me.
My technique:
Casting forward, allowing the weight to touch the bottom, coming tight, and
just following the bait's position with the rod tip. With the longer drop and
no movement of the line, it would remain in a relative position at the top of
the submerged grass. Current would give the worm all the action I needed, and
the ice-blue translucent color had a sharp contrast to the solid-green grass.
As soon as the boat movement placed the worm beyond a perpendicular position and started to drag behind the
boat's movement, I would reel in and make another cast, starting the process
over. This day's change produced my biggest Co-angler limit of the tournament,
moving me from eleventh to eighth place in the final standings!
The Key to Day Three
Day
3, Heading to the Scales
I would cast
forward, let the drop weight touch down, and stay tight to my bait without
moving it. As the boat moved forward, all my bites occurred when my
presentation was perpendicular to the boat. Why? The bass had no idea where my
fake worm was compared to the boat's position. The reason was the length of my
drop, in relation to the angle of my line and the height of the grass, which
directly affected how exposed or concealed my presentation appeared.
At the beginning of
my cast, the angle of my line was too shallow, which concealed my presentation
in the grass. As the boat moved, the angle of my line would change. Based on
the bass's response, they preferred my worm halfway through the process, when my
line angle was the steepest relative to the grass bed. When the boat kept
moving and my drop was now behind the halfway point, the line angle began to
descend again, resulting in no bites. Line angles are important when bass are
particular about how they prefer to feed.
It was a subtle
difference, but a critical factor that allowed me to anticipate and capitalize
on the bites. Details matter. Paying attention to these small variations can
make a significant difference in your fishing success.
Changing With the Conditions
With clouds and strong wind
present, the fish favored Trigger X 5.5" Probe Worm Cheap Shot color (middle
position) & Dirty Grape color (bottom position). When sunshine, blue skies, and a calm breeze appeared, the 4" Probe Worm Pro Blue color (top
position) scored. The 3/8 oz. Ventana
rattling drop shot weight (left position), 1/4 oz. Tear Shot Slim Shot (center
position), and the 3/8 oz. Tear Shot Bulk Shot tungsten weight (right position). The
length of the drop is shown from the individual Slim Shot weight below the reel
and the single Pro Blue worm far left. The 8 lb. fluorocarbon line is not
visible in the photo.
Three days and
three completely different dropshot rigs, each with a different weight, a
different worm, and a different presentation. The dropshot is versatile and
adaptable. It is a great technique when fishing behind another angler,
especially when the front deck angler is using traditional 'Power Style'
techniques. If you know how, it doesn't matter how fast the front-deck angler
is moving; the dropshot doesn't have to be fished slowly to be effective.
Change is Constant
Day Three Weigh-in, an Incredible Feeling
When the drop shot bite slows down, don’t be too quick to
abandon the technique altogether. Sometimes the best adjustment is still within
the drop shot itself: shorten or lengthen the leader, change the size or style
of the soft plastic, lighten the weight, switch colors, or alter how much
action you give the bait. Because a drop shot keeps the lure suspended in the
strike zone and allows subtle movement with very little rod action, small
changes can make the same presentation look completely different to pressured
or finicky bass. Before picking up another rod, make a simple adjustment inside
the same system—you may already be fishing the right technique, just not the
right version of it.
By watching
carefully what the anglers around me were doing, what was or wasn’t working for
them, and the conditions on hand, I made changes each day. Sometimes there were
multiple changes on the same day: the result was the Prize of Adjustments.
Day Three Final Results
Sponsor Shout Out - Team Davies Fishing
Team Davies Fishing produces superior weights, and its
diverse product line will handle every condition you encounter. http://www.teamdavies.com/
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Team_davies_Ventana_Tear_Shot_Weights/descpage-DAVIES.html
