Power Shotting for Spring Bass

As bass move into the shallows each spring, they start to stage around available cover both in search of food as well as bedding areas as they prepare to spawn. 

Though there are many days when reaction baits like chatterbaits and swim jigs may be effective, there will be times when a more subtle presentation may be needed to trigger these shalow bass into biting. One "deep water" finesse technique that has gained popularity when fishing the shallows over the last several years is the drop shot rig.

When fishing highly vegetated lakes and ponds however, a traditional drop shot may not stand up to bass that bury themselves in the grass and have to "horsed" out.  

Upsizing to a power shot rig (drop shot on steroids) maybe just the adjustment needed as bass pro Gerald "G-man" Swindle discusses in the following video...

Another case where the power shot works great? 

When wanting to fish a Carolina rig in an area where the bottom is covered with slimy algae. The power shot rig keeps the slime at the bottom of the rig rather than riding up the leader line and over the bait as it does on a Carolina rig since the power shot weight is below the bait not inline with it like on a Carolina rig!

What Is a Power-Shot Rig?

Every so often I run across an article or video that cause me to pause and reflect on how I learned certain techniques over the years…

The video provided below cause me to think back to an ABA Weekend Series tournament over 15 years ago I was fishing as a non-boater. During the event, I was trying to fish a conventional Texas-rigged 7″ worm that kept getting fouled by the slimy algae covering the bottom. On the other hand, the boater was able to keep fishing and catching, while I was constantly clearing my rig of “bottom snot”.

When I asked how the heck he was avoiding the snot issue, he said he was fishing a power version of a traditional drop shot rig. It didn’t take me long to figure it out and add the drop/power shot rig to my bassin’ tool kit as well!

Take a moment and listen to pro bass angler John Murray’s insight into when and how to fish the power shot rig!

Interesting!