I have to expand on what Rod said here. I would fish it much slower then what he said most of the year. Although right now it probably doesnt matter. But if you want to maximize the bites, slow down a bit. Unless you are fishing where youre not sure if there are fish, and there is a steady bite. The drop shot was 'invented' to be fished vertically. The whole purpose of this rig is to be able to move the bait around alot without moving the weight and its location. If youre fishing on isolated structure, cast it out on top of the structure, pick up the slack, shake the tip a couple inches without moving the weight. Let it sit 15-30 seconds (yes this seems like an eternity) and then shake a bit again. Let it sit again, then drag it slowly polishing the rocks youre on, let it sit, shake, let is sit, shake, and then move a little more. This probably seems tedious, but if youre on the fish, and they arent biting all that willingly you need to slow it down.

Good boat position, a good angle on the structure you are working, and a good presentation will get bit year round doing this.

But what do I know...Ive only caught a little bit more then 200 fish so far this year drop shotting. And yeah, Im also just 18...so take it for what its worth.

BTW...if youre fishing quite a bit of distance away from the boat and in fairly shallow water its a good idea to set the hook up, instead of a low sweeping hook set like you might be tempted to do. Get that line off the rocks before you and the fish start tugging on eachother. That may have been what happened to you on that fish Rob?

Take Care,
Kellen Ellis