when to drop shot, when to jig

[wv basser]

what makes you pick up one or another?

[cassidyta]

For me it is a matter of what I belive the bottom to be as well as time of year. If I am in an area where I believe or know that there is a rocky bottom, then it is almost always jigs. I will also use heavy jigs in a spot where I believe them the be inside the grass.

I use drop shot when I have a reason to believe they have suspended. I know a lot of people will drop shot with a 6" or less leader, but I prefer to make my best guess at the suspension and adjust to it. Most of my drop shot fish come with a 12 inch leader.
I also like to use a drop shot as a way to locate them and then switch to a jig once I am on them.

I will also drop shot during the spawn. I know that a Pig N Jig will help me get into the nest, but I have found that drop shot allows me to focus on the females who are waiting for a suitable mate. Once I find the nest, I try to bring the drop shot bait parallel to the nest between 5 to 10 foot away.

I believe that both presentations will work in the spawn, but this one allows me to focus in on the females better.

[Joel]

Interesting question. I'm sure that you're going to get a multitude of answers which vary according to where, how, and when.

I pitch a jig & pig into and around lay downs, along/on and over rock walls, and into weed holes, as well as working them through some of the nastiest stuff around.

I pitch, drop, or cast a Drop Shot strictly with a 4 3/4 inch Zoom finesse worm, but that just me. I like to work it along the inside and outside weedbed edges, along drop offs, and on sparse flats.

I opt for a wt'd creature bait when I want to be on the bottom, working it along weedbed edges, down drop offs, as well as on sparse flats. But if I need to down size, then I'll go with a tx-posed tube. If I'm looking for a more stationary presentation with popping rather then working my bait back to the boat, I would opt for a 7-10 inch wt'd worm tx-posed.

There are many guys out there that most likely do the exact opposite as I do, but we both catch fish. The bottom line is you're going to go to those presentations that you have confidence in because they produced fish for you time and time again.