Fishing Double Without The Trouble

North Dakotan Johnnie Candle, a regular on the Professional Walleye Trail, shamelessly mooches new techniques to gain an edge on his competitors. And he isn't above adapting tactics used for other species, such as drop-shotting, which has become a mainstay with clearwater bass fishermen.

Candle first tried drop-shotting a few years ago during an April outing on Lewis and Clark Reservoir organized by Berkley, one of Candle's sponsors. His job was to demonstrate new lures to a group of clients from a major sporting goods chain.

At the first stop, Candle and his partner vertically fished jigs tipped with minnows, 25 feet deep next to submerged bridge pilings. After quickly catching a few walleyes, Candle rigged a 3-inch Power Bait Drop-shot Bass Minnow 18 inches above his jig. The Bass Minnow produced his next three walleyes.

"We caught a bunch of walleyes that day, and did better than other guys who were fishing only one lure at a time," Candle says. "That's what started me on the drop-shot rig."

Since that outing, Candle has switched from the Bass Minnow to a Tournament Strength Berkley Power Minnow. Rainbow shad (pearl, black back) and chartreuse shad are Candle's go-to colors.

DOUBLE UP

Candle favors a jig in place of a drop-shot weight because it lets him fish two different levels simultaneously. He assembles a drop-shot rig by tying a hook to his line with a palomar knot. The tag line of the knot is 1 to 3 feet long, depending on how much separation Candle wants between the jig and the drop-shot bait.

While holding the hook point up, Candle runs the tag line of the palomar knot down through the hook eye. This makes the hook stand away from the line with the point facing up.