Starting to Party Boat-"Thrown for a Loop"

[BeachBear]

There are some inventions that withstand the test of time. There's fire, the wheel, magnets, and sliced bread. But for fishing there's the Dropper Loop. Anglers can disagree on line, fluoro length, hooks, and so on, but you can't argue on the effectiveness of the Dropper Loop fished on the bottom.

The Dropper Loop reminds me of origami. In origami you get a simple square piece of paper and turn it into a fantastic form. In fishing you get a simple piece of line, do an overlap, a few twists, a pull and BAM, you got yourself a fish killer. The loop that sticks out is perpendicular to the line which helps the bait presentation look very enticing to the fish.

What year did Thomas Edison receive the patent for the electric motor?
A)1842
B)1881
C)1879
D)1856

The answer is (B), 1881. I also use 1881 to help me remember where to put the pieces of the Dropper Loop. I'll make 1 loop 8 inches long and leave 18 inches of line at the end, the tag end. You'll develop your own preference over time, this is just mine and it's easy for me to remember.

With a dropper loop you can pull the loop through the eye of the hook

go under

and tighten

It allows quick change capability between hooks which makes it nice for targeting different fish without re-rigging.

You can also put line through the hook

before making the Dropper Loop to get this.

This takes practice as you can place the hook facing the wrong way. It allows for greater movement of bait or baitfish helping bait presentation.

Sooner or later the Dropper Loop will sag too much or start to get twisted. But, I don't want to re-rig because the bite is good. So I'll cut the loop apart. Once cut, now I have a leader. Some people make a Dropper Loop just to make a leader out of it.



DOUBLE DROPPER LOOP
Instead of catching 1 fish wouldn't it be better to catch 2? The Double Dropper Loop helps to accomplish that. Unless you're like BIG JIM.

(BIG JIM at work making something so hard look so easy. If you look hard you can see a smile kids.)

To make a Double Dropper Loop you make another Dropper Loop above the bottom loop. You want it far enough up so that the loops can't tangle with themselves. I prefer 18 inches away. How did I come up with 18 inches? I add the digits of 1881. 1+8+8+1=18. Also, since the loops are 8 inches each, then if they pointed toward each other, 8+8= 16, then they won't touch and tangle with each other.


REVERSE DROPPER LOOP
What is the opposite of hot? Cold. What is the opposite of bright? Dark. And what is the opposite of deep water? Shallow water.

This is where the Reverse Dropper Loop comes in. When you are fishing shallow water, 0-30 feet, maybe 0-50 feet, the Reverse Dropper Loop is nice or even if the fish are suspending in the upper portion part of the water column.

The reverse of the Dropper Loop comes in the weight's placement. The Reverse Dropper Loop has the weight first, followed by the hook. The Dropper Loop has the hook first, then the weight. The Dropper Loop has the hook first, then the weight. For the Reverse Dropper Loop I'll make an 8 inch loop and leave 18 inches for the leader.

You can have less of a leader, but I always prefer to start long and work it short from there. You can always go short, but you can't go long when cutting the leader. The Reverse Dropper Loop sometimes needs more patience and greater feel than the Dropper Loop. Sometimes the fish will swallow the bait and swim still. You won't feel a tug or TAP TAP.

TIPS
*Practice the loop making at home. Not all deckhands are equal and some won't help you or make you a Dropper Loop. You'll also need the extra practice if the boats rocking pretty good.
*Try different lengths and see what works for you. This isn't the best way to do it. The best way to do it is what's best for you. There's more preferences than fish in the sea.
*Keep your lines tight after dropping down. It helps the hookset, it helps detect the bite, and gets rid of slack line. You can either push a rod up or drive a hook through.
*Shop at a local tackle store. They're all really good experts on loop making and shouldn't mind showing you how.
*Dropper Loop
http://www.animatedknots.com/dropper...matedknots.com
*Watch SportFishing with Dan Hernandez. Yes, I've been on the show, but besides that he teaches really well. Lots of shows just show people catching, but he shows how.
*Reverse Dropper Loop on top, Dropper/Double Dropper Loop on the bottom.

Good luck out there guys for anyone going to start a party. The 3 articles are solid basics and hope they helped you. I hope it helps and empowers you. My screen name is BeachBear and I'm off back to the beach.

[Beresford13861]

another nice report richard! nice going! im sure this helps many!

[BeachBear]

I hope so. There was a good response the last time I went out about helping beginner's. So I figured here's another way of helping. I'm pretty much done for now. I lost a lot of spectra doing the articles, almost have to respool, LOL.