Drop shot fishing for perch has transformed the way UK anglers target specimen fish. Twenty years ago, most perch fishing was done with a worm under a float or a spinner worked back through the swim. Both still catch fish. Neither comes close to the consistency of a drop shot rig worked slowly around structure on a cold autumn morning.
This guide covers everything: how to set up the rig correctly, why the Palomar knot is non-negotiable, how to fish it through the seasons, and what to do differently in summer versus winter. If you are already perch fishing and not using a drop shot, this is the technique that changes results.
[Image placeholder: An angler holding a rod with a drop shot rig over the edge of a canal, the bait visible just below the surface]
What is Drop Shot Fishing?
Drop shot fishing – also called drop shotting – is a finesse lure technique that originated in bass fishing in the United States before crossing to UK perch fishing in the late 2000s. By 2015 it had become the dominant UK perch method. By 2020, it was the method that most serious perch anglers reached for first.
The principle is straightforward. A weight sits on the bottom. A soft plastic bait hangs from a hook tied to the mainline 12 inches (30cm) above the weight. The rig is cast to a feature or lowered over the side, the weight makes contact with the bottom, and the bait is worked by lifting and lowering the rod tip with subtle twitches while the weight stays on the lakebed or riverbed.
What makes this so effective for perch is the combination of holding position and movement. The bait stays in one place – right next to the piece of structure the perch are using – but moves just enough to trigger a strike. It puts a realistic-looking prey item in front of a fish and keeps it there.
Why Perch Respond to Drop Shot
Perch are ambush predators. They do not chase prey over long distances – they sit in or next to cover and wait for food to come to them. A bait that covers water fast and moves constantly (a spinner retrieved at pace, a jig worked aggressively) passes through their killing zone too quickly. The drop shot bait sits at the right depth, in the right spot, and moves just enough to look alive.
The depth control is also crucial. Perch often hold at a specific depth in the water column – not always on the bottom. The 12-inch hook link puts the bait in the zone. On a deep gravel pit, perch may be holding at 8 feet in 12 feet of water; a drop shot lets you precisely fish that 4-foot strip. No other method achieves the same accuracy at depth.
How to Set Up a Drop Shot Rig
[Image placeholder: Drop shot rig components laid out on a dark surface – pencil weight, size 4 hook, 2-inch soft plastic worm, and fluorocarbon leader]
What You Need
- Rod: Light spinning rod, 6-7ft, rated 1-10g or 2-12g. Medium-fast to fast action for sensitivity.
- Reel: 1000-2500 size fixed spool reel.
- Mainline: 8-10lb braid (0.06-0.10mm diameter). Braid’s zero stretch transmits every movement to the bait and every bite to you.
- Leader: 3ft (1m) of 6-10lb fluorocarbon. Near-invisible underwater and abrasion-resistant against the spines and gill covers of perch.
- Hook: Size 4 drop shot hook (wide gape, short shank).
- Weight: Pencil-style drop shot weight, 3-7g for canals and rivers, up to 10g in deeper or faster water.
- Bait: 2-3 inch soft plastic worm or paddle tail shad.
Tying the Rig
Step 1. Attach your braid mainline to the fluorocarbon leader using a double grinner (double uni) knot. Pull firm and trim the tags close.
Step 2. Thread the leader through the hook eye from the point side, then back through from the eye side, so you have a loop of doubled line. Pass the hook through this loop and pull tight. This is the Palomar knot.
The Palomar knot is not optional. It is the only knot that keeps a drop shot hook sitting horizontally at 90 degrees to the line. Every other knot allows the hook to rotate and hang downward, which kills hook-up rate on the delicate takes you get from perch. Tie it correctly, check the hook sits at right angles before you fish, and retie if it doesn’t.
Step 3. Leave a tag end of approximately 12 inches (30cm) below the hook. Clip your pencil weight to the end of this tag using the built-in sliding clip.
Step 4. Thread a 2-3 inch soft plastic worm or paddle tail through the nose of the bait, pushing the hook point in just far enough to be skin-hooked, with the tail hanging free. The hook point should just nick through the skin.
[Image placeholder: Close-up of a correctly tied Palomar knot on a drop shot hook, showing the hook sitting horizontally at 90 degrees to the leader]
Adjusting the Hook Link
12 inches is the standard UK starting length. In very weedy or snaggy swims, shorten to 6-8 inches so the bait clears the bottom debris but stays in the strike zone. In open water where perch are actively chasing fry higher in the water column, lengthen to 18-24 inches.
Soft Plastic Baits for Drop Shotting
Two main categories perform differently and suit different conditions.
Finesse worms (Keitech Easy Shiner, Reins ADB worm, and similar) are best fished static with subtle twitches. The tail produces action even with minimal rod movement, which is exactly what you want when perch are lethargic in cold water or under fishing pressure. Natural colours – grey, white, green pumpkin, natural shad – work best in clear water.
Paddle tail shads (Gunki Whiz, Kopyto 6cm, and similar) are worked with a stop-start retrieve and produce stronger vibration and visual profile. Better in coloured water where perch are hunting by lateral line and feel rather than sight. Chartreuse, hot tiger, and fluorescent orange stand out in murky canal water.
For all-round use: start with a 2-3 inch natural-coloured finesse worm. If you are getting no bites after 20 minutes on a swim you know holds fish, switch to a paddle tail in a brighter colour.
How to Fish Drop Shot
Finding the Right Spot
Look for structure. Bridge supports, lock gates, mooring posts, moored boats, fallen trees, sunken branches, lock walls, deep channel bends. Perch are ambush predators using features as cover and attack positions. Start your session by walking the bank and noting every piece of obvious structure, then work through them systematically.
The Retrieve
Lower or cast the rig to your chosen feature. Allow the weight to touch bottom – you will feel this through the braid as a slight tap or slackening. Engage the reel and take up slack until the rod tip is slightly bent.
Work the rig with small upward twitches of the rod tip, 2-5cm of movement, then pause. The bait quivers and darts. The pause is when most bites come. Perch often take the bait on the fall or during a static pause, not on the movement itself.
In warm autumn water (12-16°C), fish more actively – twitch every 5-10 seconds with shorter pauses. In cold winter water (below 8°C), slow everything down. A twitch followed by a 20-30 second pause can be the difference between a bite and nothing.
Counting Down
On still water, count as the rig sinks on the cast. If you catch a fish, note the count that produced the bite. Perch in a water often hold at the same depth across a swim, and counting down repeats the presentation at the same level each cast.
Working Through a Swim
Do not stay in one spot if you are not getting bites. Fish 3-4 different positions around any piece of structure before moving to the next. Perch may be sitting on one specific face of a bridge support or one side of a lock gate. Work methodically before concluding the fish are not there.
Drop Shot Fishing Through the Seasons
Autumn (September to November) is the peak season. Perch feed aggressively as water cools from summer highs into the 10-15°C range, shoals tighten around structure, and prey fish group up near features. Use a paddle tail shad with a more active retrieve. October is the single best month of the year for UK drop shot perch fishing.
Winter (December to February) requires a slower approach. Perch are still catchable but feeding windows narrow. Fish with a finesse worm, very subtle movements, and prolonged pauses. Midday through early afternoon is often the most productive window when water temperature peaks. Below 4°C, expect very few bites on stillwaters; river perch stay marginally more active due to oxygenation.
Spring (March to May) is disrupted by spawning. River close season (15 March to 15 June) removes river drop shotting from the picture. Stillwater perch spawn in April-May and are not worth targeting seriously until late May when post-spawn fish recover and resume feeding.
Summer (June to August) produces perch but the fish are less concentrated than in autumn. Dawn and dusk are the most productive times. Watch for fry bashing activity on the surface – adult perch attacking shoals of fry in open water – and work a drop shot or small lure near the edge of these attacks rather than into the middle.
Tackle Tips and Practical Advice
Pencil weights on canals. You will lose weights to shopping trolleys, submerged brickwork, and other debris in canal swims. Pencil weights have a sliding clip and are cheap to replace without retying. Buy a selection pack and factor the losses in.
Retie when the knot feels off. A drop shot Palomar knot should seat cleanly with the hook at exactly 90 degrees. If it does not look right, cut it off and retie. A bad knot failure on a 2lb+ fish is far more painful than 30 seconds of retying.
Wire trace. Not required for perch. Only use a wire trace if you are fishing waters where pike are present and you want to avoid bite-offs if a pike takes the soft plastic.
Landing perch. Perch under about 12oz can be swung to hand. Any fish above that is better netted. The dorsal spines can go through skin – handle a perch by supporting the body from below, avoiding the spines, not by gripping through the dorsal. Wet your hands before handling.
[Image placeholder: A specimen perch being lowered back into canal water from the side of a landing net, the angler’s hands wet and supporting the fish carefully]
Frequently Asked Questions
What weight drop shot weight should I use for perch?
3-5g covers most canal and river perch fishing. Use 7-10g in deeper water (over 4 metres) or where there is current that would otherwise move the weight. The weight should be heavy enough to keep contact with the bottom without dragging – if you can feel the weight on the bottom but the braid goes slack when you pause, go heavier.
What is the best hook size for drop shot perch?
Size 4 is the standard UK choice for drop shot perch. Use a size 2 if you are fishing a larger soft plastic (4 inch+) and want a bigger gape. Drop shot hooks have a wide gape and short shank specifically designed to sit at the right angle when tied with a Palomar knot – do not substitute a standard hook pattern.
How long should the hook link be on a drop shot rig?
12 inches (30cm) is the standard starting length for most UK drop shot fishing. Shorten to 6-8 inches in snaggy swims. Lengthen to 18-24 inches when perch are hunting higher in the water column in summer. The 12-inch default works for the majority of structured canal and river fishing.
Can you drop shot fish from a float tube or boat?
Yes – fishing vertically from a boat or float tube is one of the most effective ways to use a drop shot rig on large open stillwaters where perch are found at specific depths. Lower the rig rather than cast, feel for bottom contact, and work the bait vertically. On Rutland Water and similar reservoirs, vertical drop shotting from a boat in autumn is how the biggest perch are consistently caught.
Is drop shot fishing only for perch?
No. Drop shot fishing in the UK is used for zander (same structure-orientated approach, heavier hook, larger plastic), chub (river eddies, overhanging branches), and even bass from rock marks in sea fishing. Perch is the species it has become most associated with, partly because perch respond so predictably to the technique and partly because their preference for hard structure makes them the ideal drop shot target.