John Falterman explained that the idea for stupid fishing came to him during a charter trip a few years ago.
“We ran out of shrimp, so I put a plastic tail on the drop-shot rig treble hook. It worked,” Falterman said. “But the fish were nipping at the plastic and ripping it off the hook, so I cut off a half-inch piece from the front of the bait with scissors.”
That did the trick.
“I think about what it’s doing,” Falterman said. “The drop-shot weight is on the bottom and the hook is off the bottom with the bait fluttering in the current. It’s more natural than bouncing a piece of plastic with jighead.
“An added advantage is that people can feel a bite easier than with a jighead on the bottom.”
Here’s how to build the rig:
1) Cut a 40-inch length of 30-pound-test monofilament. Tie a 1-ounce bank or bell sinker on one end and a No. 6 treble hook on the other. Grab the line at a point where the hook leg is about half the length of the sinker leg and tie an overhand loop into the line. The line from the reel is attached to this loop.
2) Snip a 1/2-inch piece from the front of a plastic lure and discard the piece.
3) Insert one prong of the treble hook into the cut end and out through the top of the plastic lure.
4) The finished bait should ride at an angle to the hook so it flutters in the current.
