California’s Skeet Reese, a two-time winner on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2010, says a dropshot rig is hard to beat in the pre- or post-spawn periods. "It’s not always the technique for catching the biggest fish," he said, "but if you’re around a bed or blind-casting around cover, a dropshot is money." His preferred setup features 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100 percent fluorocarbon line, a 2/0 Trokar wide-gap hook and a 6-inch Berkley Hand Pour worm in the triple margarita or watermelon magic colors. The hook is tied eight to 10 inches above the weight. "It’s not an easy rig to flip into trees or skip," he said. "It’s better to concentrate on the outer edges of tules, grasslines, the edges of docks or on points. "If I think there’s a bed in the area, I’ll throw it to a little hole in the grass or to the side of a laydown or a piling on a dock. I’ll let it dead-stick (lie motionless) there for a little while, then I’ll give it a little shake. Try to keep the weight in one spot, but have the worm move up and down a little. That’s how you’ll generate that strike." If he’s fishing a sloping point or bank, he’ll cast it out, let it hit bottom, and then pull it a couple of feet with a series of small tugs. "It’s not a bait you want to drag long distances, like a Carolina rig," he said. "If fish are in the vicinity, they’ll come to it pretty quickly. But if I know there’s a bed there, I’ll keep it there a little longer."