The Donkey Shot

The Donkey Shot

Welcome to Fall!  For those of you overseas who don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to Autumn.  Here in 'Muricha we call it Fall 'cause leaves fall down.  Fall is my favorite time to fish (yep, even more than Spring) because the fish are much more active and willing to leave their homes to chase down bait.  You can throw just about any shad-imitating lure and pull in a limit before the day is done.  For me, Fall is all about the numbers, weeding through the dinks until you find the bigger ones.  And what better way to do that than to catch two bass at once!  (Keep in mind that this may be illegal in some states, know the law in your area before heading out to the lake!)

At this point, many college students who Googled "Donkey Shot" are probably wondering why I'm talking about fish, here's the link you want:  

http://www.drinklab.org/cocktail-recipe.php?ID=6728&Name=Donkey%20Punch&Type=Shot

Ok, now that they are gone, let's talk fishing.  What is a Donkey Shot?  Basically, it's a double fluke rig (aka the Donkey rig) turned vertically.  This double-drop shot set up is nothing new to fishing.  Salt water fisherman have been using a multi-hook drop shot rig since the 1950's.  In fact, many fishermen put way more than two hooks on.  It's not uncommon to see a string of ten or more hooks.  This was an easy way to determine the depth of the fish long before quality sonar units were widely available.  Here's a simple little diagram of the double-drop shot:

There's a lot going wrong with this simple little set up.  First of all, baitfish typically won't position themselves right on top of each other like this, it's just not a very natural presentation.  Secondly, the baits will not work independently of each other.  When you shake the rod tip, those little worms will be dancing as one like a couple of synchronized swimmers, not natural.  And lastly, what if you catch two fish?  (And if you fish this rig enough, it will happen.).  They will be fighting against each other with only about 18 inches of line separating them.  With no way to keep tension on the lower one, you will be lucky to only lose one fish!  So how do we fix these issues and rig this up as a bass killin' machine?  Enter: The Donkey.

What you will need:

Two finesse worms (4-inch Cactus Wren Quail Tails)

Two dropshot hooks (Size 1 Gamakatsu Octopus Hooks)

Two swivels

One dropshot weight

One clear glass bead

Step 1: 

Tie two leaders to each of the swivels.  One leader should be longer than the other, about 16 inches and 24 inches should work well.  You don't have to tie the leaders first, but I do it in this order so that I can use a palomar knot for all my connections.

Step 2:

Thread onto the main line the shorter of the two leaders (do not tie that swivel to the main line, just thread it on and leave it).  Then thread on the clear glass bead.  Once those are in place, tie your longer of the two leaders onto the mainline using a palomar knot and trim off the tag end.  What you have now is two leaders coming from the main line, the shorter leader should be on top and can freely move up and down the main line.

The purpose of the glass bead is two-fold.  It will click against the swivels attracting schooling fish to the area, but more importantly it helps protect the knots used on the swivels. 

Step 3:

Tie on one of the hooks to the shorter leader.  This half is done.  The worm you put on this hook is essentially a weightless worm that will subtly sink and glide over the top of a standard drop shot rig.

Step 4:

On your longer leader, tie up a drop shot as you normally would.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, click the link over to the right and read my post about the drop shot rig.

Step 5:

Take a second to make sure that the top leader is short enough that the hook can't reach to the lower hook.  If it's too long, just cut it off and retie it closer to the swivel.  This top leader can't be too short in my opinion, it's just difficult to tie a hook on a short line is all.

Step 6:

I nose hook my worm 90% of the time on a normal drop shot.  With this rig it's 100% of the time.  I recommend only using this rig in open water, there's just too much going on, it will snag and get wrapped up very easily in any cover.  Since you're in open water, you won't have issues with snags anyway and the nose hook will give your worms much better action.

Step 7:

I always start with two different colors, and I'd suggest putting your confidence color on the bottom as it will typically be the higher producer.  If you find that one color is producing much better, switch the other to that one too for your best chance.

Step 8:

Fish this rig the same way you would any old drop shot.  Basically you are fishing a drop shot and weightless rig at the same time, and if you read my previous posts, you'll know I fish those two rigs the same way anyway!  As I mentioned before, I only throw this in open water as it's just too easy to get all that stuff tangled up in cover.  If the fish are actively schooling and chasing down baitfish, open water is where they are going to be anyway.

When you get bit, it's even more important to reel down until you feel the weight of the fish.  If the fish took the upper worm, you need to make sure that the top swivel is in contact with the glass bead and bottom swivel or you will not get hook penetration on the hook set.

Step 9:

After the hookset, keep your line tight but don't bring him in right away.  Let him swim around out there for a bit dragging that other worm behind him.  That's how you're going to catch two fish at once.  Think about how many times you've caught a fish and as you bring him to the boat you see two or three of his buddies following right behind.  With this rig, that fish is going to be caught too!

This is Franklin.  He liked the Donky Shot

         Have you tried the Donkey Shot, or a similar approach?  Tell us about it down in the comments, and if you try it for the first time from reading this, let us know how you did!