Strip out or free -spool line until the plug is 50 feet downstream of your boat. When you stop paying out line, the current will make the Hot Shot dive. The stronger the current, the deeper the lure will dive so be sure to maintain constant pressure against it. As you backtroll through an area, allow your boat to drop slowly downstream, keeping the lure actively working at all times by maintaining steady pressure against the current. To keep the plug constantly wiggling and diving, always run your boat downstream slower than the river's natural speed.
Most anglers agree that by watching their rod tip, they can tell just how fast to run their boat.
Some even paint their rod tips orange for easy visibility. A constantly pulsating rod tip indicates the plug is working properly. The faster your rod tip pulses, the deeper the plug is diving. Hold your boat back against the current enough to force the Hot Shot to dive and then thoroughly work through each stretch of fishy water before moving on downstream. River fish treat Hot Shots as invaders to their territories and react to them with savage strikes.