Skipping a bait

[Skunked again]

Having a hard time learning myself this one. Have watch a few videos, tried it, still can't get it down.

 

To cut down on the severity of backlashes, I put some electrical tape on the spool, that helped.

Just watched a video by Brian lattimer, said to start with a spinning rod, and weightless stick bait. To get the motion down. 

 

What say you?

 

[Log Catcher]

I have to agree about starting with a spinning rod. That is how I do it. I can create a real mess trying to skip with a baitcaster.

[Boomstick]

I have generally managed to control the backlashing just fine on a baitcaster, but my biggest challenge is getting it to skip good. After a day on a canoe of rowing around dock to dock and skipping under docks, I generally finish the day skipping pretty well but it takes me a while to get it right again.

 

But yeah, it's definitely easier on a spinning reel.

[Mastermarsh]

On top of what was mentioned above, a shorter rod will make it easier for you to get the proper skipping motion. Using a pegged texas rigged flat plastic creature bait is the easiest to learn with, a 3/8 jig with the same trailer is also a good bait to learn on. 

 

Or you could just buy a Tatula SV TW, it has become my dedicated skipping reel. It's basically skipping for dummies.

[PhishLI]

Everyone's different, but this helped me in the beginning. Where I had space to skip, I'd hang the bait around 16" below the tip when starting the skip. It was hit or miss. One day I was fishing near a bridge that was perfect for skipping under. The down side is that there are bushes everywhere. There was no way to drop the bait much as it would get snagged on the back-roll. This forced me to drop it only a few inches below the tip before the skip and do more of a  roll-flick than a roll cast. I was able to skip more successfully instantly with this shortened bait drop and more constrained cast. But it was also a magic moment where it all clicked and I figured out where I needed to use my thumb once the bait was flying. The shorter bait drop was sort of like training wheels. I eased into dropping the line a bit more and gradually over a period of time my skipping in less confined areas with a typical bait drop and casting motion improved greatly.

[schplurg]

First time I tried skipping was a crank bait. Miserable failure.

 

Second time was a Zoom Super Fluke T-rigged. Pretty easy to get it to skip. I just pretended I was skipping a rock. If the water isn't super smooth don't bother. I used a spinning reel.

[N Florida Mike]

I use a spinning reel for skipping, which I do a lot of. I use a 6 1/2 foot medium rod with a fast tip and 10 pound mono, or 20 pound braid.You should go up on the pound test if you fish heavy brush. But 10 -12 pound mono or 20 pound braid is what I use for docks and what I consider light brush.  The bait that I would learn on is a zoom speed craw. I use one bb shot attached just above the bait. Of course, You could go up on the weight if youre fishing deeper water. I fish a lot of water under 5 feet, so I prefer a light weight with skipping so it doesnt sink too fast.

The motion is like skipping a rock, or like a sidearm baseball throw. Since I did a lot of both, it came easy for me. You want to start low to the water. I think one thing that helps me is that I usually fish from a jon boat which sits me lower in the water.

It is very satisfying to make a good skip and get way back under a dock or brush pile that you would not have been able to reach with an overhand cast. The tap at the end of the line is the payoff !

Best way to learn is to go do a lot of it. Docks are usually best, because they offer plenty of different angles to try  (and fish ! ) 

[Skunked again]

Thanks to all for the replies! 

I plan on going tommorow, I think I will force myself to only have skipping rod on the deck. Going to try spinning rod also.

- do you practice this at home? Use an old jig? Stand on a bucket?

[Brad Reid]

One of the very best spinning gear instructors? Captain Chris Myers.

 

Watch this video for some great tips.

 

As a matter of fact, for anyone who uses spinning gear, all of his videos are great for a really good primer on proper usage. 

 

Brad

 

How to skip with spinning gear

[Allaroundfishing]

47 minutes ago, Skunked again said:

Thanks to all for the replies! 

I plan on going tommorow, I think I will force myself to only have skipping rod on the deck. Going to try spinning rod also.

- do you practice this at home? Use an old jig? Stand on a bucket?

Keeping a rod to skip on is good for sure, it makes you want to skip/force you to. What really helped me get good was using a 3/8 jig with a ragetail craw on, the craw and jig skip pretty well because of the flatness of the craw. Find a target to skip and and much like shooting a bow for competition, pick your target and dont take your eye off where you want to hit until it hits there. As you skip and it hits the water you need to keep your thumb so the line is barely touching the pad of your thumb, also you will get longer and smoother skips if you raise the tip of the rod as the bait skips. If i were you i would start with a 4/0 or 5/0 hook with a floating worm or just a standard straight tail worm, put that on your spinning rod. it will help and as you learn with the spinning rod, THEN go to the baitcaster with a jig on it. A jig thats "arkie" style will skip the best, an arkie style is flatter on the back of the jig directly behind the line tie so it acts like a flat rock when it hits the water. Another thing to consider is starting off with light casts that dont force the bait to fly out, make casts that are light and more a flicking motion of the wrist. 

As for the practicing at home, i stood on a cooler (only fell once lol) and skipped with a wacky rig on a pointless hook into our pool. it certainly helped.

[Fishes in trees]

I think that a tx rig tube with an internal weight is the easiest bait to skip.  It gets bit ok.  If I want an open hook option, the Gene Larew Bass Shooter is first choice.  I use spinning gear to skip.

[MIbassyaker]

One of those things I've never gotten the hang of.  Whenever I successfully skip something, it's by accident.

[Choporoz]

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

 

The motion is like skipping a rock, or like a sidearm baseball throw. Since I did a lot of both, it came easy for me. You want to start low to the water. 

+1.  Visualizing rock skipping while practicing helped me a lot.

[BassNJake]

I started skipping with spinning gear and then taught myself how to do it with a baitcaster.

I learned with a weightless senko type bait on the spinning rod and with a zoom horny toad on the baitcaster.

(horny toad is pretty flat, can be hooked weedless and has enough weight to it for skipping)

 

Dont over skip.

That seems to be a big issue at first.

Just flick it out a few feet and try to get it to make a couple of hops real nice and easy.

Once you can skip it consistently for a couple of hops gently increase your power and try to get it to skip a little further.

 

For me it was easier to control at a short distance while learning the technique.

Just like if I wanted to become an accurate QB/pitcher/dart thrower/frisbee player - start closer to the target and once you are proficient with that distance move back a little more.

 

Now that I am a little better at the technique, my best skips are the ones that feel effortless - nice and easy

My skips that get me picking out a backlash are the ones I really tried to put more force on.

[the reel ess]

I don't fish from a big boat much. And when I do, I'm on the back deck, so skipping is not easy.

But from the kayak, I've learned to skip under things reasonably well. there's a touch to it. It helps to tighten the cast control a tad. I'm in a kayak, so I can usually get closer than I would with a fishing boat. I caught one 6.0 lbs. out of a pine tree laydown so close i was almost flipping, not pitching.

 

Skipping with a spinning rods is a good skill. There definitely are times you want to do it with a Senko or fluke

But you don't pitch your jig with a spinning rod, so eventually, you just have to practice getting under brush and docks with a BC reel. The underhand pitch is easier to get down from a boat than the sidearm skip. From a kayak, you can get under most things with a sidearm pitch. From the kayak, you only need to skip when you're getting waaaay back in gnarly stuff (which is exactly where you want to get to).

 

[fishballer06]

Gerald Swindle and Andy Montgomery have some great videos on YouTube (and they're probably the 2 best in the world at this). Go check out what they have to say. 

 

With that, I'm no master at it, but I can get the job done in a very amature manner. To get the motion down, yes, practice with a spinning rod and a senko/fluke just to see the bait skip and see how the angle of release effects how the bait will skip. From there, practice with your baitcaster in your driveway or an empty parking lot. Then try it on the water. From there, keep practicing it on the water for a few years. It's certainly an art form that takes time to master. 

[928JLH]

This video helped me a lot. It takes a lot of practice, frustration, and birds nest. Technique and reel settings are critical. Daiwa's SV technology really makes things easy. The SS SV103;skips weightless senkos really well under docks. Keep practicing. It will really pay off. You get way more bites skipping vs pitching when the water is warming up.

 

[Jigfishn10]

I tighten the cast control down like @the reel ess mentions in his post and I tend to skip more t-rigs and grass jigs. I can't get a football head or an arky to skip for some reason.

[the reel ess]

50 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

I tighten the cast control down like @the reel ess mentions in his post and I tend to skip more t-rigs and grass jigs. I can't get a football head or an arky to skip for some reason.

A lighter jighead and a bigger trailer helps. 

[Jigfishn10]

Ahhh, good advice @the reel ess. Thank you

[Drew03cmc]

I started with a Huddgill. It skips forever and a day. I moved to a toad, then a Keitech and a chatterbait...all skip well.

[FryDog62]

I skip a lot but it took me a couple years to figure out I was doing it wrong.   The thing that threw me off was the comment “just skip it like a rock.”  Actually that’s the wrong thing to do.  

 

I played a lot of baseball and could skip a flat rock a mile.  But it didn’t translate all that well to fishing.  Skipping a lure effectively is different.  You don’t drop your shoulder and side arm it like a rock.

 

The light went on for me when I watched a Swindle video and he said “do not” get into position like a baseball player and launch it side arm. !! What...??

 

If you watch him he stands straight up and roll casts effortlessly to his target.  Went out the next day, and admittedly will never be as good as him, but tried to imitate his mechanics - and I’m about 99% better than I was.   Best fish I’ve caught consistently in the past 3 years have been under docks..

 

Don’t skip it like a rock...

 

And if you use a baitcaster, get an SV spool..

 

That condenses 5 years of learning down into into 7 sentences  - good luck!

[bigbassin']

One thing I don't see often when these skipping topics come up is how you're fishing (boat, shore, kayak, wading) and how this changes your motion (at least for me).

 

On a boat or from shore, roughly the same height above the water in both circumstances, the rock skipping motion people always mention is the way I do it as well.  I exaggerate the final upward motion and my casting hand is typically in line with my shoulder. I'm not sure if this gives the lure a little bit more uplift or just accelerates the spool faster, but regardless it adds another 2-3 hops onto my skips.  Distance from your target makes a huge difference on this.  From 25 yards out I'm probably good for one maybe two skips, at 10 yards out I can get 5-8 hops depending on the lure and wind.

 

Wading is the easiest way to skip the lure where you want in my opinion.  You're still standing on solid ground so your able to make fluid casts with no problem, and low enough that your torso is inline with what you're trying to get under.  This lets you just put a line drive cast under the cover, and as long as it had enough force it'll skip once or twice since it had a near horizontal trajectory.

 

I can't seem to figure out skipping from a kayak, but a sidearm cast gets you under most docks anyways.

[hawgenvy]

I am genetically klutzy and almost always use a bait caster, yet some days I manage to skip a jig/trailer pretty well. The main thing I can add to the discussion is that it is imperative to keep your eye fixed on where you want the lure to end up, otherwise it just won't work.  

[Boomstick]

On 3/13/2019 at 10:18 PM, Mastermarsh said:

Or you could just buy a Tatula SV TW, it has become my dedicated skipping reel. It's basically skipping for dummies.

^ This is why I never have a problem backlashing