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Old 03-20-12, 09:31 PM   #1
keithdog
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Default Skip casting a baitcaster

Skip casting with a baitcaster is a casting technique I would love to perfect. I've done it, but most of my attempted skip casts end up with some or a lot of spool over run. I was watching Gerald Swindle videos about skip casting with jigs. He makes it look so easy. I thought I would see if there are any members here in the forums who have learned this valuable casting technique, and ask what tips you have to offer for skip casting with a baitcaster. Such as reel settings, rod choice, better choices of lures for skipping, and so on.
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Old 03-20-12, 10:00 PM   #2
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i have did it like 7 times KD, beautiful perfect skips will pitchin, welp none were planed and i have tried to re-create and cant figure it either.
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Old 03-20-12, 10:18 PM   #3
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I am a long ways from being real good at it but I have been working on it for a while and I am getting to the point where I don't have to look around and see if anyone is looking before I try LOL. What I have found so far is that a rod with a fairly soft tip helps me a lot. I still want good backbone for jigs and soft plastics but the soft tip will really help keep the bait low and seems to make skipping a lot easier. Also, whatever you do don't tighten your brakes down. If you tighten your brakes down you will have to cast harder and when you do hit something you will have a heck of a backlash. As for baits, obviously something thathas components like treble hooks or blades hanging down are out of the question. Something compact like a tube, beaver bait, or a fairly light jig are great choices. While I am not really great at skipping while casting yet, I am actually pretty good at skipping baits while pitching. I just make a normal pitch but with a little more velocity and make the bait hit the water right infront of the target your wanting to skip under. I keep the brakes pretty loose on my flipping and pitching reels and as the bait hits the water I just keep raising the rod tip which helps the bait start skipping. I have done it enough now that I can skip baits while pitching just as far as most guys can skip them while casting.
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Old 03-20-12, 10:49 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01 View Post
I am a long ways from being real good at it but I have been working on it for a while and I am getting to the point where I don't have to look around and see if anyone is looking before I try LOL. What I have found so far is that a rod with a fairly soft tip helps me a lot. I still want good backbone for jigs and soft plastics but the soft tip will really help keep the bait low and seems to make skipping a lot easier. Also, whatever you do don't tighten your brakes down. If you tighten your brakes down you will have to cast harder and when you do hit something you will have a heck of a backlash. As for baits, obviously something thathas components like treble hooks or blades hanging down are out of the question. Something compact like a tube, beaver bait, or a fairly light jig are great choices. While I am not really great at skipping while casting yet, I am actually pretty good at skipping baits while pitching. I just make a normal pitch but with a little more velocity and make the bait hit the water right infront of the target your wanting to skip under. I keep the brakes pretty loose on my flipping and pitching reels and as the bait hits the water I just keep raising the rod tip which helps the bait start skipping. I have done it enough now that I can skip baits while pitching just as far as most guys can skip them while casting.
When you mention not tightening down my brakes, are you talking about all the breaks or the main cast control knob on the handle side of the reel? Wouldn't it help to tighten down the megntics breaks a little? Gerald mentioned round headed jigs as being a good choice of jig design for skipping. That makes sense to me. I'm thinking a 3/8 oz. jig with a beaver for a trailer might work out pretty well.
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Old 03-20-12, 11:16 PM   #5
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i believe he means a loose spool tension knob?. just like my pitching setup i keep my spool tension knob very loose & my brakes are usually half on. i just started skipping too. best way to start off is with an arky head type jig where the bottom of the jig head is flat. just like skipping a stone it works better with flat stones then round ones. same thing with skipping plastics, the flatter the bottom the easier to skip. eventually u can skip anything once u get the hang of it but a flat bottom (arky head) jig is a great way to start.
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Old 03-20-12, 11:23 PM   #6
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In all modesty I would say that my overall casting- pitching- flipping skills are as good as most, but I must admit that after many humbling attempts to skip a baitcaster consistantly, I have decided to go back to heavy spinning gear when skipping is needed (dock fishing mostly). I hope you master it.
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Old 03-20-12, 11:30 PM   #7
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I remember someone put a post up a while back of an Asian dude skipping and I was in awe. It wasn't a tutorial, but it just showed some awesome skipping. I can do it sometimes off a pitch with a lighter bait, but I have to be standing up. Just keep on trying and keep that thumb close to the spool for feathering.
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Old 03-20-12, 11:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boloson View Post
i believe he means a loose spool tension knob?. just like my pitching setup i keep my spool tension knob very loose & my brakes are usually half on. i just started skipping too. best way to start off is with an arky head type jig where the bottom of the jig head is flat. just like skipping a stone it works better with flat stones then round ones. same thing with skipping plastics, the flatter the bottom the easier to skip. eventually u can skip anything once u get the hang of it but a flat bottom (arky head) jig is a great way to start.
Some good thoughts. Thanks Boloson. The arkie style does sound like it would work well. I'll try your reel settings and see how it goes.
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Old 03-20-12, 11:38 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser View Post
I remember someone put a post up a while back of an Asian dude skipping and I was in awe. It wasn't a tutorial, but it just showed some awesome skipping. I can do it sometimes off a pitch with a lighter bait, but I have to be standing up. Just keep on trying and keep that thumb close to the spool for feathering.
I remember that guy! I was in total awe as well.
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Old 03-21-12, 07:36 AM   #10
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Props to those who can do it well. I only try when a perfect opportunty presents itself...and nobody is watching.


I think that C-rig gave sound advise. Your setup has to be right, otherwise its not worth trying.
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Old 03-21-12, 10:11 AM   #11
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Keithdog, I think that lifting the rod while the bait is skipping is a huge factor in being able to control the lure. Trial and error, at least to this point, has led me to believe that if you don't raise the tip of the rod as the lure hits the water, it will just dig in and not skip. Matt Allen over at tacticalbassin dot com has a great video of a guy talking about skipping a jig, and he is AMAZING. If you watch the video a few times you will see that he talks a lot about keeping the tension knob nice and loose so you don't have to cast too hard, and you will see him raising the rod as the bait is moving. Just my 2 cents, hope it helps. This is also a technique I am trying to learn. Oh, by the way, I am also finding that rod length makes a pretty big difference in my ability to skip a bait. If you experiment with different lengths, I am sure you will find one that you are more proficient with than others.

Hope this helps and adds at least some insight. Wish I was an expert at it!
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Old 03-21-12, 01:10 PM   #12
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I've been working on this as well. I'm no pro, but when casting, I find I do much better when I make a very concious effort to swing the rod tip low, very close to the water, and imagine I'm just sliding the lure across top of the water. That helps me keep my rod tip down and level as I'm swinging it through on the cast. I almost touch the water when I'm swinging it through, and then try to keep it nice and even through the follow through. When I cast underhand, I typically whip it down and up in a sharp arc, and with practice my release point has gotten consistent enough to make a nice low cast. But when trying to skip, I have to focus hard on starting and ending low, with a nice flat swing, and then lift the rod tip as it starts skipping. Hopefully this long winded post makes a little sense.
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Old 03-21-12, 05:56 PM   #13
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Thanks for your helpfull tip guys. I'm gathering that the arm motion to use is similar to skipping a flat rock on the water. A low sweep with an upward rise at the end of the cast?
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Old 03-21-12, 06:08 PM   #14
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Kinda on the same note, where do you see this type of cast being real effective? I mean it looks cool and all, but I have been fishing for quite a while and have never felt like I was at a disadvantage because I could not skip a bait.

So help me understand where and why this is a must use technique.
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Old 03-21-12, 08:47 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tavery5 View Post
Kinda on the same note, where do you see this type of cast being real effective? I mean it looks cool and all, but I have been fishing for quite a while and have never felt like I was at a disadvantage because I could not skip a bait.

So help me understand where and why this is a must use technique.
Tony I don't really consider it a must technique, I mean you can still get bites if you aren't able to skip baits. Where I see it payoff the most is when there is a good bite going on when flipping docks on lakes that get a lot of pressure. A prime example would be Grand Lake. Grand is a lake that gets tons of pressure from bass anglers, especially on tourney days when some tournaments have as many as 325 boats. Fishing docks is almost always a good pattern on Grand but with that many boats on the lake you can be pretty certain that whatever dock you fish has been hit several times throughout the day. If you are able to skip a bait up under the dock you may get bit by a fish that other boats haven't put a bait in front of. I don't think it's the difference between catching a lot of fish or not getting a bite. But I do believe it may get you a few extra bites throughout the day that you wouldn't have got otherwise.
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Old 03-21-12, 08:51 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01 View Post
Tony I don't really consider it a must technique, I mean you can still get bites if you aren't able to skip baits. Where I see it payoff the most is when there is a good bite going on when flipping docks on lakes that get a lot of pressure. A prime example would be Grand Lake. Grand is a lake that gets tons of pressure from bass anglers, especially on tourney days when some tournaments have as many as 325 boats. Fishing docks is almost always a good pattern on Grand but with that many boats on the lake you can be pretty certain that whatever dock you fish has been hit several times throughout the day. If you are able to skip a bait up under the dock you may get bit by a fish that other boats haven't put a bait in front of. I don't think it's the difference between catching a lot of fish or not getting a bite. But I do believe it may get you a few extra bites throughout the day that you wouldn't have got otherwise.
This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. With the small size of my area lakes and lots of competition, I'd like to have that bit of advantage putting a bait where most others cannot. Also, there are some overhanging tree branches about 12 inches above the water I'd like to skip under and behind. Also, I've heard that a skip cast can get a quick responce fishing areas where bass are chassing shad at the surface. The bait looks like a shad trying to escape.
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Old 03-21-12, 08:52 PM   #17
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For me its more effective because it offers me a way to get a lure where I otherwise cant. The skip does have presentation value, but I consider it a cast first, presentation distant second.


So overhanging trees, manmade structure is where I use it. Sometimes you just see a spot that you have to get a lure to.
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Old 03-21-12, 10:56 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tavery5 View Post
Kinda on the same note, where do you see this type of cast being real effective? I mean it looks cool and all, but I have been fishing for quite a while and have never felt like I was at a disadvantage because I could not skip a bait.

So help me understand where and why this is a must use technique.
under docks and overhangs. especially long overhangs that stretches 10 ft from shore just above the water surface. most of the lakes & rivers i fish have massive overhangs like these & tons of bass are right underneath them & the only way to access that area is to skip your lures. i guess this is another reason why they make top water lures that looks like birds. lots of birds stay on these overhangs. never believed in those lures until i actually saw a bass jump & tried to eat a bird.


ps: where is that vid of the japanese dude skipping? i think it was a promo for a new shimano reel if i'm not mistaken?
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Old 03-21-12, 11:07 PM   #19
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machine gun....found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DmJSmROhNc

1st time i saw this vid i was like .....man i have a long way to go. he does it so effortlessly especially when he pitched and skip. years of experience no doubt
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Old 03-21-12, 11:07 PM   #20
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Skipping seems like it could be usefull, but I bet there are not many people who can consitantly cast this method. I find that I can positon the boat and find open spots in most any overhanging tree, as for the docks, are the sides not accessible.

Anyway, might be something I try to work on, but I can honestly say in all the years I have fished I have never said, man if I could only skip that bait under there.
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Old 03-21-12, 11:13 PM   #21
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how about them 100 ft wide docks that most marinas have? gotta be some good bass underneath that.
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Old 03-21-12, 11:24 PM   #22
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Your Marinas must be much bigger than the ones around here, most are about wide enough for two people to walk down side by side, and many do not allow any fishing on or around them.
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Old 03-22-12, 06:20 AM   #23
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That guy acts like he quit school because of recess! He ain't playin' around!
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Old 03-22-12, 06:47 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tavery5 View Post
Skipping seems like it could be usefull, but I bet there are not many people who can consitantly cast this method. I find that I can positon the boat and find open spots in most any overhanging tree, as for the docks, are the sides not accessible.
That's why I think being able to skip is so valuable. You are reaching fish that most people aren't able to get to. I agree that in most cases you can use boat position to find openings in trees. But when it comes to docks that is not a luxury that you have very often. I say this because I am talking about skipping baits in the openings between the flotation foam, and getting the bait several feet in the shade under the dock. No matter how you position the boat most of the time you only have one angle to get the bait into this hole from and the opening is usually pretty small, like maybe a foot squared. Guys who flipped that dock ahead of you might have just flipping to the edge of this opening because they can't skip. But you can get the bait several feet closer to fish hiding under the dock if you can skip it in there.

Quote:
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Your Marinas must be much bigger than the ones around here, most are about wide enough for two people to walk down side by side, and many do not allow any fishing on or around them.
I don't know about Kansas laws. But I know that in Missouri and Oklahoma, Marinas can post no fishing signs all they want but there is nothing they can do to keep you from fishing their dock. The exception is that Missouri has a law stating that you cannot fish within so many feet of a gas dock. I am not saying to stir up a hornets nest by fishing the marina docks anyways, although you could if you wanted to. Marina docks are not the only ones on the lake that I skip baits under (or at least try to). In fact I have several favorite docks on Grand and not a single one of them is at a Marina. usually the oldest most rundown docks is the ones I want to fish because generally there is more cover under these docks.
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Old 03-22-12, 08:23 PM   #25
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tXlODzLu4A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aUPjGV8b60

Here are two of my favorites. I spent a lot of the cooler Winter months watching & studying the videos in anticipation of learning the technique this Spring.

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