skip jack how to's

[olgreenboat]

I'm looking for some tips as to were and what to use to catch some skip jacks this time of the year with out going all the way to louisville and fishing under the spill way. I'm also having a hard time finding shad. I do have a small 4' casting net i know it is small but with my bad back i cant handle a bigger one.

Thanks.

[JustinM]

This time of year you will only find them in fast moving water. Spillways, dams or discharges.

[ironhead70]

tie on white popeye jigs try about 5 of them with a casting bobber on the end and justinm is right around the damns or spillway and be ready if you get in a school of biguns its possible you can catch one for every jig you got tied on

[olgreenboat]

thanks for the info folks. I have one other question ?
Do they freeze well for use later one and is it better to freeze them in water or just put them in a freezer bag ?
The last time i fished for them was about 25 years ago and that was @ Ky dam or it could ben barkly but we used to use doll flies about 3 on a line would keep use busy but i do have some popeye jigs.

[Fisherjoe]

You can freeze them with or w/o water, but I prefer water. IMO, they keep better. However, they do not re-freeze very well. The second thawing seems to turn them to mush. I also only tie on 2-3 jigs so that there is less to get tangled. Again, just my personal preference.

[Mean Morone]

I like to use them fresh. They just don't last long after you freeze them and they do get mushy. Their smell seems to change after freezing. I've been told that the best way to keep them is to use a vacuum sealer on them and keep them in the fridge until ready to use. Dont freeze them if you don't have to. Jigs and sabiki rigs will catch smaller ones, but for big skippies I like a Flitterbait. As for where right now, you will have to find good current. Dams are going to be the best places to get them in any good numbers. The mouths of creeks flowing in to the Ohio River is a good place to look for them also. If you see alot of river shiners there will probably be skippies close by.

[Lowerider]

the new spring hatch is currently hitting pretty good at Markland Dam - up to 6 inches and sabiki's work best for this size. When there are millions of fry this size even the big cats will key in on them as they are easy pickings - great size for hybrids too. I like to thread about 3 straight through the eyes on a single hook.

Lot's of tournament money (catfish) has been won using nothing but frozen skips. Fresh is always best (except winter) but given the seasonality of them if you want to use them year round you'll have to stuff a freezer. I don't bother to vacum seal but a lot of guys do. Spring is the best time to try and load your freezer with the big ones below dams or winter at warm water discharges.

My goto for the bigger jacks is the standard white 2 inch curly tail on a jig head. Two at a time. Like Joe said, the more you tie on the better chance you'll get tangled or even break off when multiple fish hit. I like using 20lb braid when fishing for the bigger ones to prevent break-offs.

And a standard panfish rig with meal worms is a good thing to have handy too for the mooneye.

[Mean Morone]

One more thing about the retrieve. You can't reel too fast for these things. Skippies can track down the fastest lure with no problem. What ever lure you use, burn that thing back as fast as you can and you can turn them on.