# why cant i catch any skipps



## cat daddy (Apr 11, 2004)

i have went to Meldahl dam 6 times now and i havent caught any skipps out of the last 5 , somebody please give me some advice


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## Abu65 (Apr 17, 2004)

Its hard to catch them this time of year. In another month it should pick up. You should be able to catch a bunch of little ones then. You only have limited ability from the dam there, they really need to be in there good like in the spring to do much good.


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

It seems you need two things- clean and green water and lots of sun. Light winds help also. I pulled up to AEP two weeks ago and they were busting all over the place- when the boat came in, they spooked and were gone. 

I have been able to fill a cooler under the right conditions- nearly nothing any other time. It has been a year and a half since I have caught any numbers of skips. I hope they come back this year.

UFM82


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

That's why I call them " The Silver Ghosts of the River" they have been absent all year everywhere, last year we had to go to the Cumberland river to get some and it was tough down there, got some friends down there and they report no skips at all this year, who knows where they go?

Doc


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## Mink Trapper (Aug 4, 2004)

How do you catch your Skips ?


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## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

I havent caught one out of the Ohio River in two years!

Where can they be found? Every time that I have been to KY Lake in the Spring, I have caught a ton of very large skippies while crappie fishing.


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## cat daddy (Apr 11, 2004)

and i thought it was just me, those skipps will ruin a guys catfishing season, and it will spoil u at the same time. ,when i was at meldahl they were bustin the water but they just wasnt biteing, i was useing 1/8 oz jigs / whit 2inch grubs, some time do you need to go smaller.


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## Abu65 (Apr 17, 2004)

We caught them pretty good in early may at Meldahl for a couple of days then the river went back up. I froze about 75 or 80 for the two of us to fish with this year. They bit on little whie grubs. Some friends of mine caught several below the Watts Bar dam a few weeks back. I think thats the Cumberland river but I'm not sure.


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

catching the catfish we all use them for. If you get into a school of skips, you can literally catch hundreds in a very short time. Most guys will use Sabiki rigs- multiple flies or jigs on a leader. They can be found at BPS and other tackle shops already made. I simply buy a card of 1/8 oz white marabou jigs and tie a few on a leader of 20# flourocarbon. Then I tie a 1/4 oz jig on the bottom end. The stiff leader helps keep the thing from tangling up on the cast and the flouro disappears underwater. Plus, I can buy a card of 10 little jigs for $2 and make my own. I can make 2 or 3 rigs out of one card. 

I have caught over 200 skips the last two times I really got into them. My brother and I and then Dip and I slayed them two weekends in a row down by Tanners. Haven't seen them like that since, and that was almost two years ago. The water was low, very clear and the sun was very bright. We skipped the rigs across the top of the water and the skips just hammered them. Multiple hookups were common as the fish would just attack the rig. I had skips in the freezer for a long time after that, but alas, the supply has dwindled and is gone. 

I've netted them before but since they are such a slender fish, anything under 5" or so will get stuck in the net and they are a pain to get out. Try picking 3 dozen skips out of a cast net. Takes a while. 

Oh, I wish I had some. They are the ultimate cat bait on the Ohio. 

UFM82


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## Abu65 (Apr 17, 2004)

Do you all do very well on frozen skips? Lets say frozen skips versus fresh shad? What would the bait of choice between the 2 be. This is the first year for me using frozen skips and its does not seem to produce like fresh shad any comments!


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

I think it depends on the fish. I use cut frozen skips predominantly in the cold months when fresh bait is not availible. They eat it up then. In the warm months, it can change from day to day. Sometimes fresh skips are better than shad, sometimes live shad is all they'll hit. Just have to try both. That's one of the big advantages of using a KY license, multiple rods, you can have a variety of baits, cut, live, skips, shad.....not to mention, the different locations you can place it. near the bank, under the boat, out in th ecurrent, etc. Six or seven rods out can be good, or a pain at times too.
This time of year, if I ever get out again, I'd use 2 with cut skips, 2 with live shad, and 2 with cut shad. 
Of course, once you find out what they want, and what they won't hit, I'd remove those extra rods & maybe feed them what they are hitting on 3 rods.


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

OK OK show me a pic of a skip


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

Ask and you shall recieve  Pic courtesy of mrfishohio


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

well damn... Thats what me and the son were catching at Pymatuning this week for cut bait... Looked like fatter lake shiners to me...
THANKS !!!


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

Are you sure, I though skipjack were only found in rivers..I believe most of the fish in that tub were over 12inches long.


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

Hey maybe they were Lake Shiners then LOL...


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## cat daddy (Apr 11, 2004)

i would pay happly for some skipps right now.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Here is a skip I hooked through the nose to fish live for flatheads.










Here are shad we cut up for blue cats.










Remember when you get an opportunity to get good bait you better take it


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)




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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

GREAT PICS!!! 
I love this suff


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

Man, that takes some work. Most skips I get die as soon as you look at them. Not a very hardy fish at all. LOL They croak just thinking about it.

I just throw them on ice. Seems to me that as soon as you toss them in the livewell, they belly up. 

Of course, I'm not as high tech as Mr Fish. He has the "Baitfish ICU" tank. For those of us without unlimited funds to spend on fishing, we will have to rely on a standard bait tank. 

UFM82


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

I have a 10 gal tank, it holds 7 gal of water. It keeps shad alive, but not skips. Sometimes get lucky and get one back like this after a nice fish?   








.....and I just knew I had a big fish on, really, it sure felt good........


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Oh, did I mention, that skip was a good 9"-10" or so if I recall correctly. I was using the whole thing as bait, it wasn't cut bait!!


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## Snaildarter (Aug 16, 2004)

Hey Jim..., makes you wonder how a stinger hook would have worked on that one....


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