# Skipjack



## bowtechrage22 (Feb 9, 2012)

When do the skipjack usually start piling into the dams?


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

Not for a while. Water temps gotta hit 55. And the clearer the water the better, which can be hard in the early spring. You got a month IMO


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

April is usually the earliest you will start to see them around here. All depends on water temp though.


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## whodeynati (Mar 12, 2012)

I'm now 0-6 on trying them at a local warm water discharge. This time last year I had all I needed for the summer. I hope you fellas are right!


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

whodeynati said:


> I'm now 0-6 on trying them at a local warm water discharge. This time last year I had all I needed for the summer. I hope you fellas are right!



Last year we had an incredibly dry warm winter. Water temps were 10 degrees warmer than this year with clear water. This year has been coldest in 20 years with plenty of precipitation. Everything is gonna be a month behind last year. If we keep getting rain, it will be a bad year to catch skips. Better go hit somewhere south to load up if you are dependant on them for cats, could be slim picking on the ohio this year.


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## whodeynati (Mar 12, 2012)

Thanks skip. I only been river fishing a few years, so I'm not sure of the cycles. I was planning on hitting Cumberland City some time in the near future, unless I can get a few up here. I never been to Markland but just got my KY license, so gonna try there a few times first.


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

im in indiana, not much skip jack here ,would like to make a trip to ohio to get some ,but i think i will wait couple more weeks for water to warm up, whats the best thing to catch skips on ,i mainly get shad here in my cast net any info would be great


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

Quite a few people I know have been going down to Kentucky lake and catching skipjack in the tail water of the dam there in Calvert City . Never done it myself but depending on what part of Indiana you're from it might be worth your while to check that out.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

And I sure hope this isn't a bad year for skipjack. I always get a freezer full of mooneye and skipjack down at greenup. I've begun to rely on getting them every year.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

diehardbucfan2013 said:


> Quite a few people I know have been going down to Kentucky lake and catching skipjack in the tail water of the dam there in Calvert City . Never done it myself but depending on what part of Indiana you're from it might be worth your while to check that out.


The skipjack are not running there yet as of this past weekend. I have a bunch of contacts down there and they have only seen a few caught. I also talked to Ken at Kens TBC and he has told me the same thing. They get their run earlier than we do so they should start moving in there really soon.

Greenup Dam usually always produces good catches. It's funny how they can be there but not at the other dams or vise versa. Skipjack are just such finicky fish haha


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

thx for the info also do u guys use them sabiki rigs if so what size's ,im going to try and find the dam on the map my son is wanting to go also hes 10 so would really like for him to catch alot ,guess i will try greenup dam hope to meet u guys their some time


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

yeah we use sabiki's and also twister tails and marabou jigs, all work well, just remember that if you use a sabiki rig on the Ohio side of the Ohio, ( Greenup dam for example) that you are limited to only 3 hooks per line, so most sabikis have 6, I just cut them in half or better yet, cast from boat with my Ky License. 

Looking for Greenup Dam, its about 12 miles upriver from Portsmouth, roughly.

Salmonid


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

catfishjoe1 said:


> thx for the info also do u guys use them sabiki rigs if so what size's ,im going to try and find the dam on the map my son is wanting to go also hes 10 so would really like for him to catch alot ,guess i will try greenup dam hope to meet u guys their some time



FYI: Indiana outlawed sabiki's last year. The most hooks you can have on any line is 3. It was enacted for alabama rigs but is a blanket reg that includes sabiki's. The local CO for markland was checking pretty regularly last spring but just giving warnings. JUst saw him the other day at the gas station and he said this year it's tickets. So if you fish markland you gotta cut your sabiki's in half or risk getting a big fine.


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

well ty i didnt know they outlaw them in indiana i dont usually use them in indiana i just throw my net for shad ,im really looking for a place closer to indiana to get some skips to put a few in the freezer ,i think this comming week im going out to see if i can get some shad if i do i will let everyone know i can fill 2 5 gal buckets in one throw with my net most of the time


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

catfishjoe1 said:


> *im going out to see if i can get some shad if i do i will let everyone know i can fill 2 5 gal buckets in one throw with my net most of the time*




WOW! You need to get a dealers license & build a business with your son! 

There's limits on transporting minnies,,,, are there limits on SHAD?


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

theirs no limit on shad in indiana, whats the limit on skips,


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

is markland dam ,good for skips,i was thinking of going down their this coming week


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

catfishjoe1 said:


> is markland dam ,good for skips,i was thinking of going down their this coming week


No limit on skips either. Did see a guy get confronted a couple years ago for taking bucket after bucket out but it's legal.

And it can be very good at times, this coming week would not be one. River is moving really fast, up to action stage. Chocolate milk looks clearer than the river right now. Better hold off.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

If in Ohio there is most definitely a limit on you're catch. The max anyone can carry of any type of bait is 500 pieces. Unless you have a bait dealers license then you can have unlimited.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

diehardbucfan2013 said:


> If in Ohio there is most definitely a limit on you're catch. The max anyone can carry of any type of bait is 500 pieces. Unless you have a bait dealers license then you can have unlimited.



THANKS for that info.
I was just talking to a Pa bait dealer and he said that he has to SHOW PROOF of where his bait came from, like every dozen that he sells of each species. 
He has a small creek behind his house, & it runs through his property. It's polluted with fatheads & chubs but he told me that he could get busted if he catches/ traps 'em and then sells 'em.
The 'MAN' said, "THEY BELONG TO THE STATE"!


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

thx for the info guys, guess i will hold off for a week or so ,


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

Every state is different to some degree on that sort of stuff. Ohio is similar with some species. Alot of it depends if its a classified or unclassified species. And depends on if they're caught on private or public waters. And what type of license you have. Too much to explain. But if you were to get a class A aquaculture, bait dealer, and transportation license you would be safe on most things.


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

cool if i can get a cooler full i will be good for a while,


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Sabiki Rigs,, hmmm. We've had Game Wardens at Greenup tell us they didn't care if we used a rig with 6 hooks and some have told us to cut them in half, so it's best to cut them down to 3. They've also told us 499 is what you could keep but once you get to 500, you'd better have that bait dealers license. To be honest, I'd rather see them concentrate on people taking too many Hybrids, Stripers, Smallies and Saugers. It might be a strange year for Skipjacks this year. We kept waiting on smaller ones to use for bait about August and smaller ones never showed up. Big ones all year so it may be an off year this year too. Hopefully not


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

The law states that you can have up to 500 total. So whoever said 499 is wrong. But what is one piece of bait when u have that many? And if someone is taking too many white or hybrid bass then something is definitely wrong. Cause you're allowed 30 out of the river. And unlimited anywhere else.


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## catfishjoe1 (Apr 3, 2014)

well thx for the info,i have a dealer lic,but im only looking to catch about 40-50 skipjacks for my self


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## C J Hughes (Jan 24, 2006)

Dave076 same here on the river the only ones we could get were the bigger skipjacks. No river shiners no shad to speak of and no small skipjacks.I hope this summer is better.


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

diehardbucfan2013 said:


> The law states that you can have up to 500 total. So whoever said 499 is wrong. But what is one piece of bait when u have that many? And if someone is taking too many white or hybrid bass then something is definitely wrong. Cause you're allowed 30 out of the river. And unlimited anywhere else.


Past Game Warden, Travis Abele, I really don't care how many get taken. I'm just passing on what was told to me a couple years ago. AS for Hybrids and Whites, Take a look at how many illegal fish over 15" go up the hill. You can keep 30 but only 4 over 15". 
CJ , it did get bad last year with the skipjacks. I think more people were fishing for them than anything else. Must be worth some money somewhere. We did have plenty of shiners most of the year though.`


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

Daveo76 said:


> Past Game Warden, Travis Abele, I really don't care how many get taken. I'm just passing on what was told to me a couple years ago. AS for Hybrids and Whites, Take a look at how many illegal fish over 15" go up the hill. You can keep 30 but only 4 over 15".
> CJ , it did get bad last year with the skipjacks. I think more people were fishing for them than anything else. Must be worth some money somewhere. We did have plenty of shiners most of the year though.`


I think we all remember a group if Asians last year that kept everything they caught regardless of size or type. I believe they eventually got in trouble didn't they? 

And for a while I was able to get river shiners, shad, mooneye, and skipjack. Then seemed like some point in the summer all of them just disappeared. Last year was an odd year for stuff like that. I don't know why either. I know it seemed like the water was over that lower cat walk most of the summer. Then when it finally went downit seemed like everything disappeared.


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

We caught smaller skips all summer long, but not at Markland. We found a few spots that have a good outflow of water. One is a little above the 275 bridge by Lawrenceburg, IN. Has fresh water pouring off bank and skips were there all summer. Also, we do really well for small skips and mooneyes around the bilges for the barges. Just motor up with trolling motor to a moored barge and cast across the bilge coming out. Last summer seemed to be better than most for the small skips and mooneyes at these barges.


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

diehardbucfan2013 said:


> I think we all remember a group if Asians last year that kept everything they caught regardless of size or type. I believe they eventually got in trouble didn't they?
> 
> And for a while I was able to get river shiners, shad, mooneye, and skipjack. Then seemed like some point in the summer all of them just disappeared. Last year was an odd year for stuff like that. I don't know why either. I know it seemed like the water was over that lower cat walk most of the summer. Then when it finally went downit seemed like everything disappeared.


Yeah, they got in trouble but it took a couple of the guys calling Athens. Remember around Memorial Day when the place looked so disgusting? Those guys would squeeze kids out who were having fun catching White Bass, people on the upper deck getting shad and leaving them lay around to rot. Hope it isn't as bad this year,,,,,,


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

Yea that aggravates me too. They get 50 shad in their cast net. Use 10 of them and leave the rest laying. Either take them home and freeze them. Or throw them back in the river dead or alive. Plenty of fish will eat them even if they've started to rot. 

As for the Asian group I don't remember them squeezing people out of their spots. But I don't spend as much time down there as you all do either lol. Not to mention I'm a fairly big guy so they probably thought twice about trying to root me out of a spot.


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