# Skipjack question



## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

Can you vacuum pack/freeze skipjack and use them later? Also, I'm new at catfishing on the river. Do you cut them up? If so what size pieces do you use. I'm hoping to hook up with something decent size, blue, Flathead or even a decent channel.
Thanks for the help.


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## Fishfinaddict (Sep 18, 2012)

I have froze them... Yes you can still use them but I recommend thawing in the fridge for a few days before using if they heat up too fast or get warm they will spoil and the cats won't eat them. I cut the head off and then usually do 1" strips for the rest of the body. I have caught fish with only the tail as well. Them river cats love the skipjack and caught a pb channel on them. Hope this helps and good luck man


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Vacuum seal entire fish individually. 

Tried & true technique used here, up & down the coasts and everywhere for just about every imaginable species. 

You are preserving the oils & scent they convey, that is all.


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## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

I like to freeze 5 to 7 at a time. I try to get that size, that 5 to 7 fit in a 1 gallon freezer bag, without stacking. Don't use any water in the bag, but, I submerse the bag in a sink of water to get the air out, if that makes sense. If you freeze them in water, the bellies split open.


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## thecatman (Apr 6, 2011)

Yeah about 5 or so to a gallon freezer bag. If you take too much and they thaw out don't re-freeze them they turn to mush.. No good. Make your first cut just behind the side fin and use the whole head, from there you could probably get 2-3 more chunks. Throw the tail away, at least I do.. Never had any luck with 'em.


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## bsmith (Mar 26, 2010)

I've only been finding small skipjacks lately, like 5" long. I've been cutting off the head just behind the gill plates/pectoral fins and at the tail just before the end of the gut pocket. I throw the tail away, never catch anything on them.

Then I put the head and middle section together on the same 6/0 hook.

My preservation method is similar to those mentioned above. I have just a few things to add.

1. Freeze them before vacuum sealing them. Otherwise you pull a lot of blood and oil out of the fish.

2. Don't let them thaw with the vacuum bag still under negative pressure, cut a hole in the bag as soon as you take them out of the freezer. Again, if you don't it will pull a bunch of blood and oil to the surface. You want that in your bait not on the outside of it where it'll be washed away as soon as it hits the water.

To prep them I lay them flat, not overlapping, and not touching inside a ziploc bag. When they're good and frozen I take them out and put them in a vacuum bag next to one another so when the air gets removed, the bag can form all the way around each fish. For bigger fish this means a few inches apart, smaller fish may only need to be about 1/2" apart. Then I vacuum seal the bag and put it back in the freezer. When I'm ready to use the bait, I cut the corner off the vacuum bag. Then I throw the whole bag in a cooler with some ice (tip: put the ice inside a ziploc bag so the water can't make the bait mushy when it thaws) When the bait thaws, cut them up and use them.

If their blood isn't red just like when fresh when you cut them, they are practically worthless. In other words if the blood is a brown color and/or the fish have a spoiled smell and feel to them you might as well throw them away, they probably won't catch fish. You want a frozen skipjack to look, smell, and feel like a freshly caught one.

I follow this exact same procedure for shad. I prefer skips if I have a choice so I try to preserve as many as possible.


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## kyjake (Nov 21, 2007)

Am sure other methods work but when catching skipjack for freezing I always bring a cooler of ice along and put them in it as soon as they are caught then sort them in freezer bags getting most all the air out and freezing.Have used them over a year old and they are still in good shape.Thing using the water method to get the air out is a good idea.


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## bsmith (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks kyjake, I forgot to mention that part. Skipjack won't stay alive in a livewell for any substantial time. Keep a cooler of ice on your boat. When you catch skip throw it on ice immediately. I prefer to put my ice in a ziplock back so it won't cause them to get mushy when it melts. Some people take the opposite approach and put their bait in the bag and put the whole thing down on the ice. I prefer the former because I can get the skips on ice quicker if I just throw them in the cooler without having to worry about bagging them first.


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the replies. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to post a pic of something decent caught on one.


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## Doctor (Apr 5, 2004)

Gottagofishn said:


> Can you vacuum pack/freeze skipjack and use them later? Also, I'm new at catfishing on the river. Do you cut them up? If so what size pieces do you use. I'm hoping to hook up with something decent size, blue, Flathead or even a decent channel.
> Thanks for the help.


Several different ways to fish Skipjack, during the winter months I fish with them frozen, don't even thaw them out I let the water thaw them, I cut the tail off then cut the head off then cut out the gut pocket then chunk the rest of the fish up in 1 inch cubes.

During the fall like now I'll thaw them out in a bucket of ice water, mine are all vacuum sealed up, I take a 5 gallon bucket fill it up halfway with ice then fill it with water then take my frozen skipjacks and plunge them in the stuff before I leave for the river, I'm 2 hours away when I arrive they are still super cold but are soft enough to cut with a sharp knife, the trick is to always keep them real cold so that they never thaw out completely that way you can refreeze them and use them over and over again, I have Skipjacks in the freezer that are a few years old and doing the method as above they will still bleed bright red blood from them.

I generally go to Tenn. in the winter time at Cumberland City to catch my Skipjacks I always take the boat with me and we fill the livewells up with ice it will melt down and stays cold all day, we catch the Skipjacks in hot water discharges and toss them in that ice cold water it chills them down in about 30 seconds and at the end of the day or after we catch about 50-100 I pack them in plastic bags then put ice on top of the bags, when I get back to Ohio I then vacuum pack them up and they are ready for the spring and summer bite, been doing this for close to 15 years and have never had an issue with the Skipjacks, the winter time is the only time I don't worry about them being wet, there in water to begin with and I'm transfering them from hot water to super cold water so there tissues will not absorb that water, during the summer I try to keep them very dry and very cold on ice, but during the summer I don't get as many as I do during the winter, this works well for Skipjacks that are a foot long or longer anything under a foot the tissues seem to break down real fast and I need to use those fresh or in 1-2 days after catch them if I freeze the little guys they get real mushy and will fall off the hooks............Doc


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