I think @Catt is the one who got me to skip skipping baits and start casting baits accurately.  There's very very few situations where a skip is a better move than a low quiet soft cast.

 

Sure docks and overhangs sometimes do require a skip and sometimes a skip gets a bite so play through in learning it but I think good casting is where good skipping begins.

 

If you want to be decent at skipping start by getting great at casting.

 

Also honestly - spinning rods are what I use when I need to skip a bait - just infinitely more efficient - but I have skipped swim jigs and buzzbaits and frogs into strange spots and caught fish it's just not the most efficient most of the time.  😂😉

41 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I think @Catt is the one who got me to skip skipping baits and start casting baits accurately.  There's very very few situations where a skip is a better move than a low quiet soft cast.

 

Sure docks and overhangs sometimes do require a skip and sometimes a skip gets a bite so play through in learning it but I think good casting is where good skipping begins.

 

If you want to be decent at skipping start by getting great at casting.

 

Also honestly - spinning rods are what I use when I need to skip a bait - just infinitely more efficient - but I have skipped swim jigs and buzzbaits and frogs into strange spots and caught fish it's just not the most efficient most of the time.  😂😉

That’s a good point. Accuracy is a tough one but one that needs mastered. I can pitch and flip like no one’s business I used to stand in the back yard and put small buckets or containers out and do it for hours. Or stand on a bucket and do it. But we did it from kayaks and canoes or boats a tonnnnn in Florida. Now where I am in the Midwest if ya don’t see a lay down. There isn’t anything to flip to really lol.  But general casting I’m not the most accurate when I have a baitcaster in my hand. That’s one thing I should practice more. 

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I think @Catt is the one who got me to skip skipping baits and start casting baits accurately.  There's very very few situations where a skip is a better move than a low quiet soft cast.

Pat

Don’t pigeon hole yourself like that. 

 

While it’s true that sometimes a quiet entry is best sometimes, don’t discount a long, noisy skip even in places that you might not be so inclined. 
 

Skipping isn’t just for overhanging anything. 
Anyplace that you think an in-line top water like a buzz bait, prop, popper or a walking bait would an obvious choice, skip something instead but in a random pattern.

And Yes, even in open water especially during a tough day. 
 

You may be surprised 

 

 

 

 

Mike

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

Pat

Don’t pigeon hole yourself like that. 

 

While it’s true that sometimes a quiet entry is best sometimes, don’t discount a long, noisy skip even in places that you might not be so inclined. 
 

Skipping isn’t just for overhanging anything. 
Anyplace that you think an in-line top water like a buzz bait, prop, popper or a walking bait would an obvious choice, skip something instead but in a random pattern.

And Yes, even in open water especially during a tough day. 
 

You may be surprised 

 

 

 

 

Mike

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to using skipping to elicit a reaction strike. It's just not necessarily my first move if you catch my drift. Sorry if I seemed in my post like I was excluding that option. It's just not generally speaking something that I lean heavily on even though it has caught me fish!  I definitely skip my bait into areas and they react but I feel like most of the time that same fish would bite a nicely placed cast with little to no splash right on their nose.

Nothing better than dropping on her nose.
Most times if it did come crashing in she probably would have been spooked.
 

Whatever you do you’re doin it right. 
It was just a suggestion because of personal experience 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

@Pat Brown.  I dont skip unless I have to get it out and UNDER something.  If I can come in from above, with a pitched bait, that decision wins 100%.   my skips are still filed under "H" for HailMary.  

I had the benefit of living on a lake and practiced skipping under my own dock from the seawall on the bank.

 

I actually prefer skipping with a baitcaster - until the bait bounces off the frame of the dock,

 

Because I mainly fish out of a kayak and the weather isn’t always conducive to standing and fishing, my skipping rod is now a 6’ 9” Kistler Helium rod. On a boat I prefer skipping with any of my 7’ rods.

1 hour ago, Kayak Koz said:

mainly fish out of a kayak

Any tips on skipping from a yak?

1 hour ago, Banned User said:

Any tips on skipping from a yak?

Practice!

 

Actually, when seated your angle of attack is important. Much of that depends upon your kayak setup. For example, do you have anything on the rail that might get in the way? Do you have a captain’s bridge or pedal drive that is in the way?

 

Seat height is also important. My seat in my AP120 is in the upper position. Some might even want to add seat risers.

 

Because I usually cast from the right side and because I have a Captain’s bridge in front of me I will usually offset the bow of my kayak 15 degrees left of perpendicular to my target.

 

Even with spot lock, wind and current make it challenging to skip from a kayak.

 

One of the most amazing things I have seen on a kayak was Kristine Fischer skipping buzzbaits deep under docks from her kayak.

3 minutes ago, Kayak Koz said:

Kristine Fischer skipping buzzbaits deep under docks from her kayak.

Thanks for your thoughts

 

Have a link for that video? 

1 hour ago, Banned User said:

Thanks for your thoughts

 

Have a link for that video? 

Not on video. I fished with her in practice for a Bassmaster event.

On 4/26/2025 at 8:20 AM, 12poundbass said:

@VTFan another thing that helped me a ton, raising your rod tip on the follow through. I was able to get a few more skips out of my lure.

I backed off on the amount of force used when making a skip and also remind myself to raise the rod tip and yesterday I was getting some pretty decent 30 ft. skips. I can't say much for the accuracy part of it though. I guess that will come.

I can skip pretty well with a spinning rod, but for baitcasters, I’ve got a dedicated setup—6' MH/F rod paired with a Daiwa SV103 (8:1). Tried longer rods, but I just end up slapping the water like I’m mad at it.

 

Found that a smooth-bottom jig (around 1/4 oz) helps with less friction, but… I still suck at it.

@12poundbass How much line do you leave between lure and rod tip when skipping?

On 4/26/2025 at 5:35 PM, BassinBrett said:

I have been watching videos on YouTube about skipping.  One thing I noticed was some are using a roll cast.  I have yet to try it this spring but I hope it improve my skipping skills.  

I cannot for the life of me get the hang of using a roll cast when skipping. I'm not that good regardless but if I try to roll cast my release point is always off and my bait slaps the water and dies in front of me. I can do a simple side cast low to the water and do pretty decent...with a spinning rod of course and a weightless Senko. The roll cast gets me everytime!!!

 

@Glenn I think I may be speaking for more than a few of us when I say that a VERY in-depth, detailed video on the art of skipping would super appreciated. There is a tournament angler that has an intro to his videos that shows (just for a second) a bait scooting across the surface (NOT bouncing) and into an otherwise inaccessible target zone that literally makes me swoon with admiration every time I see it and I have been considering asking them to do such a video. 

 

It's not terribly difficult to bounce a Senko or Yamatanuki into a bluff wall with a spinning rod, but I'm talking about that rhythmic glide into a small pocket.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

 

I fished a local private lake a few years with lots of floating docks. The key to skipping into small low openings was skip the lure about 10’ before the opening in lieu of a few feet. Seems counter productive but the lure continues under the dock further that way.

Tom