skipjack???
 

Anyone catching any at oh dam, gsp, or cordell hull, maybe even cheatham dam?

Bump

skipjacks
 

Plenty of jacks at boils gsp couple days ago.

Being from IN I would ask what a skipjack is?

It's a river herring i believe and it's great catfish bait and striper bait.

AKA Tennessee Tarpon due to their pound for pound relentless fighting abilities. Straight up fight from hook up til you land them

They are a member of the herring family, and they are one of the premier baits for cats and stripers. They are also a blast to catch on light tackle. They fight like a miniature tarpon, and look like it, too...hence the nickname "Tennessee tarpon."


Chris

Skipjack Herring
 

http://www.tnfish.org/PhotoGalleryFi...rNegus_jpg.jpg

http://www.tnfish.org/PhotoGalleryFi...rNegus_jpg.jpg

Wow, they get that big? I bet they're a blast to catch on ultralight rigs! Ummm...what size do folks usually use for striper bait?

Thanks for the information. I'll be there before sun up tomorrow launching out of flippers. I hope to get some skipjack for stock and some kitty cats. If anyone wants to say hi I'll be by myself in a grey 17ft xpress aluminum boat with no trolling motor. Some idiots hit my boat and broke the head off my trolling motor.

If you fly fish I think a white streamer can out fish spin tackle. Great times.

Trophy class Bait ... <'TK><
 

The average skippie around here runs between half a pound to two pounds. Biggest one I've ever caught was a hair over three pounds. The world record is 4 pounds, out of Watts Bar - I think there may have been another skipjack that tied this one out of Old Hickory, but I couldn't find anything to confirm that this morning.

For the fly fishermen, a pink and white clouser minnow is deadly. If you're not catching fish, you're probably not fishing fast enough.

By the way, if you can't find any skipjack at the Steam Plant boils, try going downstream to the ash pond discharge and fishing there. I can usually find some clustered up in that area starting around Thanksgiving. They usually tend to be smaller than the ones around the Steam Plant, but if you're desperate for bait, they're better than nothing.

bd

They sound like they would be a lot of fun on a light fly rod. Sounds like a pink and white clouser is a good place to start. How deep do they usually reside?

I did a bunch of surf fishing down in the FL Panhandle this year and caught a mess of what they call skipjack or ladyfish. They're fun to catch out of saltwater too! There is one as my profile pic...

Got into some skipjack today on flash lure in Bartons Creek/OH. Caught lots of bluegill and a few largemouth with my daughter.

My first saltie was a ladyfish and yes I was thrilled with it. I had been wanting to flyfish the salt for many, many years. I have not heard them called skipjack but they are fun to catch on lighter fly rods. Last winter I got into a bunch of speckled trout in the New Smyrna Beach area and I really enjoyed that too. I did kill one to try on the table and it was excellent. On par with walleye IMO. When I get some sort of water craft I will give the skipjack a whirl on the fly. It is about all I do anymore. I am not a purist but I just get more personal satisfaction when I catch on the fly. The sad part of that is I am not all that good of a caster but I have only myself to satisfy.;):D

Ditz,

If you are shore-bound, and don't mind a bit of a drive, the steam plant in Cumberland city is open to bank anglers. The skippies are always thick in the winters, and very catchable on a fly rod. Casting may be a little tricky due to the bank's angle, but it's not bad once you learn to bring your back cast back at a higher angle. I use size 2 and 4 clousers in either white, white/chartreuse, or all chartreuse and have gotten into numerous "fish per cast" bites.

I usually bring a 5 wt and use floating line with a 7-9 ft tapered leader, 5x is fine for the tippet.

Chris

I would go heavier than 5x for tippet. Skipjack are not line shy at all, so there is no reason to go light. And occasionally, small stripers (2-3 lbs) will run with the skipjack, and they will pop 5x like it is nothing.

I would use 3x or heavier, depending on the size of the fly.

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I seldom fish anything lighter than 6#. I have found the 4# is weakend to dangerous levels with any sort of knick or abrasion. 6# will maintain enough strength with some wear. Just from my experiance from years in rocky creeks. :o

i couldn't catch any last weekend but i'm going again tomorrow to try. the shad were thick everywhere. i caught ten cats 3-10lbs and 2 rockfish one around ten and the other 5-6. all fish were caught after midnight.