Skipping your bait with a baitcaster...

[BassinGT]

Anyone have any tips for skip casting your lures with a bait caster? Every time I try I get a backlash. Too bad I can't practice it this winter.

Thanks!

Gary

[bshaner]

You can still practice on the ice!!  Nearly the same effect.

Skipping with BC's is definately something I am trying to work on.  I've concluded that I need a short rod with a pistol grip and my reel choice is going to be a chronarch mg50.   Rod will probably be Medium power with a fast tip.

I can tell you that it's all about the brake settings.  I just have yet to refine them.

B

[fishstick]

try using a roll cast to skip with a bait caster...it makes things much easier

[bosshawg]

 thank you no... i's sticking w/spinning gear. much eaiser control and not having to work that thumb to reel feathering...i hate those huge back lashes.

[Dan]

Me too. Don't even know why I would want a baitcaster to skip with. I like a shimano with a trigger for skipping. Can skip them a mile or at least from the back end of a 20 ft. pontoon out the front. Hardest part is getting them out of all the obstacles. Line is more important than winching ability IMO.

[Revtro]

I've skipped heavier baits with a baitcaster, but it is just easier with spinning gear...especially for unweighted Senkos and Tubes.  Try using all the centrifugal brakes in the "on" position, that'll help.  Then tighten up the spool and use a little more casting power.  That's how I've been able to do it.   Still prefer spinning gear for skipping though.

[McCarter]

There are a couple tricks to skipping with a bait caster.

One is the quality of the reel.  You need something with a good brake system on it.  I use shimanos and i can skip with the old curados ( when they are clean and lubed ) but its not as easy or clean as with my chronarchs or my chronarch Mg.  I will show you how i set mine up cuz its too hard to explain with words.  there is magic involved.

Two, you should start with heavier baits that are smooth.  Big tubes are probably the easiest bait to skip.  They are heavy, aerodynamic, and glide well on the surface.

Third, line is important as well.  Heavier line doesnt bunch of as easy as lighter line.  You will get less backlash if you start out with heavier line, plus the added weight of the line helps to push your bait to your target.

4th is the angle of the cast or pitch.  Just like skipping a rock, you have to get a good angle or the bait is just going to hit the water and sink.  I know this one is obvious, but its still worth a mention.

5th is the rod.  You need a rod that is going to fling your bait for you.  I like something with a little bit of tip.  Tho this past season i was skipping more with my flipping stick ( Airrus 7 ft heavy with extra fast tip ) but i think thats because i have gotten the hang of it enough to be able to use almost any rod.

Which brings me to 6 and the most important piece of the puzzle in my opinion.  Its all in the wrist.  Whether roll casting or pitching, you have to develop a feel for getting a perfect flick of the wrist.  I say this becuase i have tried to teach others how to skip and i let them use my set up.  They can have the perfect angler, the perfect distance, the perfect everything, but they cant get the bait to skip becuase they dont have that snap in the wrist.

I learned how to skip with a BC when Josh and I were down in SC.  We found a GIANT largemouth on a bed, but it was tucked way back behind some hanging branches.  The hole in the branched wasnt more than 6" wide by 6" above the water.  Well, i wanted that fish so bad that i decided i wasnt giving up.  I would sit there and attempt to skip until i could do it or i was out of line, whichever came first.  I think i made about 500 attempts before succesfully skipping my bait for the first time.  then another 300 before i could do it again.  But by the end of the trip, i was doing it on a regular basis.  And once i got home, i practiced everyday until i got better.  Now i am pretty good at it.  Plus, i am putting baits like jigs, rattle traps, and even spinnerbaits in places i never could before and catching more fish.  Learning the techniques it takes to skip with a baitcaster will make you a better caster in general.  You get comfortable throwing new anglers and keeping your bait closer to the water.  And once you do it a few times, it really builds your confidence up.  You will be making casts you never thought you could before.

PB himself

[Revtro]

That's it.  I want a seminar now.  PB, I will be begging you to come and teach this to our club this winter.  You can run, but you can't hide.   

[McCarter]

No prob Rev, but its easier when you have water to properly demonstrate the magnificence of the propulsionary factors associated with the reverse magnitude of the rotatary wrist flickage process. 

PB himself

[Revtro]

No problem... we'll set up a shot glass for you to pitch into.  Let's see what you're made of mister.

[RipNLips]

First of all you have to use a lure that is auqua dynamic, a lure that will not catch the lure and stop. You want to have the lure reeled in all the way to the tip and use a side sweeping cast.

Believe it or not, the farther you are away form your target the better chance you have of skipping you bait into the desired zone, and less chance of spooking the bass.

I found the best skipping bait to be a weightless 5" senko