Now that the dog days of summer are here I wannna spend more time fishin eel skins, my question is....... should I be casting far to cover more water or shorter casts to fish the structure. Where are most fish caught on skins?

There's been times when the hit's have been at the top of the cast.
then there have been time's when I 've goten hit at me feet just as I was takeing the eel out of the water for another cast.


do both. cover as much water as you can.

Goose, go for distance... you'll always end up fishing the same water that you'd fish if you went with a short cast. Why not cover more water?...Just make sure to fish every inch... like its the "inch" that your fish is under ...;)..you never know where that "large" is hanging out...

If your fishing a rip, reef or bar (structure)....and its only half your cast away....cast so that you'll be able to work your "presentation" accordingly as it approaches the area, but use your whole cast...WHY?....

WHY NOT? ...that "large" may have ventured off that reef looking for a quick bite or holding off on a rock that you can't see, and sees your skinny working in towards her or she may just be heading out in that general direction...in either case, just make sure to cast so that you'll work the "structure" the way you want to...

...ask yourself this, why do you overcast a breaking fish?....you don't cast on the spot he broke at right?...nor do you short cast her either. You overcast to ensure your working enough water...why not apply that logic to all your casts?...My motto is, ....if I'm not sight~casting to a fish...I'm whipping it out there more times than not!!..

..Covering more water = Increasing your odds...

http://www.striped-bass.com/albums/Bloocrab/aaz.jpg

Where can you get eel skins?

Maco's and Red Top in Buzzards Bay, Ma.

check each one lots of torn skins.

Nothin worse than a torn rubber.:D :D

I haven't used an eel skin in probaly 12 years. It always seemed like a lot of bother to me. I use to troll them very slowly off Montauk, they did work though. I never really casted them. I fish (surf cast) whole eels all the time however. When you talk eel skins, your talking pulling the ass end of an eel up over the rear of a swimming plug...right? or are you talking something else?

Do you guys think casting an eel skin is more effective then a casting a live eel?

bloo, while what you say holds true in many places, where there's current, like in the Ditch, and the structure is closer than the end of the cast, often the way the jig is presented to the structure makes all the difference in the world. Knowing where the most productive part of the hole, drop-off, reef or whatever is and how the current will swing the jig on the drift is also important. Sometimes a balls-to-the-wall cast will have the current take the jig past the best part of the structure before you can retrieve it there.

MikeP...your right about the Ditch...the Ditch has its own set of rules to play by..;) ...and you definately don't need distance at night...although it is sometimes helpful. Distance is usually needed when they're breaking in the center (daytime hours)...:rolleyes: ..that's always a pizzzzerrr!!:mad:

....but even if you position yourself down current from that "hole"..and you decide to overcast it, you can still figure out when to allow your jig to drop in the hole, while still covering the extra yardage that you casted into...just in case a "moo-moo" was slowly "hole jumping" her way down the canal...and you caught her in a vulnerable stage of hunger!!....:p

...if you overcast the "jig" and let it sink, just add an extra jerk or two...to keep her off the bottom until you reach the area that you want her to start her deeper decent...but get ready to open bail for a second...just before the hole...because the "extra jerk or two" cost you tightness in the line, which will take away from the amount of line you have out, and your "jig" wont' reach bottom in time, that all depends on the currents' speed too :confused:...if that makes any sense...but I never know what I'm talking about anyway...:happy:

Just my 13 pennies~

...its OWN set of rules, and they're always changing!!! :af:

http://www.striped-bass.com/albums/Bloocrab/aba.jpg

Now that you boys are talkin presentaion in regard to current, I read an interesting artical about baitfish and current. The artical basically said that baitfish always swim WITH the current, so you should troll/retreive with the current and never against it. A lure retreived against the current will look unnatural and draw less strikes. Any thoughts?

Right Scotch, with one exception : herring

...when I retreive against the current...I do it very very slowly...meaning, its more like two twitches to every 1/2 crank of the reel. I'm hoping this makes my lure appear to be struggling up current, and therefore be an easy target.

...As far as the "Strike" rate vs. "current" direction, the fish we are targeting -(Stripers:p)- are sitting in places that would support that theory. Meaning a Large Bass is hiding behind that (structure) watching the current sweep on by....then he zooooooms out for a quick inhale or pursuit as the bait/fish/plug is swimming with the current. But I've seen plenty-a-species of baitfish swimming against the current, in a sort of zig-zag pattern...and get nailed by a predator.

...I guess its the angler's preferrence...I can remember fishing a certain "power-plant" in which they had rod holders on a short bridge that crossed the outflow. You could let out a popper/swimmer into the outflow.....stick your rod in the holder...and let the current create the action of your plug while it just sat there dancing in the same area...and BOY would that produce!!...the lure would never make progress, just struggle in that same two foot radius, againsts a very strong current


..again, just my thoughts~:)

http://www.striped-bass.com/albums/Bloocrab/abb.jpg

I think skins work best drifted in the current with the bottom contact maintained by letting line out then stopping the spool , then more line as the jigs lifts back up again. I don't thing you want to bounce skinjigs down the seems like you would a ball jig.

If you know of the location of a hole , try to drift a skin into it . This means you need to be considerably upcurrent of the whole when you cast out and let it drift down. Remember you want to keep the skins inflated so that will gide you approach. I'd lengthen the skins a little more than the way they were fished earlier through June.