How to Skip Cast Under Structure

We literally receive hundreds of emails every week - and sometimes in a single

day. A few of them tell us things they think would improve the site. To us they
are the single most important messages we can get it is input from readers!
and our own desire for a great "shing resource that made the site as
successful as it is. Another group! or category of emails have to do with how
impressed people are with the sheer volume of content! the #uality of the
writing! or how much fun one of our many events turned out to $e. %ut most of
all the messages ask a #uestion. The same #uestion! in fact.
Skip Casting is e&ective near almost any inshore structure -- docks! piers! rock
structure! marinas! and mangrove islands all have areas that are holding "sh --
underneath structure like you see here. This is the channel leading from Tampa
%ay past the Coast 'uard station (lots of )ari*uana +eaf ,ecals on the $oats
there! each representing a ma*or drug $ust- to the Har$orage at %ay$oro High
and ,ry and the Saint .eters$urg! /lorida city marina.
The #uestion is 0How do 1...0. 2ou can "ll in the $lank. How to catch king"sh!
how to catch snook! or how to "nd and catch the elusive 3ounder (*ust kidding
folks! 3ounder are not that elusive-. This article is going to answer one of
those #uestions we hear a lot! especially at this time of the year! and that is
how do 1 get a $ait underneath a dock! or close enough to those tangles of
mangroves to catch a "sh4

.ositioning your $oat to e&ectively cast underneath
a dock...
/ish are attracted to structure. 1t is something we talk a$out constantly that if
you want to catch "sh! you have to place an attractive lure or $ait in a natural
manner e5actly where the "sh are most likely to $e. That does not mean they
will always cooperate! or in fact even $e located that day where you might
e5pect them to $e. 1n fact where they were supposed to $e. %ut if you stick to
the $asic rule of "nding and "shing structure - any kind of structure - your
odds of getting a strike from a cooperative "sh improve dramatically. And in
the cooler weather that is coming! that structure will increasingly $e
residential docks and the $ackwater mangroves.
To $est understand the concept of skip casting! think a$out the 3ow of water
around and under docks and mangroves. 6egardless of the e5act location!
water is 3owing around structure.
With the e5ception of small $ack $ays - even ones only a few acres $ig - water
3ows past docks and mangrove structures. As it moves! it cuts a trough. /ish
sit in those troughs. The trick to catching them is getting the $ait or lure near
or on that trough.
Where you position your $oat relative to the wind (the arrows moving towards
the dock structure- is related to the 3ow and direction of the tide. To
e&ectively use Skip Casting! you have to $e in the right place. A general rule-
of-thum$ is to get the $oat as close as you think is perfect! and then move
another 789 closer. 6emem$er that these are the $ack yards of people9s
houses! and you should keep #uiet and respectful. We9ve done e5actly the
opposite! which is why we warn you to $e careful. :ne Sunday morning 1
cursed up a storm when a 78l$ snook tore me a new e5it ramp on his way to
wrapping around four of the eight pilings underneath the dock. 1t wasn9t until
a half-hour later 1 reali;ed that the family that owned the house was eating
$reakfast on their porch! not forty feet (and well within cursing distance-
away. ,o not leave gar$age and do not curse! even if you lose the record.
Take that 3ow a step further! and that 3ow e&ects where the "sh sit. .icture
this (and then look at the picture! argua$ly worth <!888 words-. 2ou are facing
a dock and the tide is moving into the $ay. 1t is 3owing from your right to your
left. 1f it is! the "sh are sitting $ehind the left sides of the dock9s pilings.
They9re sitting $ehind the pier! so that $ait is moved directly in front of their
mouths. .redators are la;y - always remem$er that they will sit wherever it is
likely that minimum movement is re#uired for them to reach $ait. Some "sh
chase $ait in open water. =ot snook. Although you will see them school on the
3ats! and in the springtime huge $alls of them form in all the passes into the
gulf! $ut most of their lives they sit still waiting for dinner to come to them.
Skip Casting
Think a$out how you cast under normal (cast as far as possi$le- conditions. 1f
you9re casting a spoon across a large grass 3at as you drift on a hunt! or
throwing a *ig at a school of >ack Crevalle chasing $ait to the diving $irds!
casting far is important. To get distance! you hold the rod! you carefully 3ip it
$ehind you and then -- in a non-stop 3ow -- throw it. The $end of the rod and
the push of your arm and shoulder strength ma5imi;es distance. To gain
distance and do it right! you cast over your shoulder.
To e&ectively cast a lure or $ait underneath the dock! you have to change your
style a little $it. Try this the ne5t time you9re in a residential canal. 'et close!
and try a sidearm cast that skips the $ait across the top of the water. Think of
what you have to do to skip a stone across the water the concept is identical.
1f you practice for a$out ten years! you will get to the point you can put a $ait
ten feet underneath the roof that the dock forms for the hungry "sh
underneath. Try it. 2ou will like it. And it won9t take ten years. We9re *ust
kidding. ?ight should do you *ust "ne.
Skip Casting is e5actly the same as throwing a rock so it skips across the
surface of the water. 2ou want to side-arm the cast and skip@$ounce the $ait or
lure on the surface. 1t9s opposite of the over-should cast we normally make to
gain distance! $ut distance isn9t important in this case -- you should have you
$oat literally right ne5t to the dock if you can get that close. After $rie3y
spooking the "sh! they come right $ack. We9ve tided our $oat to the dock ne5t
door if the tide9s strong enough so we cannot e&ectively anchore the $oat.
The Tide and the Cast...
Tide is -- as always -- important when you9re learning to skip cast. The 3ow of
the water is going to determine which side of the piling or structure the "sh
are located at. 6emem$er that and you will $etter know where the "sh are -
and $e "shing there yourself.
The "sh are on the $ottom of this overhead view when the tide9s coming in
(the arrow is pointing down-. The "sh are la;y $y nature -- they will sit where
the $ait is most likely to $e pushed directly into their mouths. And the piling
does! in fact! hide them somewhat from the incoming $ait. When the tide is
going out (the arrow is pointed up- the "sh pause for a moment as the tide is
slack! and then immediately move to the other side of the same piling.
All *oking aside! a little practice will get you feeling the e5act angle and
strength you need to apply to successfully skip a live! dead! or arti"cial $ait
underneath a dock near you. And it9s getting coolA 'et your $utt out there.
,ock "shing -- when done right -- is the most challenging and potentially the
most productive winter "shery availa$le to us. And that9s saying a lot!
considering. So learn how to skip cast to get a $ait underneath the dock! and
you will "sh closer to where the "sh actually are.