Thinking of getting a new spinning rod for skipping docks. Any suggestions on length and action? I am leaning towards a 5'9" med power xfast st croix avid. Thinking the short rod will be more accurate.
What do you great dock skippers out there use?
I use a 5'6. & 5'10 rods. both are cheap bps rods. medium fast. I use fire line #20 with a weedless 7" zipper worm for weed choked areas. on cleaner docks usually braid with a flouro leader. sickos are amazing, if you can get them. kustom kicker dock monkey jigs are good too .
the shorter rods really help a lot. when the wind is strong and the water is mud you can get right up by the dock and still be able to cast. I really suggest practicing from both directions do that you can hit docks in front and behind you
I know water clarity plays a factor but how close do you usually get to each dock?
As far away as possible. Most lakes around here, the docks receive a lot of pressure. If they see you or hear you 99% of the time you won't get them to bite. As for set-up, I build my own rods so I built a 6'9" medium x-fast rod. I am 6'3" so the little longer rod is easy for me to handle, but I could see wanting to go shorter. What ever the length the key is a fast tip so you can really launch a weightless bait, but still have backbone to get a 4lber out. I use Nanosilk with a fluorocarbon leader. Pretty awesome combo.
I always wanted to make a dock skipping deal with a funnel type deal and a spring loaded launcher deal and then point and shoot....
Yes I can skip but it would work great for the guy whom keeps stagging everything but a fish when a fishing with them...Just thinking
Something between 6'6" and 6'9" is about the best length I have found. The best possible thing for skipping is practice and proper bait selection.
My beef with the rods under 6' for skipping is that it's hard to find a rod with a fast enough action to really get a good skip, which also has enough backbone to control the fish from getting tangled up in the dock once you've got him on. I use a 6'3" St. Croix Avid (AVS63MLXF) extra fast tip with a Shimano Stradic ST3000FJ (high gear ratio and a fairly big spool to take up line quickly). We've got a lot of overhanging trees, brush and docks on the river I live on so I use a lot when I fish around home.
I mostly use a 6'6" medium with and extra fast tip , spinning rod with a fast reel . On some docks that have a lot snags or current to fight , I use a 7'4" medium action baitcaster with a soft tip . The baitcaster helps me muscle the fish out of trouble faster but it is hard to use .
i see a lot of guys staying back from the dock but also just getting a foot or so under. i want my lure so far under it lands on shore. there are days ill be 50 feet away, then there are days when i can touch the boats im skipping under. on a day ill be doing both, ill have both a long and a short rod though.