Greetings!

[JakeF]

Wouldn't be the first time you came early, I'm sure.

[BassBuddah]

Wouldn't be the first time you came early, I'm sure.

God I hope you guys are good friends, them are fighting words! Welcome aboard, Jake.

[JakeF]

God I hope you guys are good friends, them are fighting words! Welcome aboard, Jake.

Haha,, at least you didn't reply with "How do you know that?"
Yah, we bust balls all the time. He can take it

Thanks for the welcome BB!

[cowherder]

Welcome Jake this is a great site, I like it a lot. What is skishing like? How long have you been doing it? Ever get brushed against by any sharks?

[JakeF]

Hmm,,, what is skishing like? It really has to be experienced to be understood, but it's definitely not for everyone. I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is not at least a little crazy. But for me, skishing is to surfcasting, what a hurricane is to a windy day.

To be immersed in the element that holds your quarry, bass sometimes swimming so close to you that you can kick them, feeling the raw power of a big bass pull you around, wrestling one on one with a big fish in their element is unreal. They don't give up when they're still in the water, and you can't lift a big bass out of the water when you're swimming, so it can become a friggen wrestling match until you get your hook out if the fish is still green. I always crush the barbs of my hooks for an easier release anyway, so sometimes you can just give them some slack and they'll release themselves if it's just a lip hook. With an 11' rod, you really have a lot more leverage than most would think, and with some practice you can horse a fish in (or pull yourself closer to it) rather quickly.

Skishing also provides the surfcaster with access to many very fishy areas that are not accessible from shore or frequented by boats due to the hazardous rocks and reefs. How many times have you been standing on a rock or on the beach and the fish are busting beyond your casting range? That's frustrating. Skishing lets you get out to where they are.

My favorite time to skish though is at night when the tide is moving, and you can swim out into a tidal rip, drop an eel or jig, and just effortlessly and silently drift along a reef or over a trench where the bass lie in wait. The fight in the darkness, the gaping mouth than comes straight at you through the darkness, as you pull it closer, the ensuing battle for the retrieval of your hook, and the tail slap to the side of the head as she swims away as if to say, "HEY! Thanks alot for interrupting my dinner time with that pokey thing!" The sudden realization that you're a lot further from shore than you intended

Have I had any brushes with sharks? Everyone asks me that, and the answer is no,,, not yet. Quite frankly, I think most people's fear of sharks is largely unrealistic and blown WAY out of proportion by the movie industry. Go onto a surfing forum and see how many surfers in New England have even been harrassed by sharks, much less injured in recent years,,, VERY few. Statistically over 100 times more people are killed and injured by cattle each year than sharks. I grew up in the feed lots, sale barns, and corals in the midwest and witnessed several close friends get killed by bulls and freaked out cows. I had a few close calls myself. I'll take on sharks over that any day of the week. That said, I have had my heart jump into my throat a few times while swimming backwards in the dark and bumping into a rock I didn't realize was there

Thanks for the welcome!

[albiealert]

That's a great detailed explanation about skishing, I'm almost tempted to try it....next year! Welcome aboard, Jake.

[basshunter]

Welcome Jake. That's some narrative about skishing. I would say it's not for me but I am impressed with those who are successful at it.