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Skipping for Bream

By Matt Collins

One of my go-to soft plastics is the ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ. This little paddle tail is one of the most versatile soft plastics around and everything eats it. Doesn't matter if you are in salt or fresh, something will slam a Slimmy. Slim SwimZ can be rigged with 1/4oz TT Lures HeadlockZ jigheads for long casts on the flats, weedless with a SnakelockZ Finesse for snag bashing, or very light on TT Lures HWS (Hidden Weight System) jighead for casting at pontoons and bridges.

It's the HWS that I often use and not in the way I have seen many others use it. Skip casting is not a new technique by any means however I rarely see it used much outside of jack fishing. If it is, no-one talks about it and I can see why... its deadly on bream and in the right location flathead and bass as well. This skipping presentation perfectly imitates a fleeing prawn and rings the dinner bell for any fish nearby.

The What

This technique is nowhere near as hard to master as skipping with baitcasters, however it does take a little bit of practice and the right gear also helps. The 2.5" Slim SwimZ pairs perfectly with the TT Lures HWS jighead in size 1, and I tend to use the 1/16oz and 1/20oz weights. You could go up or down in weight slightly if you need, just remember too heavy will dig in before it skips and too light will only go a short distance. It is important to rig the plastic as straight as possible so that the flats sides catch the water and make it skip.

Rod choice has the most impact on your ability to skip. A fast action rod, like the TT Rods Black Mamba 1-3kg, is perfect. The fast action allows you to load up just to last few feet of the rod, to gain the momentum needed to skip the light lure. This means that you don't have to swing a long wide arc of a cast, instead a short flick is all it needs. It can be done with slower action rods however you lose feeling and need to move the rod through a greater arc on the cast to load it sufficiently. Any reel that is correctly weighted to the rod will work. Typically, I use a 20 or 30 size reel in the Okuma Inspira Blue or Epixor XT range. Load that with 8-10lb Platypus Pulse X8 Braid and 4-10lb Platypus Stealth FC Leader, depending on where you are fishing.

The How

It's just like skipping a stone and it won't take long before you can skip cast. Practice will ensure that you can skip it right where you need it. Start with the lure a foot from the tip of you rod and cast parallel and close to the water, loading the rod up quickly just before the release, then following through and pointing the rod at the lure for maximum distance. Once you get it, the action can be done single handed with just a flick of the wrist. The most important point is to load the rod tip so that it does the work for you. You will get a sore shoulder, as I found out, if not done right and this is where the right rod helps a lot.

The Where

I have used this technique everywhere from fresh water in local SEQ lakes and creeks, to saltwater estuaries, mangroves, canals, rock walls and marinas. Anywhere the fish are feeding in the top metre or so of the water column, this will work.

In the fresh it works best skipped up to lily edges in lakes and around any structure in the creeks. In the salt the two places I find it excels is when fishing pontoons and mangroves. In the canals, around pontoons, you can often see the bream feeding, so a skip cast a foot or so away will fire them up and have them making a beeline to your lure. Another deadly technique is to blind cast into the shadows up between the pontoons and boats. Once the lure stops, quickly flick the bail over and let the plastic sink for a few seconds. If there are no hits slow roll it out. Often before the bail is closed you are on!

Around the mangroves this technique works a treat, however when the water is just under the mangrove foliage it is at its best. A cast fired right up under the overhanging mangroves will alert any bream or flathead that are hunting there and then a slow roll or a hopping retrieve will give them time to find and strike the lure. At low tide in the estuaries, you can also skip up to the shallow edges and then slow roll or slow hop the Slim SwimZ out. This is where I have caught some great flathead and there is often bream lurking around the drop offs as well.

All I can say is get out there and give it a go for yourself. Grab a packet of TT Lures HWS 1/16oz size 1 jigheads and a packet of Midnight Oil coloured ZMan 2.5" Slim Swimz and I'm sure you will get into a few. Change it up and show us how you adapt this technique to your fishing or the areas you fish. I can't wait to see what others come up with.

Cheers, Matt

Gearing Up:
TT Rods Black Mamba Spin Rod - BMS701L 7' 1-3kg
Okuma Inspira Blue Spin Reel - ISX-20 or ISX-30
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reel - EPXT-20 or EPXT-30
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid - 8-10lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 4-10lb
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
TT Lures Hidden Weight System (HWS) Jigheads