As I write this I’m sitting about 20 feet high in a Tennessee deer stand. I had to get in one quick hunt on opening day before leaving for my final event of the 2014 season. That event will be the third and final Bass Pro Shops Southern Open at Lake Norman in North Carolina.
My last tournament on Norman didn’t go so well and I’m looking forward to getting another crack at the place. The last time I fished there was in the spring and I just simply got overwhelmed at the massive amount of cover and boat docks on the lake. I spent too much time running around and not enough time with my bait in the water. This time around I plan to do things a little bit different. The good news is I’m already qualified for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic so I don’t really have any pressure on me in this event. That means a lot to an angler when we can just go out and swing for the fence so to speak.
If there’s one key technique I think will play the biggest role next week it will be skipping a jig. Lake Norman is known as one of the best dock fishing lakes in the country. In fact I know guys who fish docks there 365 days a year. From experience I have learned you can’t just take your everyday right off the shelf setup to skip docks with because all you’ll end up with is a bunch of backlashes at the end of the day. I’ll take you through my dock skipping setup starting with the jig I use.
Having the right jig for the job is very important when you get ready to skip docks. There are several locally made jigs in the North Carolina area that are the deal when it comes to this technique. They feature an old school Arkie head design, and maybe most importantly they have a hand tied skirt that doesn’t slip down when you skip it across the water. Probably the most well-known jig company that makes the jigs I use for this is Shooter Lures in North Carolina. Their jigs have all these features as well as a 4/0 Mustad hook that keeps fish buttoned once you hook them.
The rest of my setup includes a high speed baitcaster reel, 20 lb. Vicious Fluorocarbon, and a 7′ heavy action rod. The rod I build for this technique is the MHX MB-844. It is 7′ heavy power but still has plenty of action in the tip to let me skip the bait easily. Make sure the rod you use has some back bone because the quicker you get them out of that dock the better your chances of catching them. I also build my dock skipping rods with just a little shorter handle than I normally would so it allows me more wrist movement when I’m casting. Check out Mud Hole Custom Tackle to learn about building your own rod for skipping docks.
Skipping docks with a jig is all about finding the right setup and I hope this will help get you started in the right direction.
