Most top-flight pros can hold their own when docks are the deal. A short list of the best dockers most certainly would include Denny Brauer, Ron Shuffield and now, thanks to his win in the inaugural Cabela's Top Gun Championship, Brent Chapman.
But when the fish are tucked way back in the gnarliest, darkest nooks and crannies, Dion Hibdon is the man on whom the smart money is placed. He's the master of skipping baits to bass who've had enough of the usual array of lures dunked around the easy-to-reach corners. In fact, he parlayed that talent into a victory at the 1997 Bassmaster Classic at Alabama's Logan Martin Lake.
Distinguishing Tactic
Hibdon said skipping has been an important ingredient in the success he's achieved over his 20-year career.
"There are lots of good flippers and pitchers, but at the most they're only getting their baits 3 or 4 feet under the docks," he said. "I wouldn't have won the Classic if I couldn't skip that bait way back under those docks. I probably would have finished 4th."
Hibdon's adept at skipping with any kind of equipment, but acknowledged it's easier with a spinning outfit.
"When I learned and now when I teach skipping, I use a spinning rod and reel. I like a medium-heavy to medium-light rod, what I call 70/30 – 70 percent backbone and 30 percent tip – to get the right kind of skip. It has to give a little. The stiffer the rod, the harder it is to skip with because you've got to use more arm motion."
He said fluorocarbon doesn't skip very well, so he uses standard mono. "When you're skipping, you're taking management of your line to a higher level and fluorocarbon gives you more line trouble."
Checked Swing
Hibdon describes spinning-rod skipping as a "forceful deal. The cast is like a checked swing in baseball. You stop by pointing your rodtip at your target. The bait goes out there like it was shot from a gun."
Skipping with baitcasting requires a completely different approach. While the spinning-rod skip is a forced act, skipping with a baitcaster is more finesse.
"I make a roll-cast. I lift the bait up from below and swing it (clockwise) over the tip in a roll-cast. I lift up the tip as the bait is heading to the target, which allows me to feather the bait and keeps the line from catching on the water. If you force the bait, like you do with a spinning outfit, you'll backlash."
Lifting the rodtip is the key. "After you sling it and just before the bait hits the water, you have to raise the rod. It's hard to learn, kind of a nightmare, really, until you get the hang of it."
Two-handed rods also are essential.
"When you swing a baseball bat, if you only use one hand, you can't control the bat. Same goes with skipping – spinning or baitcasting. By putting both hands on the rod, you can control where the bait goes much better. I'm a big boy with pretty strong wrists, and I still need to use both hands.
Triggers Strikes
Hibdon said he's convinced skipping also catches the attention of fish lurking under docks.
"It's not just a technique to get the lure to the fish," he said. "Skipping also attracts fish lots of times. Often they hit a bait as soon as it stops. Skipping's an attractant itself – even more so in heavily fished areas."
He uses a variety of baits, but recommended that dock-skippers keep one idea in mind when deciding on a lure.
"The bait should look like a bluegill – color, shape, anything. I like green-pumpkin or watermelon. In clear water, I'll sometimes go lighter, like amber with blue flake. And I always add a little chartreuse on the tail – just like what you see on bluegills under docks."
His lures typically are compact. One of his favorites is the Luck "E" Strike Dion's Secret skirted grub. He said tubes are the easiest baits to skip, and he rigs his on an Eagle Claw HP hook with a weight clipped inside.
Jigs are another favorite. "When I'm skipping a jig with a rubber chunk, I glue the chunk so it doesn't slip. It skips like a flat rock with that chunk threaded on and glued in place."
His arsenal also includes Luck "E" Strike's Jogger Worm stickbait and French fry-style worms for times that require a smaller-profile bait.
Notable
> Hibdon is recovering from shoulder surgery in August. "They went in and cleaned up a bone spur that was tearing up a tendon," he said. "The bursa had turned completely to scar tissue." He's sore, but healing well.
> His skipping outfits include a 6'6" medium-heavy to medium-light American Rodsmiths rod and Abu Garcia Cardinal reel. For baitcasting, he goes with a similar-action rod but an Abu Garcia Torno reel. He spools up with Trilene XT.
> The next generation of Hibdons is making a move in the world of competitive bass fishing. Dion's and wife Jill's 10-year-old twins, Lawson and Connar, were 1st and 5th, respectively, in their age group in the Missouri BASS Federation's qualifying process for the Junior Bassmaster World Championship. Son Payden, 13, was 3rd in his age group with one tournament remaining to determine who would represent Missouri at the championship.
