I've been selling shad and skipjack to a few baits shops and I dont have a problem catching shad but it's tough to keep up with the demand for skipjack especially around tuscaloosa. Most trips I'm only catching 10-15. I'm planning on taking a trip below a dam somewhere to the Tennessee river or over on the coosa. Any suggestions on where to go and what time of year do they run?

IMO, you aren't going to catch enough skipjack this time of year to justify driving to catch them. You've got to have, maybe should say, really need cool flowing water to catch them. I KNOW where to catch them and am still having a hard time catching 3-4 to fish with.

But to answer your question, any dam on the TN river is a good place to start.

You thinking more like this fall September-october?

My granfather took me to wheeler dam growing up as a kid and we would fish in the tailrace below the dam around the turbines. We would go there for stripe fishing, but we would catch a ton of skipjack there as well on spoons. I would save them and give them to people fishing for cats. It has been awhile since I have been there, but we caught a good many. It was always this time of year. We would go late July or early august.

Never really fished for them in the fall. Normally mid March and April

I was trout fishing below the smith dam one day about 20yrs ago. A bunch of guys flew up in there and bailed out like they were getting ready for something. The water came on so my fishing was done I thought. We all threw roostertails and caught skipjack till our arms hurt. I had no idea you could do that. If it hadnt been for that bunch of guys showing up, I would have packed up and left when the water came on.

I've heard they run strong up there certain times of year

I can be at the pumping station below Smith dam in about 5 minutes. It is absolutely crazy how many you can catch when they run up in the spring.

So has anyone everytried a ladyfish which is a saltwater skipjack
Dadgum oily bloody stinky bait. You can catch a truck load at beach now / pier.

Plan on vacuum sealing a bunch to bring home

Beadle you cant escape them from surf and aside from fighting ASIANS you could probably get folks to give you 50 of them if you just walked the pier. We were catching them for sharkbait.

I used to buy them $1 a piece from an outfitter in Guntersville. Now it's a struggle to catch a couple to fish with like Fur said. You can go catch numbers in the spring but I spend every free minute I have chasing turkeys so it's hard for me to break free to catch skips.

I'm going down with some friends in November to fort morgan there should still be some around from what I'm told

They’re not the same fish as what you’re looking for. They may work the same catfish-wise for bait, but freshwater skipjack and saltwater skipjack are not the same.

They are different fish. But ladyfish is one stanky, oily bloody fish that should work for catfish.

I know that honkie I just figured a catfish would hit them

Heck if you want oily and bloody, you need to catch a bonita and try it.