I hate to bring up a several-month-old thread, especially after having been away for so long, but I saw this one and couldn't help but comment...
This year I've been busy completing my final semester of graduate coursework in music, and am about to start student-teaching next week, so I've been far too busy to do much fishing. However, prior to this year, I frequently fished Cumberland/Barkley around Clarksville and Cumberland City, TN. Skipjack are quite prolific here. They do indeed make an excellent bait for blues and channels. I attribute this to them being such an oily fish. The smaller ones are often confused with the shad species which are also common here. They can be a lot of fun on rod & reel tackle.
In Cumberland City, the TVA has a steam plant, right around which there is a very large population of shad and skipjack, the skipjack mostly being in the 6-10" range. These draw in a fair number of catfish and stripers, so most folks cast-net for the herrings to use as bait. However, they can also be a blast on UL or fly gear. They seem to hit anything they can fit in their mouths, as long as it's white.
Further upstream, there is a creek which feeds into the main lake. There, I have routinely caught skipjack which could go 3-4 lbs. while fishing for LMB. Crankbaits and jigs mostly. The bigger ones fight pretty hard as well.
I have no experience with them in small impoundments, but would be interested in hearing the results!
