saltwater
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
shorefishing that involves wearing a buoyant
wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfing, surfers, Underwater diving, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activit ...
and swimming out from shore with flippers to fish with rod and reel (typically a
surfcasting
Surf fishing is land-based game fishing while standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf zone. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky be ...
rod), often using live eels. It is practiced as a means of getting further out to sea in order to increase the chances of catching a fish and can be dangerous. The term skishing is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words"Skishing" ''Forbes'', 27 October 2008. "Combine fishing, swimming and water skiing and you get a most peculiar sport." The activity was invented by Paul Melnyk, a cabinet maker from
Montauk, New York
Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318.
The ...
. Melnyk has explained that the activity is similar to skiing because "if you hook a fish over thirty pounds, it will generally take you for a ride".
A description of skishing on Stripercoast Surfcasters web forum as told by Jacob Freeman.
" It really has to be experienced to be understood, but it's definitely not for everyone. I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is not at least a little crazy. But for me, skishing is to surfcasting, as a hurricane is to a windy day.
To be immersed in the element that holds your quarry, bass sometimes swimming so close to you that you can kick them, feeling the raw power of a big bass pull you around, wrestling one on one with a big fish in their element is unreal. They don't give up when they're still in the water, and you can't lift a big bass out of the water when you're swimming, so it can become a friggen wrestling match until you get your hook out if the fish is still green. I always crush the barbs of my hooks for an easier release anyway, so sometimes you can just give them some slack and they'll release themselves if it's just a lip hook. With an 11' rod, you really have a lot more leverage than most would think, and with some practice you can horse a fish in (or pull yourself closer to it) rather quickly.
Skishing also provides the surfcaster with access to many very fishy areas that are not accessible from shore or frequented by boats due to the hazardous rocks and reefs. How many times have you been standing on a rock or on the beach and the fish are busting beyond your casting range? That's frustrating. Skishing lets you get out to where they are."
SKISHING description: "It was an extraordinary feeling for me to be floating weightless in this dynamic sea, and I felt as thought I had shed every pound of excess baggage as I rode the tide . . . Fighting a substantial fish while swimming is a unique experience. A balance must be achieved between the hunter and the prey. Any variation to this equilibrium causes a loss of control as the fish pulls. I was kicking hard to keep myself upright, fighting the fish while using my whole body as leverage. . . A swarm of splashing bodies soon surrounded me."ontauk Confidential: A Fisherman's Memoir June 29, 2011/ref>