Trolled eelskins used to be a staple of the Cuttyhunk and Elizabeth's crowd. A lead jig with a hole in the center to keep the skin filled with water (and chain running back to a second hook), trolled through the rips used to produce a whole lot of big bass. I haven't used one since 1976 or so. I do remember that it was generally a mouth hookup though (pardon for mixing threads).
If memory serves, Hal Lyman and Frank Woolner's Stripers had a whole section on eel skins.