I think we have that pretty much covered--if he can't get a 1209, then it's a 126 Arra. Sounds like he's wrapping the Arra this winter. That 122 1MH is a beast--wicked heavy. He might be better off with a glass 3M, unless he's a big guy like you or Slip. That 122 is more rod than I can handle right now.

You could probably call me the exact opposite of a big guy... in all my 5'4" glory. Glass will probably be the best choice for me. Gotta be somewhat affordable though.

glass?
remember it's heavy
the lami 1203m I think is a pissa rod for whipping fish on a jig in the canal, a bit heavy for me so I stick with the 1209
IMO the saltiga 6000 GT is the best spinning reel for the canal, higher speed retrieve than most and killer drag.

this fall, try a 5-6 oz ball jig, bare with no hair, no pork and no need for paint even. jig that at night reaching the fish, they will chow that lead on a fast current.

Mike knows that Keith doesn't have a computer and is not here ;) you may not know Keith either, he logs in some serious time there though.

Unfortunately, I don't really know anyone down at the canal, just a few familiar faces made out in the dark. Pretty much everything I ''know'' about the canal has just been trial/error and what I've read here.

The ball jig idea seems extremely counter intuitive... and I can't wait to try it.

Couple of questions:
 

NIB,

Good suggestions.

Curious as to how much time you put in at or how often you go to the Canal?

Are you from NJ and you make the trip up just for the Canal?
That's a heck of a ride.

Just wondering, thanks.

I'm not so sure that Keith would know how to turn on a computer even if he owned one ;)

JPowers isn't much bigger than JohnnyD, and he does OK with the 1209.

JD, you could try dropping down to a Rainshadow 1208, but I can tell you that if it's anything like the All Star, it isn't going to like throwing 6 oz at all.

Yo, Mike - I'm 5'11" 150#s of solid muscle. Johnny said he was 5'4"

I wrestle lions/tigers/bears everyday and taught NIB everything he thinks he knows which is 10% of what I know.
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Its a mistake to say cast at 45 degrees or don't cast at 45 degrees because of slack , etc. You need to decide how you are going to work the area. beginners are usually just capable of finding bottom and avoiding snags while the jig moves in a bog circular arc with them at the center. essentially they hang on , let line out and take it in but they are following an arc that is determined by the current just pulling the jig from left to right. So if this is what you are doing . its normal but its the most basic of jigging techniques.

You need to be able to decide to work the area in straight lines down rip seams , to follow a course so the jig drops into a certain spot at a certain time , to catch a current that is moving away from the shore to get the best ride of the jig , to work the very edge of the canal without geting caught on that lip , etc , etc. Each of these is a different scenario and requires you to cast , drift , let line out , take it back in , etc , etc so that you work the area instead of it working you.

You should start out by practicing just getting a feel for the bottom and not ettint snagged as the jig follows that natural arc from side to side to side and the natural drift back towards shore once the jig is down current. The next move is see if you can figure out by controlling the upcurrent angle and the letting out of line to stop that arc of the jig coming in and see if you can figure out how to get it to go in a staright line for a while , away from you while its down current. Thats about the most essential skill to aquire if you ever want to be more than a beginner.

The next thing is to try to figure out how to avoid the natural arc by learning to control the slack to a point where you can get a staright line bounce on the upcurrent part of the drift. This is a balancing act. You need to let that jig tumble in the curent with no in pull from you ( the in pull results in the arc towards shore) but you have to stay in touch with it so you will know when to raise the rod tip to quickly take up slack line and get it free when you feel it starting to snag. Eventually you need to do this with just the least amount of slack because you only get a split second to decide when to take in slack by cranking and raising the rod to avoid the snag. snags happen in the blink of an eye sometimes and if you are daydreaming or have too much slack out , you won't be able to give that needed pull in time to avoid the snag.

So now you have mastered how to change the natural arc down current by letting out slack and also up current. This means you should be able to work that jig in staright lines now instead of just the arc which beginners use.

Once you get the idea about how to alter the shape of the drift line using the rod and reel to go from an arc to a straight line or an arc plus a staright line etc , etc (arcs , upcurrent straight lines and down current straight lines combine to make a big variety of paths that your jig can now follow). Now its time to add another tool to your rod and reel to control the course of your drift ( or bounce). That tool is the spot you choose and the time within the current cycle that you fish a spot.

Some spots , notably spots where the shore falls away to your downcurrnet side , allow you to actaully ride the currents out away from the shore. These are the best spots for getting very long times in the water with each cast. When you find these spots , you are no longer waiting for the jig to drift back in close to shore to stop the drift and retrieve the jig. The jig is moving away from the shore (almost like you are arcing the other way. When this happens , you will have to stop your drift (bounce) because you are running out of line.

A given spot may or may not set up to give you this outward pull at any time during that current cycle. For example , there may be no outward pull for the first two hours until things start booking. There may be an outward pull for and hour then things change and the currents start back eddying down current and you loose the outward pull and fall into the dead water of a back eddy. The same thing applies to current seams that develop and then disappear as the stage of the current cycle changes with time.

Anyway , I could start to get really complicated now but [I] think there's enough to consider here for one post.

As a summary , its most importatnt to learn how to use your rod and reel to change the path of the jig from that arc it naturally follows to a course which puts you in cammand as to how to work the area. be able to add staright lines to the beginning and end of your drifts. Next , learn to see how the currents , seams ,outflows and backeddys set up in a given spot and learn to use those current directions in conjuction with your rod and reel techniques to really be able to work an area and send that jig and any direction you want depending on the spot. Lastly , observe how the current and conditions of flow change during the 6 hour current cycle and learn to work the jig different ways to take advantage of the changing character of a given spot as the water changes its course of flow during the current cycle.

One day I hope to be as good as Jim P..:love:
Except for the clothes..:confused:

Jim, thanks for teaching me 25% of what you know:fishin:


Saltheart, very informative post :btu: thanks

I live 300 miles from the canal most times it takes me just under 5 hrs it has taken as many as 8 hrs.. I have been fishing it since 2002..I have come as many times as 4 per year.Last year I made one trip for 3 nights..This year one trip for 5 nights.Most times I come in the mid summer months.Not the best time but I have confidence.I truly believe after may when they enter there are large fish that just stay in the ditch till they leave in the late fall.
In my illustrious career I bet I have a little over 50 nights fishing the ditch..Thats less than a season for many good ditch guys..If I lived near there it would not even be a half a season...
Like I said I am NO Expert..I catch suicidal fish.,I catch em out of sheer determination.My first quality ditch fish came from a all nighter of casts..I must have casted 300 times.I have learned the better tides thru trial an error.
It's fishing thats all.Fishing in current..Some make it out to be something so much more.Getting your gear right to fish 50 ft depths at 5 kts is half the battle.The current puts the fish where they are supposed to be.I still think the canal is a wonderful fishing hole. Seven miles long with 2 sides chock full of mysteries.I have only just begun to unlock em..That is why I come back..

i wanna be like Mister powers some day. :love:

I got the clothes from Keyser Soze.

nib..... 4 a guy from the jerzy coast ,,u understand the canal very well ....for the last 25 yrs i,ve had a lot of time on the ditch . from pre hay days w/ live herrin and live pogies through the hole season .to fishing only w/ fake bait and tins and plugs ...my advice is get the bike watch the regs ,propper rod n reel,
keep notes and spend time there..its all about what you know and where to go next .and yes i,m a knowitall....???

Thanks Dave, I have done that with the bike..My earlier trips I did lots of legwork.
Low tides.Looking for turbulent water, upsides and downsides of mussel beds.Marked fishing locations..I did hook a good one in spot one time they told me it was the wrong tide??
Had em hooked for 30 seconds or so when she came undone.
Thats ok,while your landing ratio with a jig is as close to 100 percent of any artificial you can use.In them currents if you don't have em hooked right your not gonna land em. Good thing is,she told me I was doing the right thing..
Seems like last few trips I am getting a little complacent.
More cherry picking easy to fish spots.
It's all good..

This is a good How-To on the Canal.....I also took the liberty of copying Saltheart's and NIB's post from this thread into it...kinda like a living "How-To"

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ad.php?t=14919