There are some people down there who'd throw your dead stick in the water, and fish from the rock it was stuck in. ;)

No, that's not what we're saying. You can wear waders all you want, although I never do. What we're saying is, if you wear waders, don't climb down the rocks and into the water when doing it will screw up the guys standing up-tide on the rocks.

This sounds like me on sunday morning, but my story is from the guy in waders perspective. I was in the middle of the canal cape side, wearing waders with another guy wearing waders, fishing my style, sometimes in the water a bit to make the back cast easier, not to mention i was on a bar anyway. No one around for 1.5 hours, completely alone. Then someone sees me hooked up riding by on his bike. He comes down. Gets on the cell phone, calls 2 others... then it goes downhill from there. 30 guys in the area... So now do I have to get out of the water cuz the three guys that are pretty much behind me are up high on the bank wearing jeans and the current is going my direction? I was there first and had to change my fishing style to accomodate them. Didnt catch as many fish because of it.

It all comes down to working with those around you to make the situation work. Theres a different attitude in some fishermen getting more and more common, both young and old. If they don't wanna cooperate, I just leave and find another location to set up shop. I expect to encounter the circus at the canal the few mornings i fish it and its dissapointing. I'm relatively young, and it was only a few years ago where these breaking tides had few people fishing them. You could fish them like a manaic, where once you found the mother pod, you could hook up, jump on the bike and peddle like mad, follow that pod for while, with no one around to get in your way. Its just sad to hear about guys casting over lines and all that nonsense.

Good thing theres still plenty of places along the coast where I can go almost all season and not see a soul!!! And i thank all those that fish these areas for keeping all those places nameless! Even on those shore lines with no one around, the light doesnt come on - well it does but its such a low level its not visible from more than 50 feet away. If you go looking for the recognition and ego, others will be there to give you and your fishing areas the attention and pressure!

"Smokey, this is not Nam, there are rules"

False, I just look at them with my best troll face and ppl shat themselves and keep peddlin:fury: :grins:

Amen.

Oh now I get what your saying, I never get in to fish

for years I avoided the canal because of these type of threads, special gear, special rules, crime, crowds, etc. It seemed to complicated to me.


I've only fished it a dozen times but never ran into any issues. I fished during one of the big "rushs" when there were apparently big crowds. I moved to a number of places and ran into friendly guys, caught and landed fish with folks around and had some friendly interactions. I wish I hadnt waited so long to fish there. I'm pretty considerate and know how to land a fish but it wasnt an intimidating experience which I believe it was hyped to be.

same here lost a lot of gear in years past,recently started going again and started landing fish and good conversation with others around.no hyp just lock your stuff and dont leave anything out of site.

I witnessed a hilarious exchange between the guy next to me and some yahoo who came down about 2 hours after the change.

As usual, it was a-hole to a-hole, with the occasional gentleman mixed in. We had all switched to the bottom when this guy came down dressed in the latest and greatest get up and started launching plugs all over the place without even a look around or talking to anyone. His 3rd, 4th and 5th cast snagged other guys rigs.

He actually had the cahoneys to tell the guy next to me that it is proper etiquette to lower you line when a guy is trying to work the surface and it would really help him out if he would cooperate. I actually heard laughter from the few who heard it.

Never saw someone actually get run off by an angry mob....it was great. Fishing was decent for an hour or so.

missed it again,saw a few smallies come out around 4:40 at the acadamy
had a few hits no takers.think my bait was to big

Funny thing. I was on the Canal since last Tuesday. got loads of nice fish into 40+ and got to fish with a lot of good people. We worked together landing fish and kept line crosses to a min.a few new anglers slipped in and instead of giving them greif we worked with them so they'd learn the ropes. all in all a good week of fishing.did see a couple of the newer old timers(LOL) gettin an attitude and had to laugh at it.One of the youngsters(87) said it's more fun watching them than fishing at times.LOADS of BIG FISH and plenty of room for those that are willing to work together.Told one that thought the Canal was his private spot to move on as there was no room for his type there.Even offered him swimming lessons after he about bit some kids head off that was trying to learn the right way by asking questions instead of just jumping in.OH I FORGOT I'M SPOT BURNING LOL

Place sounds like it has more drama than days of our lives...Bunch of dudes putting on their wife's panties and going down to the canal on their way to p-town..
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A friend of mine fishes the salmon river a lot and has for years. They fish a spot just above the ballpark behind haldane. they pretty much dominate the spot, you can fish there but you have to have fun, adopt an attitude and they will help you decide to fish elsewhere.
I've found it works the same at all crowded spots.
I do like to fish in the dark alone though.

ppl blow it out of proportion, its not like a war zone down there, 99% of the folks you meet will shake your hand, say whatsup, and have a friendly conversation about fishing

I guess its just tough to see the "canal" make the same status as the "salmon river". Especially for those who have seen it without the crowds. If things keep up like it is, the new generation will never have known what it was like.

What is comes down to, 99% of the people like to be spoonfed the info, told where to go, or visually see how to go about doing something. Not many wanna goto new areas, fish them hard and figure them out. In my opinion, when you start figuring all these new areas out on your own, you gain experience that no one can tell you or show you. Its at that point you can be the leader and make the judgement calls on what to do when. Not just follow guys aroundd.

There are thousands of miles of coast line from Maine- New york, to fish. There are so many places that have potential, and many of these will never see a fisherman!

I would think any of the famous spots for fishing have the same crowd potential, and the canal would be alittle worse since it is how far from how many people. Any of these spots if you walk you can be alone, the canal is probably harder than most famous spots since a bike is a pretty fast mode of transportation compared to foot on the south side of montauk, the salmon river, etc.

saw a few of those too,dont know what is more fun fishing or people watching