Originally Posted by numbskull (Post 873582)

I'm less sure.

Certainly numbers are down noticeably, but I still see lots of 12-18# fish by night. By day I can't catch squat with plugs, but there is no shortage of fish for those using fly rods. What I can't find are those 30lb fish that should still be around. 2 years ago I could catch 20-25 lb fish at will. No more. I don't know if they have been cleaned out or if their behavior changes as they get bigger. I hope it is the latter.

The other thing I suspect is going on is a canal-centric view point. The canal has been so good with so many predictable blitzes the last 3-4 years that many guys have become dependent on it. I suspect there are often times when there are more guys fishing at the canal, than there are fishing from shore along the entire remaining MA coast. Fishing effort used to be much more balanced. Now when the canal blitzes don't materialize, many guys feel lost (although I bet the long time regulars slugging it out with jigs/eels in the dark are still doing OK).

It is nice out there at 2 in the am, and there are still enough fish to make it worth going. These 32-38" fish promise several good years of fishing yet. There is discouragingly little behind them, though. That worries me.

Originally Posted by Swimmer (Post 873635)

can be this crowded for the canalcentric fisherman. I wouldn't crowd someone I don't like this bad. Sorry the first one is blurred. There is about twenty fishermen in that pic though.