jigging the canal
 

this was the year I told myself I was going to learn how to do it..

Ive been having so good luck with swimmers and topwater I havent really had a chance.... till last night

I spent a couple hours down the canal. I had a 4oz ronz on... I would cast at like a 45deg angle against the current, wait for it to hit the bottom and then just sorta jig it up so it bounced and hit again...

reel it in once it was all the way over, and do it again.

I kept touch with the bottom (no hangups in 2 hours which was nice)
No fish either, but thats ok.


Is this the general idea?

Larger baits like the ronz and sluggo's are gonna require more time to get to the bottom as they create more resistance..IMO a black and red sluggo is as good as the more expensive ronz..
Anyways.IMO the larger baits will rob casting distance and time spent in the strike zone..I know they catch But there are times something else might be better suited..Another thing casting as far back as 45 degrees will have u fishing limp..This is the recipe for a lost jig.When you do find a productive spot to fish the last thing you wanna do is build a snag...A heavier jig casted more perpendicular will get to the bottom faster and stay down as long or longer.More importantly You can fish it on a tight line.When the line is tight you have control...A 4.5 or 5 oz canal special jig with a pork rind trailer is a good lure.Another thing u can try is letting line out..Once the jig swings the line will lift it,causing it to loose contact.Let line out till you make contact again..Your time on the bottom will be shorter as more line out causes more lift, but you can let it out one more time before it swings to far.Here is where your line thickness comes into play.Too thick and your time spent on the bottom is short.Too thin and you run the risk of loosing good fish.I can't imagine ever having to jig the ditch with mono..Todays braids are a godsend.Unfortunately there is no uniformity in the sizing of todays lines from one company to the next.So some work is involved in finding what suits you best.50 lb power pro is not a bad choice.My last trip i used Big Game braid in 50 lb test I found it to be OK..Kinda limp..I used to use fireline in 30 lb test..I think the big game cast's farther..
Let the line out on a count so you can repeat the process over and over..You want to be able to repeat the process without letting too much line out so your not tight and run the chance of loosing the jig..Also take into consideration that all of this will change as the currents change..Learn to be precise in all of your movements..Casting angle and distance, count to the bottom,Angle of which to let line out,how long a count on the line out..Even turns of the handle on the retrieve.This technique is not much practiced on the big ditch but I am sure there are mussel beds on the way in you could wreck fish off the of with a swim bait like a large storm shad.Never mind the all of the fish that make a living near the edges....All these little things add up.Jigging is a science..When you notice someone catching more than others.It is no coincidence..

NIB, that was excellent.

Wow... thanks very much for the insight...

I will definitely attempt to put it to good use.


I did definitely notice that at first, it was slack, I had to reel quick to catch up... but once the jig was in front of me, the line was tight, and i was bouncing bottom half way decently... The current was ripping thru fairly quickly too... but ill try to make some adjustments and see what I can do..

Thanks again!

Great post. Lots of info. Thanks for sharing.

NIB is a good teacher. :love:

don't be afraid to try just a plain bucktail either. several of my best fish in the canal came on plain black or white bucktails bounced on the bottom.

Thanks,I learned some stuff there.

NIB, great post. This is my first year jigging that evil place you guys call the ditch... and I love it. Pretty much everyone I fish with are boat guys, so learning the canal has been a lot of reading here, a lot of annoying the local B&Ts and a lot of hours on the rocks. A lot of what I've been doing is similar to what you post, but I should try making some adjustments.

I use 4oz jigs or 12" Sluggos with a 3oz leadhead. This lets me work bottom about an and hour 45 minutes either side of slack. I rarely lose jigs while working them on bottom. In my last 5 trips, I've probably lost 5 or 6 jigs and it's always on the retrieve. I reel as fast as possible and then bang, I'm hung up.

How are you guys getting 5oz jigs back 2+ hours after slack without getting snagged up? I'd love to not have to sacrifice so much lead and line to the canal gods.

even the best canal jiggers loose dozens of jigs a year due to snags ;)

I'm sure. But I snag on almost every retrieve if I use any jigs 4.5+oz. Now I know there are guys out there using 5+oz jigs fishing 2+hours after slack with a heavy current. Are they getting snagged on every retrieve as well?

probably not...what reel are you using? and what is the length of your rod?

10' medium-heavy with a penn 560. had 40# pp but am switching 50# pp because I need to re-spool.

This winter, I'm going to build a 10'6" MH rod for jigging the canal. And a reel specifically for it. Trying to find the short-comings of my gear now before I make a dedicated canal rod.

sounds like ur snagging up on something along the edge..
If it is real close it could be a newly placed pot..
Move or start your retrieval earlier in the drift..

don't jig where the snags are


NIB knows how to jig:fishin::uhuh:

most likely your hitting lobster pots.you should see the hardware on their lines when they pull in their traps, and on the traps.

Definitely not a pot. And it's happened in half a dozen different places, many of which I've scouted for rope at low water.

I'm sure it's heavy weed as the water shallows. However, I'm bringing the jig in further from shore than some of those guys I've seen out in 3+knot current speed.

Any word from the experienced guys that actually jig the canal in the conditions mentioned (heavy current, 5+oz or similar)?

what reel you using?

try a faster retrieve, you lose less jigs reeling in that way

I do fine with 5 oz in fast current, except now and then when letting too much line out to get a further drift or to get back in contact with the botton, you hang up. it happens.
maybe the bottom is so mushy you don't realize you are down and don't reel up the slack quick enough, then you hang.

find the rips
tictictic

Well then it is your reels inablity to take up line fast enough..
You really have to bust it in on the lower water to get it over the kelp and stuff.If u jerk it the jig will fly forward and plop in, thats where it gets snagged.Just try a steady fast retrieve along the edge.
I held off on this as I now guys still use a conventional.while some of em are fast they are not as fast as yours..
i use a diawa's saltiga..5500..
Look into a diawa emblem it is a good start.and more than 1/3 the cost..

Thank you NIB, that's exactly what I was looking for. I too prefer a spinning outfit. Since I wrap my finger, it doesn't matter the weight.

When I start to retrieve, I reel my ass off and I know I'm pulling line in as quick as possible. But I think you hit it on the head with "if you jerk it the jig will fly forward and plop." In trying to reel so quickly, I haven't been paying attention to the rod tip.

Next time I head out, I'll pay some more attention to what the rod tip is doing.

I know some guys are using huge sticks out there, but what's the general consensus for the rods length and strength? Am on the right track using a 10' MH now and then building a 10'6" MH this winter?

just because you dont see a rope doesnt mean there is not a trap there.the canal is loaded with lost traps. from storms and rope breaking.

I use a ten footer..A allstar 1209.they no longer make this blank..
Anthing longer that 10 ft and your gonna run out of room when you point the rod back to cast..
Lami makes a gsb122mh..or the 1266 MH arra..Are good choices..

Uh--there's nobody here more experienced than NIB and Slip. ;)

You usually get your jig back when you snag the bubble weed in close.

I agree with NIB--your 560 can't take up line fast enough (slow retrieve/narrow spool) and your jig is getting buried in the face of the drop-off. This is particularly a problem when you have some eel grass on your leader.

If you're going to use spinning reels, and you're going to jig the Canal regularly, I would advise you to make the investment in a Van Staal 275 or a Saltiga 6000 GT--the problem you're having with hang-ups should go away. At full capacity those two reels take up about 4 feet of line per crank of the handle--or something close to 4'.

how about you mike? :fishin:

anyhow you need a faster reel thats all...at least your not using a rod under 10ft for jigging, i thought maybe you were thus the reason why you kept getting snagged on the retrieve.

Tell him the rod numbers o' great sage..
I suggested a emblem.At under 200 It's a good entry level reel..
Plunking down 700 beans is not in everyones budget..
There is no doubt there are some who know how to jig better.I learned long ago there is always someone better..It is not about who is better, I just offered up "For Free" what some would only sell..Keep it up and I will let you go back to being the "know it all"..
As far as well experienced SaltHeart comes to mind.He is a expert, he does things a little different..Lighter jigs more count..On the front page look up articles I think he did one on jigging a while back..One should explore many methods as the canal can be very different from one side to the other..

Unfortunately, I don't know either of them well enough to know that. And the breadth of their knowledge wasn't obvious in their first replies. And I made the request for someone with experience before the really helpful info came out.

Agreed. When I snag the bubble weed, I can usually walk it down and pull out of it. I'm pretty sure I'm hitting some sort of thick weed because I can usually feel a bit of play in the snag when giving a bit of slack.

Thanks to the wisdom here, I think the reel's limitation in retrieval speed is definitely the source of my problem. Unfortunately the bank won't allow me to buy a VS just yet.

Thanks NIB, Slip and Mike!

You may want to try to get as close as u can to the water or in the water as the tide drops..I use waders in the ditch. I think I am the only one..I like my balls to stay dry..This should help also..

I almost always wader up. Prefer them especially when trying to release a fish. Let's me get down to the water to revive them better.

I'll probably be more adamant about it.

Here is a good analogy that most don't realize when fishing the Ditch..
The ditch has a average depth of around 40 ft or so.Some spots are much deeper..It is possible for you cast to reach the depth of 50 ft..Think about it.It is more like casting from the top of a 4 story building.Your jig is not out there.It's down there...

Must be at high water? A lot of the signs around the canal say the depth is something like 32'. I've never been out there in a boat so I just assumed the signs were accurate.

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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:rotf3:

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