About time
 

Amen to that Mike

I hope, but doubt, that they lost their tackle. I suspect it will turn into probation and court costs

Last Sunday an EP officer was checking people on the bridge and vehicles in the parking area ahead of the Westport River by the back eddy launch.

Any names yet?

these guys suck.... the last few days hasn't made the situation any better I'm sure

Pictures on FB are insane. Every jamoke and googan who can throw a plug 5 feet is catching 25 to 30# bass in the Ditch. Such a waste of fish on idiots. I'm hearing stories of guys fishing with upside down spinning reels and still catching. Pathetic!:af:

I just cannot do it anymore. 50 years of striper fishing and I think I'm done. There is no sport in it anymore.

[QUOTE=piemma;1126915]Pictures on FB are insane. Every jamoke and googan who can throw a plug 5 feet is catching 25 to 30# bass in the Ditch. Such a waste of fish on idiots. I'm hearing stories of guys fishing with upside down spinning reels and still catching. Pathetic!:af:

I should have taken a pic a couple weeks ago. There was a father son team fishing. Son had the upside down spinning reel and the dad had and I Sh$% you not a zebco, and I don't mean the VS that was bought by zebco, I mean the real deal what my grandma fished with zebco.

2017 has been very generous at the Canal...been quite the year and continues to be.....

IMO - Shouldn't matter if someone is catching with a grandma zebco or not, whether their reel is upside down or right-side up...no one person has more right than another, regardless the level or price-tag of their tackle. (so long as they put in the time and work involved)

The Canal has been and will continue to be....an EASY place to fish (so long as the fish are in heavy).
I've said it before...and I'll say it again, the internet is having an incredibly negative impact on fishing as a whole.
25% positive in regards to learning shtuff and meeting people with similar interests....75% negative in making it too easy for any shmo (experienced or not) to know what's going on, when, on what, WITHOUT putting the time to find out for themselves. It's still fairly safe out in the dark at spots you have to work at....but spots like the Canal....:lurk:...it's a CHiT-ShOw!!!
I feel real bad for guys who've put so much time and energy to learn the holes, tides and rips of the Canal...to only lose them all to the masses closely watching Facebook, etc///
I miss it, until I get there and realize how stupiD it's become....gangs of bikers standing around more than casting, hordes of people fishing too close making it almost impossible to fish it "right"......I hope I don't sound hypocritical, but if people simply did the work themselves, then they deserve the rewards, but most are not...they're waiting for that text, or FaceBook alert. That's not work...that's lazy and easy.
In Today's day and age, people want it "NOW"....however they get it, they just want it now. Doesn't have to be earned on their own or from an acquaintance,...the internet is everybody "friend" and everybody's enemy.

At one time the internet was the sole blame for this, not any longer. The quote at the top is spot on. The book of face, along with others, is what is causing the real problem.
This problem is rampant all over the place, not just the ditch.

I honestly think it is great someone was using a zebco. It gets the job done without the stupidity of the gear whores who think the more you spend,the better angler you are.The fact it was a father/son team makes it the best experience regardless of gear.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I'm sure that you remember what happened the last time there was an insane run of large fish in a small area, and not much else going on along the rest of the coast. :(

Knowing that I'm very likely to have caught my last striped bass ever doesn't make it any easier to watch from afar. I have a deep reverence for that fish.

I have had more than one person who knows absolutely ZERO about fishing tell me I should go and fish the canal.

kind of harsh...some might say parking over a bunker school isn't exactly doing calculus...cast, snag, drop, catch, reel, repeat...
once in a generation event, a lot of people getting in on the action that might not usually have the chance, good for them...(wish i was one of them but this pesky job thing got in the way...):(:(

This....

How do you say
'miss the forest for the trees' in Finnish?

Joe fig you should ANCHOR in the canal ><><:gh:

Friend was there and said it was the craziest day he has ever seen (not the biggest fish or most people but consistant catching).

Saw the DEP bust a comm. guy who had 5 fish. They told him the fine was $100 and they busted him 2 times this year already. He got to keep 2 fish.

the canal is awesome because it keeps all the IDIOTS IN THE SAME PLACE!

hop on the ferry out to MV, and go catch 20lb bass all night long without another person in sight.

it's pretty easy to ignore all the social media crap and do your own thing and still catch fish

I have gotten texts over the past two weeks. I have always wanted to fish the canal when large are around. But after seeing photos of the jam packed banks from this week, I have no desire to make the drive.... Would rather chase the albies in BB or make a quick Derby trip.

not sure even that would help me...

not sure even that would help me...

Joe, the upper Bay is full of Blues from 5 to 12#. I know you are of the "clammer school" when it comes to Blues but they do pull like crazy.

Word is that it is still going on

I heard this week (news to me) that there is an APP for the canal! It is spot on to the minute they say. Unreal:fishslap: talk about cutting the learning curve. So like you mentioned bloocrab, it kind of sucks to hear these things after putting in hard work for yourself when others cash in the easy way. I bet it was made by that Jersey guy who guided people on the canal one year a while back for money. People do the craziest stuff for money including breaking the law poaching.
Mike I hope you get to fish again for striped bass someday.

I stopped last night on my way home just before it got dark, ended up fishing till 10:30 after countless fish. It really is stupid fishing and I have enjoyed it while I've had the chance. I went back this morning 3:30 am to 8:30 fished further west , had the spot to myself for 2 hours and at times fish on every cast, then 2 guys 100 ft to my left, and another 20 feet!!!! away to the right. I stayed put and out fished them both with quality and quantity. My last fish I broke off was a monster. I would go back but over 100 fish in the last 4 trips I am worn out.
I love the canal and hate it. As Paul says, it's not for the faint of heart.

Ross you should have tried at least one trip down, it is insane and the fish have been so powerful all week.

When I fished the back beaches we all knew the migration started around the 15th of August. Ballston use to light up in front of the big dune.
I never bothered with the Canal back then as there was a group of hardcore jiggers who would cut your throat if you infringed on there "territory. Besides, there was no need. We had such great fishing on the Back before the seals.
Some nights from the Mission Bell to Laura's to High Head, if you followed the drop, you stayed on the fish. Many multi 40# fish in a night. ...and no, we didn't kill everything.

I don't begrudge the neophytes catching large. Good for them. The problem is most (not all) haven't "put their time in". I have great friends who fish the Canal regularly and have spent half a lifetime learning spots at certain tides and during certain winds and moon phases.
Now, the guys who don't knw, just wait for a text or a FB post and BANG, there into fishing of a lifetime.
As Mike P posted, just remember the last time there was an abundance of "large" in one place and nowhere else.

Plus he got caught last year...no comm license with 7 fish......How do they not yank his license?

It's kind of like the medical research biz...you don't cure it, you treat it for a lifetime!

You don't revoke a license, but fine him every time he poaches, that way you get your license $$ and fine $$ on a regular basis, and then use him as "proof" that you're doing a good job...:smash:

The only time that I see the canal is when I am driving over it to head to MV to do some real surfcasting.

I run into guys in my area who tell me how many fish over 40 inches they have caught this season. I typically ask them "how many came from the canal?" They normally respond by saying most (like 90%) are from the canal. I quickly tell them that those fish don't count towards their total and that they should spend time closer to home learning their local waters. That normally results in them giving me a funny look and them telling me that I'm crazy.
I constantly strive to improve my skills as an angler. I spend 95% of my time fishing local water, so my aim is to fish structure and water that translates to where I am going to fish. The canal just doesn't offer that to me.

I hate to say it but the end is near so fish as much as you can because soon it will be over and all you'll have is ground fish, even the Blues are declining. Me I could care less if I ever fish again I'm tired of all the BS