[ecduzitgood]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

Do you fish from the rocky shores IN the canal or from the sandy shore at the east end?

I have no problem with ANYONE fishing near me, but to expect everyone to not fish 80-100 feet of open shoreline solely because they are drifting live bait in a current and have their bait end up 5 -10 feet from shore in 2 feet of water where there are NO FISH is mind boggling.

I understand the general pecking order when fishing the canal, and in the beginning I learned an important lesson about it.

What struck me as ridiculous was that in some 20+ years this is the FIRST time I have seen anyone try this there.
I've seen bait slingers fishing chunk bait, and I've given them a wide berth, knowing that their lines WILL drift (even with weights).

When I got there, I had moved some 50 feet down current from the nearest angler, and these eel slingers were drifting a good 10-20 feet beyond me.

Now I am casting a jig slightly down current (20-30 degree angle to my left) and I wasn't hooking their lines out there.
I was catching their lines on my back cast and my head, as their lines were parallel to the shore.

I'm not complaining about bait fishing, but rather the expectation that these guys had that no one was going to be able to fish any of the shoreline because of their drift.

That would be like going to a prime beach spot, casting (at an angle) a chunk of mack out 50 feet on both sides, but only 10 feet from shore in 2 feet of water, and expecting anyone that wanted to fish from shore to move because you are fishing there. Oh, and the fish were blitzing in front of you.
Sure, live bait can be very productive, but if you can't get the bait or KEEP the bait in the strike zone, it is a waste of time and effort.

That was the case here.

You are missing a lot of fish if you don't fish tight to shore as part of your routine. The trough right at your feet on the beach is a striper feeding zone/highway. I am sure I am not the only person who has caught 20+ pound fish before taking my rod from under my arm after hooking and dropping a live herring in at the run. You probably won't see them again because it really isn't the best situation/spot for live eels. Personally I never get angry at the guy there first, and that's what's great about the canal, if you can't fish the spot you wanted there are plenty of other spots to fish and sometimes you find a new hot spot.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device