Canal Observations by yours truly.....

[Flaptail]

Me!

Here's some obs' I have made this year while fishing along the banks of the canal, any of you die hard canal guys feel free to offer your wisdom by reply to this thread.

1st off, I am not new to the canal, I made quite a bit of money fishing there back in the day, especially at night fishing (yes I hate to admit it) live eels. I would have to rate live el fishing as probably the most productive method of taking large bass out of the canal over all others based on a season long fishing period.

I swore off the canal back in the early 90's due to two things, the onslaught of the chunking crowds and may ten year conversion to the cult of the long wand ( happily I regained my senses).

My very first striped bass I ever caught was taken while fishing with my brothers and Dad on the Scusset jetty for early (May) season Mackerel. It was caught on a small Bridgeport diamond jig ( which I still have and it's mounted on a piece of paneling and proudly sits among my lure collection) I was six years old and it was 1962.
The two biggest bass I ever caught in the canal both weighed 45 pounds even, one on a Polaris ( Yellow 3.5) at Pole 195 and one one a live eel at the old Mud Flats.

Up until this year I maybe fished the canal once mybe twice a year for a morning only. My dear friend Dave "Stifftip" LaPorte would call me all the time to tell me how good it was but it was mostly ( until the herring ban) on live or fresh dead bait. I wanted no part I was and am a plug only man now.

Now to the observations, has anyone else besides me noticed that when it gets too be hot and muggy and the wind is heavy southwest in mid summer the water in the canal can drop to abnormally low temps and fishing just dies ( the last set of breaking tides was like this)?

This year I have seen more mackerel, in residence as bait than I can ever remember. We used to see them into June then poof gone and then back again in late September. I have seen mackerel every time I have gone which has been every set of breaking tides since the fish showed in May. ( due to gas and the generally good fishing and not being as stupid as I look, I have concentrated in getting re-acquainted with the canal). Is this considered normal by the folks who have fished there regularly over the last, say, ten years?

And lastly, am I the only one fishing skins there these days?

I must say I really do enjoy the herring ban and hope they never rescind it.

Looking forward to your input, the Flapmiester.

pics are from this morning and yesterday morning.