Found the canal

[labrax]

Went to the eastern end of the canal last night 9:30pm - 2:00am. Second trip to the canal, but this is the first time that I fished for more than a 1/2 hour. Not big fish, but 8 schoolies, one pushing keeper size. Wasn't really set up for canal fishing - had some 6" storm shads that did the trick though with a black teaser 30" up. Wished that I had some braid on the bigger reel. I did find a spare spool with 20lb mono on it and used that.

Was kind of getting in a rut of hitting the same old spots when I went down to the Cape. Not many trips have been used to find spots and that is my fault, but when I do squeeze in the opportunity to fish I want to maximize fishing time. So I have kind of boxed myself in. Last night I tried some of the old spots and decided to prospect a bit when they were slow again - glad I did.

I would have stayed longer, as the tide had turned and it probably would have only gotten better, but I left at 4:30pm and told my wife that I would be home around 12-1am. I just switched jobs and had to turn in the old cell phone and will not get the new one until this week - so I really didn't have a way to call. Looking forward to heading down that way again next week. Going to have to break out and look for more spots to fish more often.

I did see a guy take a fall on the rocks last night. He was coming down the rocks to the water and took a pretty good fall. Fortunately he was not hurt and did not break his rod. Those rocks can be slippery....

[Swimmer]

Good for you and glad the fall didn't bust anything up.

[Slipknot]

I fished the canal doing some canangling the same hours you did, about 9:20 to 2:10 and for the first three hours I got squat, just 4-5 hits and got to see my buddy NIB get some payback by catching them when I wasn't , but once it went west I had a smile come thru and my tried muscles woke up a bit more. I was gonna stay only till 11 oe so , ended up getting home by 3. NIB setup on a korker of a bass just seconds after I hooked a 20-22 lb bass which I landed in screaming current. Nib's rod was doubled over hard, he got to fight it for a while untill the hook pulled but that's what keeps him coming back to try again.

[ProfessorM]

With the size of the fish that have been around the corner the last couple weeks you should be seeing more of those on the West tide unless they head for the race. P.

[labrax]

I was on the mainland side - might have even seen you if you were at or near the end. I drive a older 97 jetta with a dent in the drivers side passenger door (the one that I still seem to have trouble with the alarm when parking in the middle of the night....), usually there is a cloud of cigar smoke around it.

I am going to try to make it down next weekend for sure. I might break out the old fiberglass conventional rod next time - a 10' rod will just fit (with a slight bend) if I fold down the rear seats and run it diagonally from the trunk to the windshield. Too bad on NIB's fish and congrats on your 22lb'der. I'd love to get a 22lb fish now - I should change my screen name to 1/large.

Thanks for the responses,

Pete

[Slipknot]

thanks Labrax, keep at it and i'm sure you'll get your share of decent bass there too.
I don't mean to sound egotistical but 20 pounds has been average there lately for us jigging. We are out there to catch the fish that is gonna hurt us, bend the rod so hard and put such a strain on the equipment that you think the fish is gonna pull you right in the water. That's the kind of bass we are after in the canal jigging. I have had a handful that were partway there, 2 40's and some high 30's but haven't have one spool me or attempt to yet. I may have broken some off but never knew it, but since they were not caught, I'll never know what they were, the guys I fish with have been tested before and lost also. I try to have heavy enough gear to stop a large fish from turning his head and peeling off line like it's nothing, and with a 4 or 5 knot current helping the fish, it is not that easy, even when they stop, they get settled into a crack or crevice among the rocks on the bottom, the huge fish know what to do and where to go. they didn't grow that big by being stupid. I want a bass so heavy that every component from the jig all the way to the rod butt is tested to it's maximum. And it has to come from the center of the canal where it's the most challenging to try to land. Then other obsitcles have to get in the way like trees and poles and bridges that I can't walk past with the fish and follow it downcurrent like some pluggers do with large fish from up on the service road. That is the challenge of landing a 50 in the canal on a jig, I don't know anyone who has done it on a true jig while jigging the bottom out deep with 100 yards or so of line out there. I have to keep going back even when I an so tired I can't move. Winter is too long. so good luck

[JPowers]

Guerrilla jigging.

[numbskull]

Toe to toe nuclear war, more likely.

[labrax]

Thanks for the replies. I have an idea how it could be - spent some time fishing for stripers directly below a large dam for stripers where the current was going pretty good. I was a total rookie then, and apprached it with far too light equipment. Part of that was listening to others, and the other part was my fly fishing pre-occupation at the time. In spite of myself, we used to catch mid-twenty pounders on a semi-regular basis. As I mentioned in the second post - I am in a rut and am fishing schoolie spots at non-opportune times.

I know you guys are not being boastful, or touting your own horn, you just have a lot of experience and knowledge and know what you are doing. That is part of the reason I love reading these boards. I want to put the info that I piece together from these boards, along with some time out on the water to get to appraoch where you and a lot of the other folks are. I am just needing to put some time in and advance my learning curve. I used to have a buddy that was exclusively into flyfishing and he taught me soooo much - that I will always be indebted to him for what he taught me. Unfortunately for me - he moved out to Idaho and I lost touch with him. He was a great angler and a even better person. I don't have someone to compare notes, techniques, push me and I am trying to put the pieces together with the surf rod now. I used to be almost a flyrod purist for a number of years, but I really have been digging the plugs and plastics the last two years and find it just as challenging and tremendous fun. I probably never will come near some of the regulars here, but man it is fun trying. Heck, I am looking for a motor for an old Sears lathe I have to start turning plugs, and I haven't done a bot of yard work in 2 months...lol.

I am going to be stocking up on some jigs and get the old ambassador 7000c3 loaded up with some braid to head back out there and hopefully get into a fish that doubles over the old fiberglass rod and get the heart pumping.

Appreciate all the replies.

Pete

[NIB]

Practice casting.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by NIB

Practice casting.

no thanks, I'm all set

[stiff tip]

slip... theres a reason that spot is called the rats nest......slow day on sun4 me ...on my side lots of guys no fish sm b/b saw some bones too....dave