How shady is the Canal?

[Joe]

Show me someone who believes in ghosts and I'll show you someone who never dug graves for a living.

[Rockport24]

ok I do feel bad about hijacking, but I would take a ghost over a group of drunken punks any night!
Joe, are you saying digging graves proves ghosts don't exist?

[whiplash]

I've fished the canal for over 35 years and have never had a problem . Then again I'm not a small guy. Like anywhere else you leave something laying around and somebody will snag it, go light and keep your stuff with you. Small incidents tend to get blown out of proportion on the internet. Like walking anywhere else -act like a victim and you will become one.

[striperchaser02]

ive fisshed it for years, no problems!!! relax enjoy it and catch the big one!!! i fished it last nite and caught a 20 lber!
Peace
Henry

[EarnedStripes44]

Originally Posted by whiplash

I've fished the canal for over 35 years and have never had a problem . Then again I'm not a small guy. Like anywhere else you leave something laying around and somebody will snag it, go light and keep your stuff with you. Small incidents tend to get blown out of proportion on the internet. Like walking anywhere else -act like a victim and you will become one.

Could not have said it better...

I did an internship in NY with a film production company a couple summers ago and I found a honey hole near the confluence of the East & Harlem River. Caught lots of nice fish, Bass, Blues, even a small Jack one night on the graveyard shift. The spot, however, was as shadetree as it gets, but I was there to catch fish. Lots of bums, addicts & reifer smoking bandana wearing teenagers (some pretty hot spanish girls too), but I never had a problem. I was there to fish and was left alone. In fact, a few of those kids were amazed to see that one could catch 30 inch (I know thats not big for some of you guys) stripers 100 yards from their public housing courtyards. You can't be affraid, for there is tons of structure within casting distance on the East River in some tough neighborhoods.

[Mike P]

Nobody is going to screw with you unless they're carrying or certifiably insane--would you try to bum rush a guy holding a 10' weapon in his hands, even if you had a knife? Any idea what a 4 oz jig on 2' of line dangling from the tip of a 10' rod will do to anyone trying to get close? Or a swimmer with 3 sets of trebles after you swing it and it catches on the guy's face, and you "cross his eyes" with a hookset

If a guy draws a gun on you--he just wants your money. Give it to him without an argument. It's just as likely to happen in any convenience store parking lot--in fact, more likely.

Bear in mind that anyone who wants to eff with you has to scramble down a steep bank and slippery rocks to do it, giving you all the time in the wrold to reel in and get that 4 oz lead projectile clipped onto your line. And, you are going to be way more comfortable and steady on those rocks than any junkie or crackhead.

I have yet to hear about anyone being personally hassled while fishing. In the summer there are people walking the service road at all hours--they are just easier targets than the guy standing 50' down on rocks holding a fishing rod.

You are much more likely to have problems with your vehicle. Don't leave anything of value behind, and if there's nothing worth stealing in your vehicle, don't lock it up. That saves your windows. And if you have a bike, park in a well traveled area, like the Herring Run lot or Bell Road on the Cape side, and bike to your spot. People--including the Canal rangers, and the Bourne and State Police, are in and out of those two lots all night. Thieves will prefer to hit cars parked in more remote areas.

Crime is up all over the Cape, and the Canal may not be as safe as it was in 1970, but it's still a very safe place to fish. Just use common sense.

[luds]

Thanks for the responses. Makes me a little more comfortable with the idea of venturing out alone. I guess you see some wierd stuff on the night shift regardless of where you are. For me at least that is part of the fun. Now to figure out the fishing part.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Rockport24

ok I do feel bad about hijacking, but I would take a ghost over a group of drunken punks any night!
Joe, are you saying digging graves proves ghosts don't exist?

Yup. Two years of digging, sometimes with a lantern at night in the fog - scene settings straight out of a John Carpenter flick - and all quiet in the boneyard. Baby graves, kids from car wrecks, untimely deaths - no customer complaints to speak of.