Love that Ditch...

[Harrible]

For all it's hassles, i.e. mosquitos, slippery rocks, steep embankments, ripping current, rats, skunks and such, the Canal is a winner. Where else in the world can you stand on land and cast into 30-50' of good Striper bottom?

And we don't need no stinkin' August doldrums! The fishing continues to be excellent. In fact, except for an unusual slow period around the first week in July or so, the fishing has been decent all summer...in fact right now, it is pretty exceptional. The guys who are complaining about the scarcity of fish must be keeping banker's hours at the ditch, because the pre-dawn crowd is racking up, particularly between the bridges...some of the fish are LARGE too, although schoolies abound after the sky brightens. General rule: if you can't get there before 3:00 AM, might as well stay in bed, especially if you want to bag something other than schoolies....

Bob Leab tells me he has been doing well on the backside, and from #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&'s enthusiam and reports about RI, gotta say this is a good summer for the Bass hounds.....I ain't complaining..


Harry

[Mike P]

Harry, yer killin' me, here I am stuck in the midst of the doldrums (in the place I think they invented the phrase for). Even the weaks seem to have bailed, and it's still 2 weeks before I can gaze on the Ditch again. 30s and 40s on the backside, Jimmy Powers getting his rear kicked by the mother of all stripers in the Ditch, and I'm stuck here. Aaarghhh!!

[Harrible]

Mike, were it not for the encouragement and tips you gave me when I was trying to learn how to fish the canal, I would still be moaning how all one can catch there is 27" fish...so I thank you for that, and I know when you get here to do your thing you will be hammerin' em good...

If it's any encouragement, the pace was off a bit from the last couple of days. Coulda' been the water pouring down my neck that kept me off my game, but I just managed a couple today....but still, I am only putting in a hour or hour and 1/2 max....the pre-dawn slot is dynamite..

The bass are not necessarily jumping into one's boots, but if you find them (and many of the regular haunts are producing)it can be a fish per cast. I have been using skins before dawn, and I am thoroughly sold that they attract more of the LARGE variety...two days ago I got about 8 fish, some in the low teens, one about 30 lbs...

The problem with sharing this type of info (nope, ain't worried about giving anything away, where would I be?) is that after days of plenty, the fishing could fall off at any moment, and then we have the ol' "you should have been here yesterday" scenario....oh well, there's always pics...and my old witness/fishing compadre, J.P....

Hope to see you cash in down here...what do you hear about Chatham light?

Harry

[JohnR]

Harrible, great news from the Ditch!!! I've been to Chatham Light a few times over the last couple weeks, s l o w. Some fish (seemed more active a few weeks ago) but I'm only down there weekend nights.... Then there is the weather, kinda snotty and now I have the flu <img src="/Images/Sad.gif"><!--e2-->...

'Luck,

John

[Harrible]

Yecchhh!....sorry to hear about that flu John....summer occasionally brings me a sinus infection,which really causes me to drag butt...man, isn't the winter enough time to make us all sick?...

Hmmm..thanks for the Light info....I may give it a shot soon though, just for some variety...but only when and if the canal shuts down....yeah, it has been pretty decent for some, happy to say. Get well and come down and wrassle with a few lunkers....I'll bet by the fall activity (which is only about a month away!), you'll be in fine form..

Harry