Does everyone remember thier first day at the "ditch"

[Swimmer]

I don't, thats for sure. This pic was taken in 1954 or 1955. The whole family used to go there, and the men would drop line macs, and my crazy aunts would eat them. Swedes, they would eat any fish I think.

How about anybodies else recollection of thier first days or days there. Next time I'll crop the pic.

[gone fishin]

I do - About 1950 or so. I spent a night there trying to figure out where the fish were and how the hell do I keep from loosing my eel skin rigs. I must have left 3 pounds of lead on the bottom. A veteran ditch fisherman showed up and landed a huge bass and I asked him questions about the ditch. He filled me in and I learned from him about tides etc. After meeting him a few times I found out he was Stan Gibbs.

[MAKAI]

I'm sure I fell.
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[WESTPORTMAFIA]

Late 80s chunking cape side with some sharpies my dad worked with. The chum slick was on and the bass swam right up in a frenzy close enough to see through the crystal clear water. It was pretty cool
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[PRBuzz]

Cloudy, ugly weather with my son maybe yr2000, we were chunking and lost lots of lead Cape side maybe skating rink area? No fish.
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[ProfessorM]

The cherry tree at Keene St. chumming and drifting chunks seems like yesterday J.
I first started fishing the bottom with chunks and a fish finder being shown by an old timer that befriended me when he saw me hanging around without a clue. We became good friends for several years until he passed away suddenly. We would go to Monument Beach and drift net pogies at nite and then fish them the next morning. Had to pick your spots carefully or you would get hung up. Had to be 83 if memory serves me right. I still fish and see many of the old guys I met over the years. Man that seems like a long time ago, guess it is.
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[Circlehook]

My dad used to bring me to the canal as a kid, would watch boats and throw rocks. My step dad brought me when I was a bit older (12 or so) and he would chunk all day and caught quite a few fish. My first time fishing on my own was in 2006 I think, dumb luck brought me in on a breaking tide and I caught a 32lb bass on my third cast with a bomber. Still my largest canal bass to date. I caught that fish on a heavy ass Ugly Stick rod with a crappy Sheakspeare reel with maybe a hundred yards of 20lb test mono. I catch more fish now, with way more appropriate equipment with somewhat of an idea of what I am doing, but still haven't topped that fish.
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[WESTPORTMAFIA]

It was 89 and we drifted the chunks. It was an art. Not one line would be put in until the rip formed after it was primed with chum. The guys had It down to a science. Nothing huge but for me at the time they were Orca's!
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[WESTPORTMAFIA]

Then in 92 I caught my first 2 tagged fish in the Taunton river when I was 13. That was pretty awesome too.
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[East Tide]

1995. Just got my license, decided to skip my NECDL game at the Hingham Rink on a Sunday morning and drove down to the canal. Bought some 3 oz sinkers, mackeral and was using the Penn 650 SS combo my dad bought me at Bass River Bait and tackle 5 years earlier. I parked at the Herring Run, walked to the left down around the mussel bed at 175 and started catching fish and losing gear! I remember the tide was high and water was very clear in the morning sun. Was probably June. I caught a bunch of schoolies but remember thinking it was taking forever to retie my rigs- didn't learn to pre tie rigs for a few more years!

[Nebe]

Fished with Mac at a few places... I dropped a really nice fish at the end of the night.... That fish took drag like a tuna in that current- something I was not used to at all.
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[Rob Rockcrawler]

I think it was 93. I went with my buddy who was also 16 and we went to the trading post and was fishing chunk mac. After losing all sorts of rigs i hooked into something and almost got spooled. I remember seeing a huge whale going through heading east the tide was going west. Cant believe it was 20 years ago. Starting to feel oldish now that im taking a trip down memory lane.

[saltfly]

1963..........My uncle had a house on Great Herring Pond.The family would go down on weekends.When the herring started up to the pond we'd go down to therun and watch them swim up and through the swimming pool accross the street.We were watching the herring at the mouth of the run and this bass blew out of the water chasing the herring.It was the biggest fish I'd ever seen.My uncle or father didn't fish in the salt but my uncles neighbor did and he took me the next morning with his son.We tossed out 2 herring on bobbers and BOOM..............the bass nearly pulled me in the canal.2 herring,2 bass over 25# and we were home before 8 a.m.I was hooked on salt water for good.I had previously caught cod,haddock,and a searun rainbow trout in the Neponset river[Granite Ave. bridge 1958].they were about 5-8#s max.

[MakoMike]

Never been there!

[N.ShoreFisher]

still waiting for my first time, but I'll let you all know how it goes. lol

[robc22]

Late seventies and barely a teen.....I was friends with Jack Duff's boys and started hitting the ditch with them. I learned quite a bit about bass fishing from that family.............

[Notaro]

The first day I went to the east end of the canal with my three buddies when I was in a junior in high school. We all had really cheapo setups. We were chunking to no avail. It was our first skunk together and we were fishing in the daylight. Five years later, I heade back in the late noon and caught my 10 and 20 lbs bass on the Pt Jude sandeel and sea scallop on my 9 ft rod and spheros. After that, I got hooked on it.

[Sea of Atlas]

Only two years ago from my log:

5/21: Down to the Cape Cod Canal at the Herring Run, arrived early in the dark. There was herring in the shallows. We fished until dawn. I lost a decent fish on a mag darter when nothing was going on. Later on Mike got a schoolie out of there. There were good fish at our fish. We went to Bell Rd and out to the fishing pier on Scussett Beach. It was a real good time and we had a lot of fun.

[Guppy]

63-64?
Just got my drv license,,, myself and school buddies would come to cape to fresh water fish,,, leave Brockton around 2 am,,,, stop at the canal some morning with chunk bait,,, I don't recall having much luck,,, might of been the "Black Label" beers for the memory loss,,, 54 ford junka station wagon,,, those where the days

[tattoobob]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

I do - About 1950 or so. I spent a night there trying to figure out where the fish were and how the hell do I keep from loosing my eel skin rigs. I must have left 3 pounds of lead on the bottom. A veteran ditch fisherman showed up and landed a huge bass and I asked him questions about the ditch. He filled me in and I learned from him about tides etc. After meeting him a few times I found out he was Stan Gibbs.

That's awesome Don

[tattoobob]

I remember mine I went there for a night tide, got half way down the the rocks on the east end my Korker got stuck I went down hard, Got a good sprained ancle, fished that tide then drove to Quonnie and caught a tide there by the time I got home I could barely put weight on my right foot

[macojoe]

Some time in the early 70's My dad would take me to fish the tracks behind Maco's I use to catch Flounder there all day!! We also use to rent one of them Maco boats from time to time and fish, again I always use to flounder fish, I guess it kept me from getting in trouble? Today you would not know what a Flounder was if you saw one there!
Then I got out of fishing for a number of years, but in the 80'smy father in law use to fish there all the time,I went with him a few times with a Kmart rod combo, caught tons of Mac's and small pollock, the boats at night use to just give us big sea clams for bait!! Caught my first Cod there.
Then kids came and had to work all the time, father in law died and just did not go.
Then 90's came and a older friend was a huge fisherman and I started fishing with him, and this time it stuck!! I bought a boat and it just went nuts, caught my first Bass in Chatham, I had no idea what I was doing and got so excited I drove right thur a school of fish, what a site to see them in the wave of the boat swimming right along side me!! I will never forget it! now I am boatless again

[bloocrab]

Well over 30 years ago my father, a few uncles and I would hit the Scusset Pier for (what was then considered KING mackerel), much larger than the sizes I see come out of there today...(including boat caught), I remember breaking a K-Mart special rod using a home-made Xmas tree and not leaving an empty hook behind ..with apparently strong enough line that the rod would break before the line

Also remember walking back off that jetty with loads of mackerel and seeing the Bass-boyz bragging about their moo-cows lying on the sand while they were waist deep in the rip...I was a chunker at heart, and soon started chunking the ditch in the wee hours several years later, back when shot-gunning a few warm beers at the end of the long walk to the tip of the jetty started what was normally a long laugh-filled night......Got spooled by a slow and steady school-bus off that jetty too,,, back in the late 80's, never forget that night. What ever it was, just wasn't stopping (figuring now, it must have been a large shark...she just kept on swimming, no head-shakes no runs...like she couldn't even feel my hook. ...I've met women like that too, so humility is nothing new to me......also miss the herring, just not the work involved.

[Mike P]

Since I was probably under a year old when my parents took me there, no, I don't remember my first trip there.

Earliest fishing picture I've seen of me, I'm holding a small flounder, and looking away from the camera. I guess I was camera shy back then, and no, I have no memory of the day.

[djlesco]

Yup.... blew up a stradic 5000 on a 27#weekday fish.... been hooked ever since
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[snake slinger]

Today it was uneventful just want to learn a little bit fished a 2oz jig it was way to lite trew a sp minnow and a ss darter. next time i go it will be dark! got a lot to learn about the ditch way diffrent than home Rhody waters

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by snake slinger

Today it was uneventful just want to learn a little bit fished a 2oz jig it was way to lite trew a sp minnow and a ss darter. next time i go it will be dark! got a lot learn about the ditch way diffrent than home Rhody waters

So today was your first trip to the ditchi
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[snake slinger]

yes