It’s the end of July and often the striped bass fishing action at the Cape Cod Canal slows way down. However this has been an interesting season so far at the Big Ditch and there’s reason to believe the fishing might actually get better as August approaches.
Right now I feel you will have an excellent chance of hooking a good fish at the Canal, granted you put in the time and effort. There’s been some good fish taken recently and at odd hours too, like smack dab during the middle of the day, when the sun is high in the sky.
In this post I’ll share with you three ways you can catch a big striper this week fishing the Cape Cod Canal.
1) Focus On Finding Bass Feeding On Mackerel, And Then Cast Mackerel-Like Plugs In Their Direction
There have been more mackerel around the Canal and out in Cape Cod Bay this July than there were during May and June. The macks are still charging through the Canal and bass are chasing them, even during the middle of the afternoon.
When bass chase mackerel in the Canal they are usually quite aggressive. Catching a mackerel requires a lot of energy and often times the bass feed right on the surface, which has been the case here and there over the past several days.
Mackerel-style plugs like pencil poppers, Daiwa SP Minnow and Sebiles have been working real well on stripers zoned in on macks.
2) Work The Bottom At Night With Large Soft Plastics
Bouncing big Hogys and Slug-Go’s along the bottom is a really effective way of catching big stripers at night from the Canal during the middle of the summer. Each night large bass filter into the Canal and scrounge along the bottom for crabs, lobsters and an endless variety of other prey items.
“Swimming” a big soft plastic along the bottom is a terrific way to catch stripers that are scouring the boulders, ditches, ledges and other Canal bottom structure. Keep the big soft plastic just above the bottom and impart a gentle swimming action using your rod.
The bites are powerful, fast, violent and usually unexpected.
You’ll increase your odds if you can locate a rip or hole. Big stripers will sometime settle down into a depression or behind a piece of structure to get out of the Canal’s strong current. Swim the big soft plastic right on the bottom, right through the rip or hole, and if there’s a big bass holding there, she may just gulp down your soft plastic the instant it passes within her reach.
I like to fish this way when the current is moving quickly because I feel it concentrates the fish in the depressions and holes. I find myself using a 4ounce leadhead the vast majority of the time, and will go lighter or heavier depending on the current strength.
3) Drift A Live Eel In The Current
This is about the time of year when stripers start smacking live eels with abandon on Cape Cod. In my experience bass will turn up their noses at a live eel during the spring, but once August approaches they start slurping them down without much thought.
Live eels have caught a ton of big fish at the Canal over the years and I feel that using one this week is not a bad idea at all. The convenient thing about live eels is that they naturally swim down to the bottom, so if the Canal’s current is not too strong you can get away with not using any weight or sinkers.
Another option is to fish with the biggest, strongest eels available at the bait shop. These big eels will have an easier time reaching bottom when the current is running, contrasted to the smaller “pencil” size eels.
If the current is moving very quickly then try adding a rubber core sinker to your leader a foot or so above the eel.
You can start with as little as a quarter of an ounce and go up from there until you find the perfect amount of weight to bring the eel down into the strike zone.
I would also not worry too much about casting distance. It is difficult to cast an eel far, especially compared to a pencil popper. The convenient truth is that many of the largest bass in the Canal hug the shoreline because the current is less intense.
If you’re only casting your eel a short distance than have no worries because you may just catch the attention of one of these close to shore stripers.
4) Keep Tabs On The New MFCC Canal Fishing Reports From Jeff Miller Of Canal Bait & Tackle
Last week I met with Jeff Miller of Canal Bait and Tackle to discuss the possibility of him writing Cape Cod Canal fishing reports for MFCC.
Jeff already publishes Canal reports and updates on his website http://canalbaitandtackle.com. However, Jeff figured he could share more detailed Canal intel with MFCC members, since these new Canal fishing reports would not be available to the general public, and would only be read by MFCC members.
If you’re an MFCC member and want to read Jeff’s latest report you can do so right now by clicking this link. Of course stay tuned this week and the rest of the season for regular Canal updates here on MFCC, published by Jeff.
I hope you have a terrific week and are able to do plenty of fishing!
Tight lines and take care,
Ryan
Hey Ryan – great post and I’m not just saying that so you take me fishing on a boat and put me in front of a 48 pound cow… haha. Great get with Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle. I’ve had several online conversations about sharing info regarding the canal and the consensus among the “canal rats” is it is not so much as spot burning, but blitz burning that becomes an issue. Guys work their ass off day and night, many with nothing to show for it for the chance to catch a 50 plus pound striper from shore. There are very few places that can happen and we are all blessed to have the canal easily accessed from all over New England. That said, the rat who busts his ass does not appreciate when a rude newbie crowds out his spot because he read an online report that the bltiz was on. This is a nice solution. Members of this group (especially paying members) should be educated and respectful. And, speaking for myself, hungry for knowledge. Knowledge like you shared in this post. I fish the ditch maybe 5 times a year but I’m putting more focus this year as one of my goals is a 40 plus pounder from shore. Anyway – tight lines and keep up the great work.
Hey thats a good point you raise. Spot burning is bad enough, because inevitably about 10,000 guys will blow up the spot and leave behind their Dunkie’s cups and other trash. But blitz burning? Thats a high crime if you asked me. You stake out the ditch all day and night, and some joker happens by on his lunch break, whips out his phone, and all his cronies show up. thats not right
Hey Steve – lots of trash down there for sure. Before I die I would love to see Dunkin Donuts use 100% biodegradable cups.
And as you mention, it’s very challenging to keep a good bite quiet these days, due to the ease of instant communication.
LOL – if it was only always that easy to find 40lb fish Greg!
I hear ya on the spot/blitz burning. Keeping these reports “members only” should help prevent that.
The good thing about MFCC (like you mention) is that we have a group of real quality people. Everyone here is awesome. Haven’t met a single MFCC member who I found rude or disrespectful, they’re all phenomenal people – which is terrific.
Gluck and keep me posted with your 40lb from shore goal. I like that sound of that.
Mack-like plugs … does color matter? at night? how about the Sebile; I have a silver (herring) and a white?
Plastics … does color matter? If so, what are your favs?
You can go crazy with colors Jeff. It can be overwhelming!
Everyone has their favorites. I keep thing simple and go white during the day, and black at night – but that’s just me.
I think the most important variable by far is the action of the plug.