It was going to be a great trip. My buddy Pat and I had planned out a solid guys' weekend of golfing and fishing. Pat had yet to hook into a fish from the "Big Ditch" and I was anxious to help him land his first striper.
I am no Ryan Collins, but I have had a good year at the canal and felt pretty good about this trip, placed smack-dab in the middle of the fall run. We booked a room at a nearby motel for the night and planned to score some big bass during the sunset, and again around sun-up the next morning.
More...
We golfed at a nice par 3 course on the south shore on Saturday morning before crossing the Sagamore Bridge, and taking Pat to Canal Bait and Tackle.
I brought Pat to Canal Bait for a couple of reasons:
- I wanted to hear how the morning fishing was. If Jeremy Wade of River Monsters can teach anyone anything, it would be that learning from the locals is invaluable.
- I wanted to show my buddy Pat some gear which I know works, and I wanted to explain to Pat why it worked, especially at a place like the canal.
Of course I walked around the store like a kid in a Toys R' Us and eventually bought something out of impulse.
On display at the counter was a picture of a young lady who landed a large striper earlier in the morning. This got our hopes way up!
Time to Fish
We geared up and hit the canal as the tide was rising, about an hour after low tide (eastward current). Not ideal, but you fish when you can fish, especially when you're not a local. There were only a few other hopefuls on the banks which worried me.
Everything looked fishy with the water passing though at a smooth and medium pace as the sun began to set. We worked swimmers, poppers and jigs and caught nothing.
Pat who was steadily improving on his casting, looked disappointed to me. I kept trying to keep spirits up by pointing out schools of bait fish and talking up the conditions. But after a few hours we were the only ones left...
We decided it was time to pack up, and get a few hours of sleep.
At least we did not have to endure one of the most annoying sites on the canal (at least to me); a biking fisherman peddling by with a lunker hanging out of a saddlebag basket on his bike. God, it's the worst!
We mailed it in for the night and absorbed the musty smell of our motel room along with a few rum and Cokes. I told Pat, "It sucks when you come back from fishing and you don't HAVE to take a shower." He didn't quite get the joke.
Alarm set for 5:15am. Sunrise at 6:50am. High tide at 11:00am.
Round #2
The next morning, after a coffee run, we hit the ditch again. There were more anglers out in the morning and we slowly saw more and more filtering in as the sun broke the horizon and brightened up the day.
This usually brings me a good feeling. I sometimes think to myself, "Good, they must know something I don't," when I see other people congregating and lining up along the rocks.
I told Pat how watching other guys fish can give you good ideas and clues. I told him he should try to know what people around him are using for bait (especially if they start landing fish). I explained how to play his casting with the current and how NOT to get crossed up with your neighbors.
I described how at times it can literally get to be shoulder to shoulder fishing at the canal. Hours passed and nothing hit.
At this point, I didn't care if I caught anything. I just wanted Pat to land his first. It could be a schoolie or a cow, it didn't matter. I threw on a popper and tried to entice some action while Pat retrieved a swimmer in the same area.
"Is that you?" Pat asked me mid-retrieve.
I looked at him and his rod had slightly curled. I heard a splash about15-feet from me and saw the stripes of a 20-inch schoolie break out of the water. Pat had hooked up and DIDN'T REALIZE IT until the fish broke loose.
He thought he had crossed my line and I was pulling it free. As a result, the line wasn't kept tight enough and the flop from the fish was enough to jar the hook loose.
Never Give Up
Once the disappointment faded, I got excited thinking that there would be a run of fish. But it never happened.
We walked up and down the bike path, drove to Scusset beach and fished the jetty.
We then fished the pier and under the Sagamore Bridge, without a single bite.
We saw one schoolie landed on fresh cut mackerel during slack tide and that was it. Skunked!
Fishing the "Big Ditch" can drive you insane, both with joy and aggravation. It can produce some of the biggest bass landed from shore, featuring fights lasting tens-of-minutes with 30+ pound stripers that use the current to rip line off your reel and force you to walk with your fish down the service road so you don't get spooled.
The canal can also leave hundreds of anglers riding up and down its banks on a seemingly perfect fishing day, scanning the water for breaking fish, calling friends on the opposite end and asking about the action, and eventually leaving with nothing but the gear they came with (if you're lucky).
It's not always going to end with a pose in front of a camera, which is hard to accept, especially with winter quickly approaching.
In all honesty, I fished the ditch for two years before I caught my first striper. It took a lot of questions, reading (MFCC especially), casts and time, before I landed my first fish.
I feel bad, almost guilty, that I couldn't lead Pat to landing his first striper on this trip. But I do know one thing is for sure;
Pat's first fish will be worth the wait, and I'm not winterizing my gear yet.
What do you think? Let me know by commenting below.
Loved the post. Just shows the the type of person and supportive friend Matt is. May the fishing gods ensure you plenty of catches!
Thanks Steve! Never saw this until now haha. We’ll have to get out there one day
I liked this report, it really showed how you just gotta put in the time once you feel comfortable with the learning curve required to fish the canal. Pretty soon he’ll catch his first striper, then he’ll want his first keeper. Then he’ll want his first 20 pounder. Then 30 pounder. Then 40+! Thanks for sharing
Thanks Matt. That’s exactly how it worked for me… lots of nothing. Then a schoolie, then a 30-incher, and then some really nice fish. It’s kind of like playing poker… The only real way to learn is to play and lose for a while until you figure it out. Then you can start taking pots. Nice fish btw!
This is a great report even though you didn’t find the results you were looking for. Well put together and really reminded me of a few trips this year. I had one friend I brought on two surf trips…we put in hours and hours with nothing. It’s good though to be with someone who understands that it’s fishing and you don’t always catch, but I found myself rooting for him and praying that he would hook up. Never happened, but it’s always great to get out regardless. Great job with the report!
Thanks! It sucks, but I guess it’s a right of passage in a way. The disappointments you endure while fishing are what make the good days that much better. I enjoy the solitude sometimes and like going out alone just as much as when I go with friends. But, when I go out with others, I feel more pressure to catch.
I completely agree, going out alone without the pressure of needing to catch is nice. Especially at night, the solitude can be relaxing.
If I can get down there next weekend…expect a cow! Need to work on the jigging skills to get to lower depths. Thanks for showing me the ropes kid. If not this year…there’s always next year!
Great report Matt – nicely written!
I am sure you’ll get at least one more big boy before things really quiet down.