The Cape Cod Canal is among the most difficult and rewarding places down the entire East Coast of the America to catch striped bass. Few areas on earth offer the shore bound fisherman a better chance at catching a bass in the 40 pound range.
The man-made land cut has generated impressive fishing the past few seasons. The spring run of big striped bass has been just as amazing, if not more amazing than the famed fall migration.
If next spring is anything similar to the spring of 2011, enormous schools of trophy size striped bass should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the "Big Ditch," as it's referenced by canal regulars, could very well produce several of the biggest striped bass of the year.
Timing is Everything
The canal will support a population of stripers from May through October. But to really cash in on great canal fishing, an angler must be present at the canal when a large biomass of stripers moves through the land cut.
Regrettably it is inherently tough to calculate when this will occur. However it can help to stay up to date on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Reports of big schools of surface feeding striped bass in Buzzards Bay will usually trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
These stripers are on a northward migration pattern that often brings them directly through the Cape Cod Canal - in contrast to the longer path around the arm of Cape Cod. At this time of the year the canal is full of herring, mackerel, and whiting as well as a plethora of other prey items. The canal effortlessly sets the stage for a world class fishing opportunity.
Top-notch fishing usually occurs in stages as biomasses of stripers migrate through the land cut northward into Cape Cod Bay. Often time's incredible fishing will occur for a day or two as the school migrates through the ditch. A phase of slower fishing ensues, before the next large push of bass happens a week or so later.
I recall a Thursday morning last year when anyone who could cast a plug greater than 30 feet was into big fish. It did not take long for word to get out, and by the weekend the canal was chock full of anglers. However the school of striped bass had rapidly exited the canal late Thursday/early Friday. I did not see a single fish taken that Saturday morning.
Top Water Action
The top water action at the canal can be downright nutty during the spring. The bottom line is there are not many spots in our neck of the woods where a shore bound angler can cast surface plugs to 30 pound bass.
With that said, not every angler will take advantage of the excellent top water action during spring at the canal. Very long casts in excess of 200 feet are usually needed to reach breaking bass.
Loading the tail end of a productive aerodynamic surface plug with weight can substantially boost casting distance without harming the action of the plug. Using ultra thin braided line and the best rods and reels money can purchase will definitely help. However nothing beats a sound casting technique.
Bass are relatively simple to fool with top water plugs if the fish are aggressive and focused in on larger prey items such as tinker mackerel. It can be a completely different story if the fish are focused on smaller prey such as juvenile whiting.
On several occasions last season, canal anglers witnessed schoolie bass feeding aggressively on small prey items at the crack of dawn. All efforts to hook these bass went unrewarded as it was nearly impossible to reach these breaking stripers with a plug that matched the small stature of the bait these schoolie stripers were feeding on.
However as the morning and tide progressed, the smaller prey items were replaced by much larger mackerel. Larger bass replaced the schoolies, and everyone began hooking up. Things change rapidly this time of the year at the canal.
The man-made land cut has generated impressive fishing the past few seasons. The spring run of big striped bass has been just as amazing, if not more amazing than the famed fall migration.
If next spring is anything similar to the spring of 2011, enormous schools of trophy size striped bass should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the "Big Ditch," as it's referenced by canal regulars, could very well produce several of the biggest striped bass of the year.
Timing is Everything
The canal will support a population of stripers from May through October. But to really cash in on great canal fishing, an angler must be present at the canal when a large biomass of stripers moves through the land cut.
Regrettably it is inherently tough to calculate when this will occur. However it can help to stay up to date on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Reports of big schools of surface feeding striped bass in Buzzards Bay will usually trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
These stripers are on a northward migration pattern that often brings them directly through the Cape Cod Canal - in contrast to the longer path around the arm of Cape Cod. At this time of the year the canal is full of herring, mackerel, and whiting as well as a plethora of other prey items. The canal effortlessly sets the stage for a world class fishing opportunity.
Top-notch fishing usually occurs in stages as biomasses of stripers migrate through the land cut northward into Cape Cod Bay. Often time's incredible fishing will occur for a day or two as the school migrates through the ditch. A phase of slower fishing ensues, before the next large push of bass happens a week or so later.
I recall a Thursday morning last year when anyone who could cast a plug greater than 30 feet was into big fish. It did not take long for word to get out, and by the weekend the canal was chock full of anglers. However the school of striped bass had rapidly exited the canal late Thursday/early Friday. I did not see a single fish taken that Saturday morning.
Top Water Action
The top water action at the canal can be downright nutty during the spring. The bottom line is there are not many spots in our neck of the woods where a shore bound angler can cast surface plugs to 30 pound bass.
With that said, not every angler will take advantage of the excellent top water action during spring at the canal. Very long casts in excess of 200 feet are usually needed to reach breaking bass.
Loading the tail end of a productive aerodynamic surface plug with weight can substantially boost casting distance without harming the action of the plug. Using ultra thin braided line and the best rods and reels money can purchase will definitely help. However nothing beats a sound casting technique.
Bass are relatively simple to fool with top water plugs if the fish are aggressive and focused in on larger prey items such as tinker mackerel. It can be a completely different story if the fish are focused on smaller prey such as juvenile whiting.
On several occasions last season, canal anglers witnessed schoolie bass feeding aggressively on small prey items at the crack of dawn. All efforts to hook these bass went unrewarded as it was nearly impossible to reach these breaking stripers with a plug that matched the small stature of the bait these schoolie stripers were feeding on.
However as the morning and tide progressed, the smaller prey items were replaced by much larger mackerel. Larger bass replaced the schoolies, and everyone began hooking up. Things change rapidly this time of the year at the canal.
About the Author:
For even more fishing info, tips and http://www.squidoo.com/fishing-cape-cod simply copy and paste www.myfishingcapecod.com into your web browser.
No comments:
Post a Comment