The Cape Cod Canal is amongst the most challenging and rewarding spots along the entire East Coast of the United States to catch striped bass. Few locations on earth offer the shore bound angler a better chance at connecting with a bass in the 40 pound range.
The man-made land cut has produced amazing fishing the past few seasons. The spring run of big striped bass has been just as outstanding, if not more impressive than the famed autumn migration.
If this spring is anything similar to spring of 2010, seriously big schools of trophy size stripers should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the "Big Ditch," as it is often referenced by canal regulars, will likely produce a number of the biggest striped bass of the season.
Timing is Everything
The canal will support a population of striped bass from May through October. But to truly take advantage of great canal fishing, a fisherman has to be at the canal when a large biomass of bass moves through the land cut.
Unfortunately it is inherently challenging to calculate when this will occur. However it may help to stay informed on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Accounts of enormous schools of surface feeding bass in Buzzards Bay will often trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
These bass are on a northward migration route that frequently brings them directly through the Cape Cod Canal - as opposed to the longer route around the arm of the Cape. At this time of the season the canal is filled with herring, mackerel, whiting as well as a plethora of other prey items. The canal effortlessly sets the stage for a first class fishing opportunity.
Top-notch fishing seems to occur in phases as biomasses of stripers migrate through the land cut northward into Cape Cod Bay. Often time's amazing fishing will occur for a day or two as the school migrates passes through the ditch. A phase of slower fishing develops, before the next large push of bass occurs a week or so later.
I remember a Thursday morning last year when anybody who could cast a plug more than 30 feet was into big bass. It did not take long for word to get out, and by Saturday morning the canal was brimming with anglers. However the school of striped bass had speedily exited the canal late Thursday/early Friday. I did not see a single striper taken that Saturday morning.
Top Water Bass Action
The top water bite at the canal is frequently downright nutty during the spring. In other words there are not many areas 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 cash in on the excellent top water action during spring at the canal. Lengthy casts in excess of 200 feet are usually needed to reach breaking striped bass.
Loading the tail end of a productive aerodynamic surface plug with weight can noticeably increase casting distance without hurting the action of the plug. Using ultra thin braided line as well as the best rods and reels money can purchase will definitely help. However nothing beats perfect casting technique.
Bass are relatively simple to fool with top water plugs when the fish are aggressive and focused in on larger prey items such as tinker mackerel. It often is a completely different story if the fish are focused on smaller prey such as juvenile whiting.
On numerous occasions last year, canal fishermen witnessed schoolie bass feeding aggressively on small prey items at the crack of dawn. All efforts to catch these fish went unrewarded as it was nearly impossible to reach these breaking striped bass with a plug that matched the small size of the bait these schoolie stripers were feeding on.
However as the morning and tide progressed, the tinier prey items were replaced by much larger mackerel. Larger bass replaced the schoolies, and everyone began catching. Things change rapidly this time of the season at the Cape Cod canal.
Fishing the Cape Cod Canal after sunset is often a unusual and sometimes very creepy experience. There is absolutely no scarcity of entertaining characters, critters and peculiar noises down the rip-rap after dark. Having said that if you are looking to substantially boost your likelihood of catching a substantial striper from shore, then hitting the Cape Cod Canal at nite will indeed be right up your alley.
The night angling on the Canal begins to produce with the entrance of the first keeper-size bass. Generally by Memorial Day huge striped bass have settled in the Canal-this is when the evening fishing truly begins to first start. At this period of the year, night time expeditions are usually hit and miss proposition as substantial masses of striped bass migrate via the Cape Cod Canal down into Cape Cod Bay. Basically, it's possible you'll land stripers one night and then fail to generate a single bite the following trip. As soon as the following mass of big striped bass swims in via Buzzard's Bay the fishing turns on yet again.
By July the after dark chew changes and becomes a bit more dependable. The majority of the striper base has settled firmly into their summertime haunts, which in turn makes the fishing a tad less hit and miss. It is rather probable to hook significant bass any night of the week, considering you have the ability to focus on the most productive fishing spots.
Most of the big bass that are hooked after dark are hooked on bait, jigs and subsurface lures. Cruising along the bike path, looking for breaking stripers is naturally not a possibility. Having a solid understanding of the most productive tides and locations is even more essential when fishing at night than when fishing through the day.
The bulk of big striped bass taken through the night are taken out of holes, rips and all around parts of structure. Focusing on these areas will radically increase your likelihood of hooking into a keeper sized striped bass.
Bumping jigs directly on the bottom in these zones, or swimming a lure or eel through a rip is a surefire approach to catch the attention of a beautiful striped bass. Lots of Canal anglers prefer to use artificial offerings when the tide is moving, and then switch to live or chunk bait during slack tide. Some of the biggest stripers ever hooked in the Canal have been caught on a chunk of bait fished on the Canal's bottom during a nighttime slack tide.
Subject to what the bass decide to do, September and October at the Canal could be either exceptional or disappointing. If a biomass of stripers chooses to swim through the Cape Cod Canal on their migration, then the night fishing at the Canal will be excellent. But if the main body of bass decides to migrate around the Outer Cape on their migration south, then Cape Cod Canal anglers will be out of luck.
However even during slow years fishing the Canal at night for striped bass during autumn can produce many significant striped bass. As always, concentrating on hitting the best Canal fishing spots during the right tide is the most important element for Cape Cod Canal fishing success.
The man-made land cut has produced amazing fishing the past few seasons. The spring run of big striped bass has been just as outstanding, if not more impressive than the famed autumn migration.
If this spring is anything similar to spring of 2010, seriously big schools of trophy size stripers should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the "Big Ditch," as it is often referenced by canal regulars, will likely produce a number of the biggest striped bass of the season.
Timing is Everything
The canal will support a population of striped bass from May through October. But to truly take advantage of great canal fishing, a fisherman has to be at the canal when a large biomass of bass moves through the land cut.
Unfortunately it is inherently challenging to calculate when this will occur. However it may help to stay informed on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Accounts of enormous schools of surface feeding bass in Buzzards Bay will often trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
These bass are on a northward migration route that frequently brings them directly through the Cape Cod Canal - as opposed to the longer route around the arm of the Cape. At this time of the season the canal is filled with herring, mackerel, whiting as well as a plethora of other prey items. The canal effortlessly sets the stage for a first class fishing opportunity.
Top-notch fishing seems to occur in phases as biomasses of stripers migrate through the land cut northward into Cape Cod Bay. Often time's amazing fishing will occur for a day or two as the school migrates passes through the ditch. A phase of slower fishing develops, before the next large push of bass occurs a week or so later.
I remember a Thursday morning last year when anybody who could cast a plug more than 30 feet was into big bass. It did not take long for word to get out, and by Saturday morning the canal was brimming with anglers. However the school of striped bass had speedily exited the canal late Thursday/early Friday. I did not see a single striper taken that Saturday morning.
Top Water Bass Action
The top water bite at the canal is frequently downright nutty during the spring. In other words there are not many areas 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 cash in on the excellent top water action during spring at the canal. Lengthy casts in excess of 200 feet are usually needed to reach breaking striped bass.
Loading the tail end of a productive aerodynamic surface plug with weight can noticeably increase casting distance without hurting the action of the plug. Using ultra thin braided line as well as the best rods and reels money can purchase will definitely help. However nothing beats perfect casting technique.
Bass are relatively simple to fool with top water plugs when the fish are aggressive and focused in on larger prey items such as tinker mackerel. It often is a completely different story if the fish are focused on smaller prey such as juvenile whiting.
On numerous occasions last year, canal fishermen witnessed schoolie bass feeding aggressively on small prey items at the crack of dawn. All efforts to catch these fish went unrewarded as it was nearly impossible to reach these breaking striped bass with a plug that matched the small size of the bait these schoolie stripers were feeding on.
However as the morning and tide progressed, the tinier prey items were replaced by much larger mackerel. Larger bass replaced the schoolies, and everyone began catching. Things change rapidly this time of the season at the Cape Cod canal.
Fishing the Cape Cod Canal after sunset is often a unusual and sometimes very creepy experience. There is absolutely no scarcity of entertaining characters, critters and peculiar noises down the rip-rap after dark. Having said that if you are looking to substantially boost your likelihood of catching a substantial striper from shore, then hitting the Cape Cod Canal at nite will indeed be right up your alley.
The night angling on the Canal begins to produce with the entrance of the first keeper-size bass. Generally by Memorial Day huge striped bass have settled in the Canal-this is when the evening fishing truly begins to first start. At this period of the year, night time expeditions are usually hit and miss proposition as substantial masses of striped bass migrate via the Cape Cod Canal down into Cape Cod Bay. Basically, it's possible you'll land stripers one night and then fail to generate a single bite the following trip. As soon as the following mass of big striped bass swims in via Buzzard's Bay the fishing turns on yet again.
By July the after dark chew changes and becomes a bit more dependable. The majority of the striper base has settled firmly into their summertime haunts, which in turn makes the fishing a tad less hit and miss. It is rather probable to hook significant bass any night of the week, considering you have the ability to focus on the most productive fishing spots.
Most of the big bass that are hooked after dark are hooked on bait, jigs and subsurface lures. Cruising along the bike path, looking for breaking stripers is naturally not a possibility. Having a solid understanding of the most productive tides and locations is even more essential when fishing at night than when fishing through the day.
The bulk of big striped bass taken through the night are taken out of holes, rips and all around parts of structure. Focusing on these areas will radically increase your likelihood of hooking into a keeper sized striped bass.
Bumping jigs directly on the bottom in these zones, or swimming a lure or eel through a rip is a surefire approach to catch the attention of a beautiful striped bass. Lots of Canal anglers prefer to use artificial offerings when the tide is moving, and then switch to live or chunk bait during slack tide. Some of the biggest stripers ever hooked in the Canal have been caught on a chunk of bait fished on the Canal's bottom during a nighttime slack tide.
Subject to what the bass decide to do, September and October at the Canal could be either exceptional or disappointing. If a biomass of stripers chooses to swim through the Cape Cod Canal on their migration, then the night fishing at the Canal will be excellent. But if the main body of bass decides to migrate around the Outer Cape on their migration south, then Cape Cod Canal anglers will be out of luck.
However even during slow years fishing the Canal at night for striped bass during autumn can produce many significant striped bass. As always, concentrating on hitting the best Canal fishing spots during the right tide is the most important element for Cape Cod Canal fishing success.
About the Author:
Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider tips about striped bass fishing techniques and giant tuna.
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