This is making me sad because I just bought Daiwa saltist 3000 size. Damn lucky you that people that fish next to you are nice. Some of them would cast over you.
Nathan Mark no need to thank me for that Nathan! I was born and raised on Cape Cod and I love and respect this fishery too much to do anything but my best to sustain it! Thank you for the kind words my friend.
Just got introduced to canal fishing last August so obviously I got spoiled, ever since then it's been tough fishing there. Any tips on when and where and what works? Love your videos.
So called 'breaking tides ' ultra low tides that occur with new/full moon phases, at dawn and dusk.As to where,East End ,Boston side,Sandwich Marina,Cape side,Herring Run in spring. West end in fall,Bourne Bridge, Railroad Bridge and other locations in the vicinity. Tight lines.
Joseph Street joe I’m going to make a video regarding tips and tricks and tackle. As far as spots go, I don’t fish the typical spots and have caught fish everywhere along the canal, either side.
Hey I live right near the canal and fish there almost every week in the summer I suggest getting there early and at slack tide. Slack tide is when the current is really slow and not moving very much right in between the switches of high tide to low tide or low to high
looks like the Jigster and Saltiga 6500 are a match made in heaven?! would you think the Penn Slam 6500hs would put out as much performance as the Saltiga?
Peke's Repose the best balanced reel on a regular 11’ jigster is a 14000 Stella. But the jigster is a little tip heavy so it accommodates bigger reels like a 6500 saltiga no worries. And I’m not sure if the slammer would perform to the same level of a saltiga, but then again a saltiga is like 3x the price so it probably should. I know and fish with 3 guys that use the jigster/slammer 6500HS combo and they crush fish. They are an awesome option for the guy who doesn’t want to spend $1060 for a canal reel.
Just wondering, is it more strategic to be constantly moving on the canal based on the tides or is it better to just stay in one spot and just keep fishing? Thanks
At night time I will cover tons of ground. I will stop at holes make 4-5 sweeps interchanging between paddle tails, rat tails (straight tails), and bucktail jigs because I’ve seen on any given night the fish want a certain look and shy away from another. The fish tend to be staged and aren’t pushing bait and moving as much so once you find them you can usually beat them to death. As far as first light goes, these days it’s all going to depend on crowds. Depending on what the tide is doing I may stay in one spot if it’s about to transition. But if it’s 2 hours into a tide change and I haven’t seen any bait or activity by like 5:30 am I’m on the bike and cruising until I see one or the other
Dan- how do you like the ODM Jigster rod and the Daiwa Saltiga? How does it handle those pigs that you're bringing in? I'm thinking of getting the ODM Frontier 11'6" and pair it up with a Daiwa Saltiga 4500H.
Have you seen my other video on the Jigster?o I absolutely love the rod with the 6500 Saltiga...I feel like the name “Jigster” makes people think the rod is a telephone pole dedicated to jigging...I think they should have just named it The Canal Special. I find myself leaving other rods at home and carrying just that. It will throw an SP minnow all the way up to an 8 oz stick shadd. It will hang with any rod out there if you need to launch a pencil and it. I guess it depends how and where you fish....either way I wouldn’t get The 4500 series on that big of a rod. The spool diameter is just too small and and If you fish the canal, I’d get the 10” jigster and pair it with either a Saltiga-5000h, or the frontier X 11’6 with a Stella 14k or maybe a Expedition or Catalina. If you want to give my your email I can send you anothet video I made for the guys on stripersonline
Hey Dan, thanks for the cool videos. Local here who is brand new to the canal. Got a new setup but trying to figure out the right timing/tides to be down there. From what I understand, an hour before tide change is a good time to start. Any tips on timing when to be down there? Ive heard breaking tides in the morning is best also. Thanks again
So getting an understanding of the tides and terms of the canal can always be a bit tricky for people new to the area. Looking at the canal geographically, you’d think it ran north/south, but the way it’s labeled is east/west. The west end being buzzards bay and the east end being cape cod bay. When the tide is rising in the canal, we call this the flood tide. The current will always be heading east to Cape Cod Bay when the water level is rising. When the water level is falling, this is called the Ebb tide. Water will be draining out of Cape Cod Bay and heading west towards buzzards bay. The water level in the canal will be dropping on this tide. The brief period of time where the tide is transitioning either way is know as slack tide, and is a good time for throwing chunks (if that’s your thing) The breaking tides are when the current change from west to east happens close to daybreak. This can be something like 3 consecutive days where the tide is changing from west to east (low to high) at for example: 4:30am, 5:30am, 6:30 am as well as being close to the full and new moon phases. Breaking tides are so fun to fish because the size of the waterway is drastically reduced, allowing stripers a much easier time forcing bait to the surface, and almost always leading to awesome topwater action. Because the waterway is so much smaller due to the extreme low water level, reaching fish that would otherwise be unrealistic becomes possible. Breaking tides are the best time to throw topwater plugs like pencils and poppers. Other than that, just try to get down there and be ready on the rocks by 4:30-5am....throw subsurface swimmers, bucktails, or paddle tail jigs until the sun starts to come up. It’s usually at this point where you will start to see fish busting on the surface. There will be times where you will see a big biomass of fish pushing through right at daybreak and you’ll see and hear them coming from half a mile away. You’ll hear the hooting and hollering of guys hooking up, see rods doubled over, and before you know it the sounds of tail slaps and fish breaking the surface will be right in front of you! As bass push through the ditch, it’s not uncommon to see baitfish hugging the rocks trying to stay away from that ledge that’s usually 30 feet off the rocks where it drops off into deeper water because that’s where the big girls are lurking, following the bait, and just waiting for the opportunity where the baitfish get lazy and come too close to the ledge, or they have enough depth in the water to where they can corral the bait right at the rocks and that’s when things get really insane. So don’t get too caught up in the whole tide thing and just get down there and wet a line. Some of my best fish have been caught on total blind casts. If the fish aren’t showing on top, work your way down the water column. Another key factor if the fish are “staging” in holes and eddies waiting to feed and not showing on the surface is to stay mobile. Don’t get cemented in one spot. Stop, make 5 or so casts, and move down 100 yards. Rinse and repeat. That 100 yards could be the difference between a strikeout, and landing a jig right in a honey hole filled with fish who are just hanging out in a little break from the strong current! Make sure your gear is up to the task, your line is in good shape, knots are tight, terminal tackle on your lures is “canal grade”, you’ve got leaders premade and ready to go, and you have the appropriate footwear to navigate those sometimes treacherous rocks. Be safe, and have fun my friend. I hope this helps you make the most of it!
Dan Evan Thank you for the helpful info! Got discouraged last year after getting skunked three times in a row. When you say subsurface, do you mean something like a magic swimmers? Also, can it be equally productive around dusk as it is early morning? Thanks again! Can’t wait to get some fish down there
Dan! That description of the canal is glorious! The excitement in the way you explained it makes me feel like I'm right there with you. Simply magical. Thank you for making videos and sharing!
Just off this comment you have a subscriber in me. i really appreciate you spending time and giving your subscribers detailed responses and it was actually just was i was looking for. went to the canal twice so far. first time was rough lost a lot of jigs. second time was better but only fish caught was the guy next to me nice 48inch. i still have to work on things especially becoming mobil. so many guys with bikes there!
budman1870 if you’re referring to the white swim bait at the beginning, you are correct there is no tail hook, just a dressed bucktail. You can buy those pre-tied or make your own. Bucktail will hold up in the long run better, but feathers give a little better action imo. Here is a link to the site where I get both for my plugs: www.saltwaterplugs.com/bucktails.htm
So compared to other rods that I would consider dedicated jig sticks like the RS 1209, the Jigster is a bit softer. I have the 11’ model though and for me personally I think it’s the best all around canal rod there is. You can throw big swimbaits like 9” magic swimmers, 182-210 Sebiles, pencils from 2.5-5 oz, tsunami 9” shads, and anything else in your bag....I’ve jigged with it for hours on end and been totally fine. I think the fact that I got mine built with under wraps helped stiffen the tip up a bit. I think if you contacted CMS tackle and had a 10’ Jigster built with under wraps, you’d be very happy with the rod for a jigging setup that can also throw anything else in the bag unlike most telephone pole jig sticks.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rJTNyqoZdVQ.html the guys on stripers online had some very specific requests so I made a video just for them throwing all kinds of heavy stuff
Salvatore DeJohn I think either way would be just fine. The 10ft with a 5000 is going to be plenty of reel with plenty of drag/line capacity and would create a much lighter all around package
Not a dumb question at all man. It just means “personal best” - my buddy I was with hadn’t fished for very long so to catch a 30 pounder was a big step up from his previous best which was around 20 pounds
RiverRuns NC I run 30 or 40lb braid on my plugging rods with 50-60lb leader and 65lb braid with 80lb leader on my jigstick. You’d be fine with less, I’ve just really geared myself up for that 1 in a 1000 fish
Year ago August 330 am wading west end hooked into a goliath thought she was gonna blow out my reel and rod lost her in a fight she beat me this dude I was w swore it was a sting ray lol