Some time ago I asked Wayne from Guppy what makes a pencil a "canal pencil" what I explained in this video is what he told me specifically the "flat bottom" feature. I'm not saying you're wrong but what Wyane explained made a ton of sense. I've asked Steve from The bomb fishing (he and I have talked heavily on many features of plugs) about why his plugs (pencil) can be worked almost immediately when you tighten the line. He said you have to correctly calculate the buoyancy ratio of the plug to make it work fast on the surface. So once the plug is on top the flat bottom helps with it not getting swept away as fast as a round bottom. A sinking pencil with a flat bottom will still sink when it lands however, shouldn't be swept down current as fast.
You're welcome! Happy to help. I did a video on best setups to use on the Canal. I'll link it below. After you watch it let me know if I missed anything or if you need me to make something specific ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_6LC3yH-APM.html
What's up Shaka.....I know this is alot to ask ...however I'ma surfcaster. I Prefer the live bait or cut bait for that matter. I'm heading up to Hyannis April 19 thru 23. And here it comes .....any decent areas I should consider to just catch and release schoolie striper .....don't need any specifics but more like general areas or jedis where my son and I can post up and just talk bond and maybe stay busy with some smaller schoolies? Ty in advance!
I find it very interesting that I am just seeing this comment on the first day that you said you will be there...I feel like that's something a "local" might know. I'm more of a "regular" at the canal. Hopefully, you and your son will enjoy the time spent fishing fish or no fish.
If you want to blow your mind and never use a fast sinking stick shad 182 again, get a 182 floater and rig it with a 5/0 mustad 9430DS 5x hook. Most people think canal and instantly think fast sinking everything. The floating stick shadd isn’t used as much because people rig them with too light of a hook and it doesn’t hold in the water. When rigged with enough hook to anchor the plug in the water, the action will absolutely destroy the fast sinking versions.
And you made one of the best possible points in regards to soft plastic jigs. It is absolutely ESSENTIAL as someone who has spent over a decade now fishing the canal seriously (caught my first keeper there when I was 8 on a bunker chunk). There are going to be times, especially at night, where the fish do not respond to the insane vibration and thumping of a paddle tail. You switch over in the same exact spot to a “rat tail” (straight tail) like a Hurley, Ron Z, Sluggo, Mega Shad etc. that has a much more subtle, and arguably more realistic action, and I can’t tell you the amount of times thats changed everything for me. Same spot, same sweep, just that minor presentation change and you’ll start crushing them. In regards to pencils, I think the same rules apply. You want those fast bottom pencils that you can slowly be walked on the surface, but they typically can’t reach out and be put in front of those fish that are out that extra 20-30 yards. The round bottom pencil gets overlooked constantly because of the flat bottom being dubbed as the “canal special” but the key to using something like an outcast is to let it get past you in the tide and then you can almost straight retrieve it back very slowly and it will swim on its own with a slight wobble and I’ve cleaned up on them. If you watch the video when I tested a pencil like this that I made, it was a morning where zero signs of life were showing. No bait, no surface activity, nobody hooking up and I was down there simply to test. I ended up going cast for cast for cast for cast and this was a big 9-10” pencil. The best advice I ever got in regards to fishing artificials was always change your retrieve, your angler input, fast, slow, steady, erratic until you find the look those fish want on that day. That’s what truly separates those guys who put a 30+ pounder on the rocks on days where nobody is catching. Cheers man.
Cool. I'll give one a try this season. I'm a bit concerned it won't swim as deep. I mostly try to target fish sub surface with the fast sinking. When folks were catching on top because I couldn't "pincel pop" at the time so I'd pull the stick shad or magic swimmer to get the fish below. So do you think a floater would still get the job done?
Cool. I'll give one a try this season. I'm a bit concerned it won't swim as deep. I mostly try to target fish sub surface with the fast sinking. When folks were catching on top because I couldn't "pincel pop" at the time so I'd pull the stick shad or magic swimmer to get the fish below. So do you think a floater would still get the job done?
@@ShakaAantoine I think the regular sinking 182 stick shadd is the perfect compromise if you wanna get down deeper. You have to understand that with the stick shadd the faster the sink rate is because the keel of the lure is loaded with more and more lead, therefore dulling the action down….the only fast sinking stick shadd I carry is the 155 sized because it casts a mile, presents a smaller profile, and it’s just another pitch I can throw. The regular sinking will get down plenty deep, and also remember that just because a pencil topwater bite isn’t working, doesn’t mean that a floating stick shadd that will swim a foot below the surface won’t get munched.
