It would be hard to pick a superlative to describe what has been going on in the Canal since last Friday; suffice it to say that many people are calling it a once-in-a-lifetime stretch of fishing.
Cape Cod Canal
The action at the east end continued this morning, and if the pattern continues, there should be a repeat this evening. Although many people associate the best fishing with time of day, especially the early morning, there were still bass being caught on top on the last couple of hours of the west tide and the turn to the east.
The best bite has been down the west end on the east turn, particularly around the railroad bridge. The east end has seen a few brief pushes of bass from Cape Cod Bay on the end of the west tide and the turn to the east as they herd some of the mackerel that are out in the bay into the land cut.
Today, a few bass were caught jigging around the west entrance and hardcore regulars have been picking at fish at night on eels between the bridges. That said, it should be interesting to see what shapes up on this next set of tides in the Big Ditch.
The Big Ditch has slowed a bit, but that is all relative given that it was fish city starting last Thursday and running through Monday. There has been a brief topwater bite in the morning, especially around the east end, but that is if you can reach them as the fish are out in the middle of the Canal chasing mackerel.
There are still some bigger bass being taken around the east end; most of them are just shy of the commercial limit at 30 to 33-inches, with the occasional 30-pounder mixed in. It has been mainly a topwater bite using pencil poppers, with plenty of mackerel around the east making chartreuse mack the top color choice.
With the action spread out from east to west and on both the mainland and Cape sides, there has been no crowding reported; all you have to do is wait and the fish will move by where you are.
There were some nice fish caught early Thursday morning throughout the Canal, but any topwater activity is over once the sun shows over the treetops and then it’s a matter of getting down to the fish. The mid-morning turn has produced some good action with jigs, but not many folks are fishing at night.
Pretty much everybody I spoke to said the Canal has been lights out, both in the morning and again in the evening. The dying west current and turn to the east has been the better change of tide for topwater activity, but at times it just seems that the bass are feeding no matter the tide.
There has been a good mid-morning topwater bite at the east end, but good luck getting a spot. With commercial season scheduled to start on Monday, folks are getting tight-lipped about where they are and what are using.