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Surely nothing beats the thrill of watching a large striper smacking a surface plug at the Cape Cod Canal. However in regards to regularly catching enormous stripers in the “Big Ditch,” focusing on working the deeper section of the land cut can pay off in the form of big stripers, more often and with more consistency than working the surface. Nonetheless one can not expect to just throw a jig, bait or lure any place in the Cape Cod Canal and anticipate tons of action and plenty of stripers. The ditch features hot spots and dead zones like any other striper fishing area down the entire striper coast. Being able to zone in on the extraordinary drop-offs, under water bumps, rocky ledges and unyielding rips is key to systematically catching large stripers off the Canal's bottom. Stripers flock to sections of structure like bees to honey. In many cases the bass will place themselves deep in a gulley, or right behind a rip. The structure disturbs the powerful current, much in the same manner a building obstructs a stiff breeze. Conventional striper theory claims that cow stripers use current obstructing pieces of structure to achieve a competitive advantage bait fish. The strong Cape Cod Canal current propels many types of bait and prey items downstream. Opportunistic bass will take position behind a piece of structure, then attack their prey while it tumbles down within the swift current. One of the easiest ways to find spots worthy of fishing is always to pay attention to variations in the surface of the Big Ditch. Striper holding areas of structure will usually make disturbances in the regular flow of the current. Most likely, clues to the position of the bass attracting structure displays itself as a wake, ripple, whirlpool etc. on the surface of the Big Ditch. Walking the banks of the Cape Cod Canal , or better yet driving your "canal cruiser" along the service road, and having an eye out for dissimilarities on the canal’s surface is an efficient approach to at least get an idea of where to fish. Standing waves are arguably the greatest tell-tale clue to an underwater hump or gulley. If you discover a spot featuring standing waves, the actual striper attracting structure will likely be located marginally up current of the waves. This holds true regarding any kind of disturbance on the surface-the striper attracting structure is always a little bit up current. It is now time to zone in on the exact location of the fish holding structure. This can be carried out by fan casting a spot using a jig or bank sinker. Be sure to use a jig or sinker beefy enough to reach the Canal's bottom in the powerful current. I commonly start with 4 ounces and move heavier or lighter depending on existing conditions. Cast up current and keep an accurate count on the amount of seconds it takes the bait or lure to reach the Canal's bottom. Of course the shallower the water, the sooner the bait or lure will reach bottom-the deeper the water, the longer it will take. For instance, one terrific canal fishing spot that I frequent each spring features a large prominent peak followed by a deep, steep hole. It takes my jig 7 seconds to strike bottom on top of the shallow peak. However when cast directly into the deep gulley, it will take my jig or lure twenty seconds to arrive on the bottom. Due to the change in the amount of time it takes my lure or jig to arrive on the bottom, I know that I am successfully presenting my offering smack dab down the middle of the strike zone. Fan casting a location in this manner is going to be easiest in the last hour or so of the west tide, slack tide, and the start of the east tide. The Cape Cod Canal is chock full of excellent jigging spots. Yet it usually takes a long time and a lot of effort to find the most productive areas. Yet if systematically yanking significant stripers off the canal’s bottom is important to you, then your time and energy put into unveiling these prime fishing spots will likely be worthy of the energy and time necessary to locate them.
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cape cod canal, surfcasting, striped bass fishing,
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