The Cape Cod Canal is amongst the most difficult and rewarding places along the entire East Coast of the United States to fish for striped bass. Few places on earth provide the shore bound angler a better chance at hooking a striper in the 40 pound range.
The man-made land cut has provided spectacular fishing the past few seasons for anglers Fishing Cape Cod. The spring run of large striped bass has been just as remarkable, if not more impressive than the famed autumn migration.
If this spring is anything similar to spring of 2010, impressive schools of trophy size fish should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the “Big Ditch,” as it is referred to by canal regulars, will likely produce several of the biggest striped bass of the year.
Timing is Important
The canal will support a population of bass from May through October. But to really cash in on superb canal fishing, a fisherman must be present at the canal when a large biomass of bass moves through the land cut.
The fact is that it is inherently tough to forecast when this will occur. However it can help to stay updated on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Accounts of large schools of surface feeding stripers in Buzzards Bay will frequently trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
The man-made land cut has provided spectacular fishing the past few seasons for anglers Fishing Cape Cod. The spring run of large striped bass has been just as remarkable, if not more impressive than the famed autumn migration.
If this spring is anything similar to spring of 2010, impressive schools of trophy size fish should enter the canal during the second half of May. For the serious striped bass angler, the “Big Ditch,” as it is referred to by canal regulars, will likely produce several of the biggest striped bass of the year.
Timing is Important
The canal will support a population of bass from May through October. But to really cash in on superb canal fishing, a fisherman must be present at the canal when a large biomass of bass moves through the land cut.
The fact is that it is inherently tough to forecast when this will occur. However it can help to stay updated on Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay fishing reports. Accounts of large schools of surface feeding stripers in Buzzards Bay will frequently trickle in a few days, to a week, before a canal blitz.
These bass are on a northward migration trek that often brings them directly through the Cape Cod Canal - in contrast to the longer trip around the arm of Cape Cod. At this time of the year the canal is stuffed with herring, mackerel, whiting as well as a plethora of other baitfish. 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 north into Cape Cod Bay. Often time’s amazing fishing will occur for a day or two as the school migrates through. A phase of slower fishing ensues, until the next large push of bass occurs a week or so later.
I remember a Thursday morning last season when anybody who could cast a plug more than 30 feet was into big fish. It did not take long for word to get out, and by Saturday morning the canal was chock full of anglers. However the biomass of striped bass had swiftly 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 fisherman can cast surface plugs to 30 pound bass.
With that said, not every angler will take advantage of the fantastic top water action during spring at the canal. Very long casts greater than 200 feet will often be needed to reach breaking fish.
Loading the tail end of a productive aerodynamic surface plug with weight can drastically increase casting distance without harming the action of the plug. Using ultra thin braided line and the best rods and reels money can purchase will definitely help. However nothing can beat perfect casting technique.
Stripers are relatively easy to fool with top water plugs when Fishing Cape Cod if the bass are aggressive and honed 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 smaller stripers 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 fish 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 smaller prey items were replaced by much larger mackerel. Larger bass replaced the schoolies, and everyone began hooking up. Things change quickly this time of the year at the canal.
