Fishing the PP Canal from shore

[bassnblues]

Anybody have some tips for fishing the PP canal from shore? I was thinking of killing a couple of hours fishing the area around the Rt 88 (or is it bridge st?)bridge.
 I realize it'll be catch and release for small backfish. What's the best tide? best rig? How much weight will I need? Where can I get green crabs with the tog season not really open? Any tips are appreciated.

[ped579]

Hi bassnblues,

I haven't fished the canal in a long while, my best bet would be to do a Google map search click on hybrid and look for roads that will take you to the canal.  There are some good spots to the east of the bridge on bridge st. as well as the entrance to the canal. Just look for things tied on the fence and it is a sure give away that it was or is a good spot to catch something.

As far as what to use you can try almost anything right now with the weather still warm it is a crap shoot.  I would start off with with anywhere from a 3/0 to a 6/0 bait keeper hook with a 2 - 4 oz bank sinker depending on the tide and the rip of the current in the canal.

As far as bait clams, eels, sand worms or even small plugs might work.

I hope this helped.

Happy Catching

Paul

[Luna Sea 5]

its a very productive spot. I see guys catching there quite often

[TurboDan]

Went by there tonight.  Tons of guys fishing over the rail, but I couldn't see from the boat whether they were catching anything.  A guy in a 26 Pro Line pulled up next to me and asked if I had caught anything. Told him no since I was just out for a quick ride on the water, but he told me he fished the mouth of the canal for a while and came up empty.  He was heading over to the Rt. 35 bridge.

[Capt. Ed]

Hi,

Are you familiar where the old Pt. Pleasant Hospital was?

If not, do you have a GPS in your car/boat? If so, I will give you the number of the best spots.

A great spot is on the west side, 14 fence posts from the northern mouth of the canal. Also, right across about 5 fence posts up is good.

Also, on the west side at the northern end, throw towrd the island (Treasure Island). There is a nice hole there.

You have to fish this at slack +/- one hour. It is virtually unfishable when the current is ripping through there.

Good luck,

Capt. Ed

[ped579]

Was it a white rag or red rag on the fence?

I forgot...

Happy Catching

Paul

[Capt. Ed]

Hi Paul,

White (LOL) ...

Complements of our friends ...

Hit that honey hole hard folks,

Capt. Ed

[bassnblues]

Thanks a lot everyone! Great tips!
 
Looks like high tide in that area on Saturday is about 10:00 AM. I'm going to give it a shot. 

[ped579]

Good Luck.

You might have to take a number on the weekend though.

Again Good Luck.

Happy Catching

Paul

[TurboDan]

Yup, the weekend is insane over there.  Basically, everyone is shoulder-to-shoulder.  I'm surprised the tog aren't spooked by the boat traffic, but they are sure there!

[Hotrod]

Thanks a lot everyone! Great tips!
 
Looks like high tide in that area on Saturday is about 10:00 AM. I'm going to give it a shot. 

Let us know.  Don't forget the camera

[Skolmann]

 
Looks like high tide in that area on Saturday is about 10:00 AM. I'm going to give it a shot. 

I was thinking about fishing there on Sunday.

After speaking with a charter captain from the area, he advised me that on Sunday high tide is about 3 hours later than what is listed for high tide at Sandy Hook. Tide charts show high tide at 10:11 AM Sunday morning at the hook, so he advised me that high tide at the canal would be around 1:11 PM Sunday afternoon.

He also advised NOT to fish with braid. I haven't fished there in 6+ years but do recall it is very snaggy in spots.

If I do decide to go, I'll spend a few hours on Saturday collecting fiddler & asian crabs. I know when I went back in the day-fiddlers were the ticket.

Only place I can think of that carried fiddlers is the Fisherman's Den at the Belmar marina. Might be worth giving them a call to see if they have them and/or greenies.

[bassnblues]

saltwatertides.com listed high tide at Riviera (Bargegat Bay) at 9:46 on Sat. I figured that would be close but I'll go with your charter capt info...

I fished there once or twice and never got anything. Once when I drove by about this time of year (without any fishing gear, of course) people were catching small blacks like crazy.

Since it's supposed to blow pretty hard this weekend and I'm not to thrilled on spending $60.00 on gas and bait to catch tiny Seabass, I thought it would be fun.

I looked at google maps in hybrid mode and it looks to me like both ends are all private houses.

[Capt. Ed]

Hi bassnblues,

I do not have any of my copies of Reed's to get the tide times right at the bridges in the canal.

However, what we do know is that the Manasquan Inlet is - (minus) 13 minutes on the flood (high) tide than Sandy Hook and is (minus) 25 minutes on the ebb (low) tide.

Also note that the Pt. Pleasant Canal is roughly + (plus) 3 hrs. than the Manasquan Inlet.

Also note that the tide change and current actually do not correspond exactly.

So, for Saturday, October 13:

High1:  9:39AM at Sandy Hook equals 9:26AM Manasquan Inlet. That would give you a slack in the canal about 12:30PM.

High2: 9:54PM at Sandy Hook equals 9:41PM Manasquan Inlet. That would give you a slack in the canal about 12:41AM on Sunday.

Low 1: 3:33AM at Sandy Hook equals 3:08AM Manasquan Inlet. That would give you a slack in the canal about 6:08AM.

Low 2: 4:09PM at Sandy Hook equals 3:44PM Manasquan Inlet. That would give you a slack in the canal about 6:44PM.

So, if I were fishing the north end of the Pt. Pleasant Canal on Saturday High1, I would plan on fishing about 11:00AM to 2:00PM.

Now if I had Reed's with me I would be able to tell you more accurate times at the Lovelandtown Bridge but this should work.

Please also note that the water is extremely high on the west side of the bay right now(remember, for the most part, Barnegat Bay water heights are controlled more by wind than by tide)which may effect fishing this weekend.

Good luck,

Capt. Ed

[IrishAyes]

Here is a tide chart that should be useful to most in NJ.  You can select the area that you are interested in for the tide.

http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/newjerseysites.html#long

To use, click on the area you want, click on the month/year, then the date and number of days you want to tide for.

[bassnblues]

Well, I really spanked 'em today thanks to all you guys. I followed your advice and had a great time catching small tog just about one after another for about an hour. Only stopped because I ran out of bait. Got a couple that were keeper size but threw everything back anyway...Thanks everyone!

Going back tomorrow.

[IrishAyes]

Good job!   

[TurboDan]

Ugh, wish I could say the same.  Fished there for about two hours from my boat in a couple different positions near the mouth of the canal (PP side) and never got a bite.  Didn't see anything coming over the rails of the boats adjacent to me, either, except for one small blue.

I was using a 4oz crippled herring lure.  Perhaps overkill for small blues, but I intended on targeting bass and changed plans at the last minute.  Maybe I'll get a couple clams to cut up tomorrow, or just try to find a place near the Rt. 35/RR bridge to try for some bass.

[ped579]

Good Going Bassnblues...

Nice job.

Happy Catching

Paul

[Skolmann]

Well, I really spanked 'em today thanks to all you guys. I followed your advice and had a great time catching small tog just about one after another for about an hour. Only stopped because I ran out of bait. Got a couple that were keeper size but threw everything back anyway...Thanks everyone!

Going back tomorrow.

Nice job !! 

Was it very crowded and did you notice anyone keeping shorts (which has been a big problem down there in recent years0?