Point Pleasant Canal 5/23 (5/24 got the date wrong)

[wink_man]

Went to the Point Pleasant Canal this morning, looking for a striper. Up by the 88 bridge was pretty devoid of blues, and I know a good hole there, so hopefully I wouldn't lose to many Fin-s fish. Watched 2 boats go through as I walked to my spot, and didn't think much of it. Third cast at 5:02 I hooked a 25 inch striper:


There is something about that outfit, don't know what it is, but I always seem to catch a fish on the 3rd cast. Anyways, I figurered it would be a good morning, but the flotilla of 'out of towner boats' just didn't stop, it was constant, and it was even difficult trying to cast between boats. Fished till 8:00 am there and didn't get another hit. I assume boat traffic was the culprit, you could certainly tell it was Memorial Day weekend, LOL, and this, coming from a former out of towner (me). Lure used was a 5 3/4 inch Fin-s in shiner finish on a 3/4 ounce jighead jigged in the current as the current swept the lure on the outgoing tide after sinking to the bottom.

Then I went down to the north end of the canal by the river. No one was there. I cast the Fin-s hoping no blues were around and maybe I'd have a shot at another striper. First cast I nailed a blue, boat traffic didn't seem to bother them at all. Caught a dozen on anything I threw at them, then it quieted down, so I left.

I thought it was interesting that fluke season opened today, and the best spot on the river for fluke(between channel markers 9 and 11) didn't have a boat there drifting, everyone was heading out to the ocean I assume.

Plenty of stripers in the canal, mostly shorts but enough keepers mixed in to make it interesting. Tough using artificials though, they definitely prefer livelined herring, and the guys using herring are cleaning up. The weakfish fishery never developed. I heard that the gill netters cleaned up on weakfish outside the inlet, and I can't confirm a catch of a weakie in the canal yet. One rumor, but the fish has ranged anywhere from 6 to 14 pounds depending who you talk to, so I'm not inclined to believe it was even caught.

Few more pics of stripers taken in artificials in the canal:

This is the fattest striper I've seen, caught him last week on a white shad, he looks like a little football at 24 inches, caught him right at the mouth of the river in the canal:


Sons friend took this one on a shad at the south end by the condos last week at dusk, on his first cast, 26 inches:


Interesting side note, my son and his friend went to the Delaware River yesterday to get some herring, they caught a bunch, and my son caught the biggest freaking herring I've ever seen, on a sabiki rig. A little to big to liveline, the fish must weigh 4 pounds:
 

Just thought I would share. Incidentally, the stripers quickly has their photo snapped, and are back swimming in the canal.
   

[Bucktail]

Nice report and pics!

BTW, there is no such thing as a "former out of towner".      Once a out of towner, always a out of towner!

-Bob

[wink_man]

Nice report and pics!

BTW, there is no such thing as a "former out of towner".      Once a out of towner, always a out of towner!

-Bob

LOL, thats what I always thought too, but when I moved down here permanently, my neighbors(who are pretty cool), said they always considered me and my kids clam diggers, so I just went with the flow.

Garry

[kezsr]

great report and pics ,with heavy boat traffic in the canal during the summer,especially weekends,doesn't it kind of limit your fishing time?

[Bucktail]

Nice report and pics!

BTW, there is no such thing as a "former out of towner".      Once a out of towner, always a out of towner!

-Bob

LOL, thats what I always thought too, but when I moved down here permanently, my neighbors(who are pretty cool), said they always considered me and my kids clam diggers, so I just went with the flow.

Garry

Its OK Winkman.  I'm a out of towner too.  I grew up under the shadows of the George Washington bridge.

Oh, and for those of you that don't think you're a out of towner because you own a summer home "down da shaw", you are.  You're just a rich out of towner! 

[wink_man]

great report and pics ,with heavy boat traffic in the canal during the summer,especially weekends,doesn't it kind of limit your fishing time?

Boat traffic does limit fishing time in the canal, more importantly, water flow is even a more limiting factor. The canal drains/fills all of northern Barnegat Bay, and being a rather narrow piece of water, sometimes the water is flowing so fast it's literally unable to be fished effectively due to water flow. There are generally 3 hours windows depending on tides when you can fish it effectively.

Fortunately for me, after 27 years and one month on the same job, in the same place, in the same office, with the same phone extension, and oncall 24/7, I walked in with my ghetto blaster playing 'take this job and shove it', and never looked back, and now I stay home and play Mr. Mom for the kids, so time is not an issue for me anymore. And the fact is, being 15 minutes from my house, means I can fish most any 3 hour window I want, and be right back home to do my Mr. Mom stuff, LOL, and use less than a gallon of gas in the process. Pretty hard to beat, for me anyways.

The reason I fish the canal, is because ot the structure, and the fish found within/on/about that structure. Structure wise, the canal is about the most interesting place you could ever find. In places, 30 to 33 feet deep, and in spots, those depths almost instantly well up to 16 feet. The guy who dug it, must have been drunk, or just was allowed to play with his tonka toy. Stone walls from the edge to about 12 feet out, to support the retaining walls, bridge structure(2 of em), etc, etc, etc. Take a boat ride through there with a good reliable fishfinder, and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Then there's the fish there, blues, stripers, weakies, tog, fluke, flounder, etc. etc., again, a good reliable fishfinder will show you the bottom of that place is literally paved with fish. I've studied it for a long time, and fished it a long time, so despite the problems, it's worth fishing, especially in my situation.

It's also one of the few places that can be fished more effectively on land than by boat, and easily the best weakie spot in the northern Barnegat Bay/Manasquan River area. I catch more weakfish in the canal, than all other places I fish/have fished in the area combined, both land and boat. I fish weakfish exclusively once they are in, and once they are in untill they leave in the fall, you won't see me anywhere BUT the Point Pleasant canal.

So, it may limit your fishing time, but the rewards are great, if you're willing to take the time to learn it, like I did, and you understand a little about structure, water flow, and how to fish the bottom in fast currents. A freshwater trout fisherman, fishing a river like say the Wanaque in northern Jersey, could easily adapt after a few trips through the canal with a good reliable fish finder.

Garry   

 

[kezsr]

Garry very good read,seems you have a very good handle on the area you fish,wasn't aware of the structure,I know that water moves fast through there,it can actually be scary if your on small boat.

[IrishAyes]

Nice post Garry. 

[jozwirk]

winkman picture of large herring is actually a shad.nice fish

[jmd41]

Nice going Garry 

I will be heading out on the Jamaica tomorrow, hopping to catch some dinner. 

[wink_man]

Headed back to the Canal late this afternoon, had a good tide and fishable water from 6PM to 9PM or so. Fished with my friend Scott. Boat traffic was minimal and the water was starting to slow down. We fished till 9PM, threw shad, Fin_s, jigs, a popper, and couldn't get a hit from a striper, just some bluefish harasssing us, and destroying Fin-S fish. I figuered boat traffic in the course of the day had the bite off, NOT.

So my son calls me and tells me his friend Mike is coming down with herring to liveline, apparently he went to the Delaware again today to get a few. Anyways, livelining herring is the only way to go in the spring in the Canal, much as I like artificials. Mike calls and finds where I am, and meets me and Scott. I tell Mike to fish right where I have been fishing, as I know there are fish there. He throws in the herring, and that herring wasn't in the water for 15 seconds and a bass hit it, he said literally as soon as he put it in the water it was nervous. And 8 seconds was his count before setting the hook, LOL, so the herring was prolly in the water less than 7 seconds before the bass hit it. So he fishes the spot we have been flailing lures out for  3 hours, and in less than 15 seconds catches a 30 inch bass on a livelined herring. Just thought I would share.



Garry

[IrishAyes]

Don't you hate when that happens?!  Congrats to him for the fine quick catch.