Point Pleasant Canal Fishing Reports

[ped579]

Good report as usual Garry...

[wink_man]

Hit the canal at 2AM, as I had a good outgoing tide, and didn't feel like sleeping. Weed minimal, water clear, and not a boat from 2AM till 5:45AM. Grand total of 5 boats when I left at 6:30AM. Fishing was slow, caught one striper around 3AM, about 24 inches, and caught a second at 5:45 when the first boat went past me. Both against the wall on the rapala. Could not get a hit in any of the holes, using the usual assortment of lures. But not one bluefish caught, and not one Fin-S chopped up by a bluefish, so it was a good morning, LOL. I need a nap.

Garry

[njdevil]

Good report, enjoy that nap.

NJDEVIL 

[Ren]

Great report Garry. Its nice to hear that the stripers are being caught this week ( It gives me the incentive and motivation to want to get there) You are the Canal Master! I too went to the canal last night. I guess the alligator blues are still in there judging by your report and also the guy next to me caught a 37 incher.  I unfortunetly did'nt have any luck and the mosquitos were so bad that by the time I left it looked like I had the chicken pox LMAO. ( Left the bug spray in the car ). I am going to try tonight at about 6 PM and see whats happening.

Ren

[gymrat987654321]

Nice bluefish 

[IrishAyes]

Nice reports guys. 

[ed v]

Not much to report this time. Fished the west side of the canal the last 2 days on my way home from work. Started at about 4pm both days and got the big skunk. Fished mostly swimming plugs but tried metal and soft plastic also. Weeds were bad yesterday but no problem at all today.
Probably won't get back there till next week.

[wink_man]

Hit the canal last night at about 7:30. Water was running to fast, and I knew it, but had time to kill, and didn't want to fish real late. Weed and cabbage was very bad during the fast running water, water semi clear, boat traffic medium.

Worked my way up the wall and didn't do anything, water was really to fast and to much weed. There is a backwater eddy by the 88 bridge where fish tend to hang during fast water times, so I went there and got a short striper on the rapala, and lost a second right at the net:

Left about 10pm, water had slowed down by then, but it was pretty dead.

Hit it again this morning at 5am. Had real good water. Worked all the way up the wall with the rapala, and couldn't draw a strike from a striper, or anything else for that matter. I did have 3 alligator blues follow the lure all the way in, but no takers, the big blues are definitely there. But as I have stated before, live bait is the way to go. Chris livelined a bergall and got one of the alligators, gave him a great fight. Chris isn't exactly a computer geek, LMAO, but his wife is going to join and post reports for him. She said she'll post a report later and put in a pic, she's a good girl, had coffee for me when I stopped over to shoot the breeze. They live right on the canal, and Chris fishes it regularly. She wasn't exactly a happy camper about being awakened at 6:30 am to take pics, but she's a pretty good sport, and her reports on what Chris is catching in the canal will be appreciated.
I quit fishing about 8am, as again, it was pretty dead actionwise, but live bait definitely wakes the big fish up in there.

Garry

[ed v]

Good job Gary, the stripers there have been avoiding me so far but I'll get one eventually. I also have to get another X-rap like the one you have. I lost mine on the fence due to operator error.

[IrishAyes]

Nice report Gary, as usual.

Ed, too funny about the fence. I almost lost a plug to a Buick on the new Belmar bridge. Don't ask me about that. 

[Greg7]

Im starting to feel that I'm wasting good fishing time all those nights I go to the inlet. Any tips for fishing in the canal?

[wink_man]

Im starting to feel that I'm wasting good fishing time all those nights I go to the inlet. Any tips for fishing in the canal?

Greg,
     If you read my reports in here, you'll see how and what I do, I have no secrets(daughter says I'm a lousy liar, LMAO).

But a couple off the top of my head:
1. Use the tide chart for the Coast Guard Station on the Manasquan River, and fish 2 hours AFTER any tide, this will give you about 4 hours of good fishing, anytime otherwise, the water is running to fast to fish effectively.

2. Avoid weekends and boat traffic, LOL.

3. Most stripers are taken working the wall, casting parallel to it and working a lure back to you, and I mean right against the wall. Xrap, size 12 in Glass Ghost finish is very efective for the stripers, so is a 5 & 3/4 inch Fin-S in either alewive or arkansas shiner finish.

4. Those 2 pound bluefish that bother you to death there and chop your Fin-S fish in half make great live bait when livelined for the alligator blues that are in there.(just use a stinger hook, because the alligators tend to chop those 2 pounders in half, and take off with the back end).

5. When weakfish are in, a 4 inch Fin-S(in pink) is the only game in town if you want consistent results.

6. Any livelined bait, ie. herring, snappers, bergals, eels, will out fish lures 10 to 1, but again, as long as you have a good water flow, as I mentiond in #1 and the water isn't running to fast.

7. And maybe most important. Have a good quality net with a heavy duty deep mesh bag(I prefer 42 inches deep) and a long handle, remember the water is a ways down there, and there is a fence. And NEVER let that net be out of arms reach, or one day you will regret it, and remind yourself for months on end what an inept idiot you were. (Don't ask me how I know this).

Garry

[Greg7]

Thanks for the pointers. I enjoy reading your reports. I have notice you are an avid canal fisherman and I was hoping you would share the knowledge, haha   I have to get out there now and try and catch some fish.

[wink_man]

No fishing today(maybe later), need to play Mr. Mom, cause as I've stated previously, the kids like to be fed and watered occassionally, and like clean clothes. Took a little scouting trip to the inlet, which I wrote a post on. In the process of my scouting trip, I stopped at Garden State Marina, as I needed a few packs of Fin-S fish. Ran into an old clamdigger, whom I highly respect, and whose knowledge of fishing in the area is vast, he's been here and fished here all his life, and is quite adept at pulling big bass out of the canal on artificials, much more so than I am. I'm only fishing stripers because weakfish aren't in, stripers aren't exactly my specialty.

Anyways, when this guy talks, I listen. In the course of the conversation to me, he announced, that once the bass get into their summer pattern in the canal(which they are now) It is strictly a nighttime proposition for the big ones, on the last of the incoming to the beginning of the outgoing. He says thats the only time they feed. Just info I thought I'd pass along, like I said, when this guy talks(which is rarely), I listen.

Garry 

[Pfishingruven]

Thanks...very interesting!!  I am sure he knows best!  One day, instead of hitting the Inlet, I am going to try the Canal.  Only fished there a few times when I was younger!  Thanks for the great reports as usual and good luck!!

 

P.S.  Completely "understand" the Mr. Mom days

 

[ped579]

Good scouting trip Garry.

Mr. Mom has been my life for almost 19 years now.  She is going to college but it is here at OCC about 10 min from the house.  We just cleaned and rearranged my studio around to fit another artist in there.  Now I have to order another easel for her and she will be all set. 

As far as me, I guess it will be another 2 years that she will be in the nest.

Happy Catching

Paul

[Greg7]

Im starting to feel that I'm wasting good fishing time all those nights I go to the inlet. Any tips for fishing in the canal?

Greg,
     If you read my reports in here, you'll see how and what I do, I have no secrets(daughter says I'm a lousy liar, LMAO).

But a couple off the top of my head:
1. Use the tide chart for the Coast Guard Station on the Manasquan River, and fish 2 hours AFTER any tide, this will give you about 4 hours of good fishing, anytime otherwise, the water is running to fast to fish effectively.

2. Avoid weekends and boat traffic, LOL.

3. Most stripers are taken working the wall, casting parallel to it and working a lure back to you, and I mean right against the wall. Xrap, size 12 in Glass Ghost finish is very efective for the stripers, so is a 5 & 3/4 inch Fin-S in either alewive or arkansas shiner finish.

4. Those 2 pound bluefish that bother you to death there and chop your Fin-S fish in half make great live bait when livelined for the alligator blues that are in there.(just use a stinger hook, because the alligators tend to chop those 2 pounders in half, and take off with the back end).

5. When weakfish are in, a 4 inch Fin-S(in pink) is the only game in town if you want consistent results.

6. Any livelined bait, ie. herring, snappers, bergals, eels, will out fish lures 10 to 1, but again, as long as you have a good water flow, as I mentiond in #1 and the water isn't running to fast.

7. And maybe most important. Have a good quality net with a heavy duty deep mesh bag(I prefer 42 inches deep) and a long handle, remember the water is a ways down there, and there is a fence. And NEVER let that net be out of arms reach, or one day you will regret it, and remind yourself for months on end what an inept idiot you were. (Don't ask me how I know this).

Garry

Went out to a couple different places to get the Xrap 12 but I couldn't find it anywhere in the glass ghost color. I ended up getting the 10 and the 14 in glass ghost just hoping the 14 isn't too big.

[wink_man]

Went out to a couple different places to get the Xrap 12 but I couldn't find it anywhere in the glass ghost color. I ended up getting the 10 and the 14 in glass ghost just hoping the 14 isn't too big.

Greg, the size 14 isn't to big, and will work just fine, I have one and use it, I just prefer the 12, because despite the 14 weighing 1 1/2 ounces and the 12 weighing only 3/4 ounce, the 12 seems to cast better for me, and further, I assume because of the slimmer aerodynamic shape.

 Incidentally,I'm not real happy with the durability of this lure in context of quality for the price, despite it's fishcatching ability. I've had one that wasn't sealed properly, and salt water invaded the body of the lure and corroded it, and 2 that the plastic swimming lip broke off. I sent all 3 back to rapala, we'll see what they do about it.

Garry

[wink_man]

Hit the canal this afternoon at about 1PM. End of the incoming to the beginning of the outgoing. Winds southwest, boat traffic moderate, weed and cabbage liveable, water a bit turbid, cleared a little as it became outgoing.

Caught a small blue on the rapala, and livelined him, took a while as the fish weren't in the mood to hit, but a big alligatoer blue fineally took him and ran with him. WHen I set the hook, nothing, just dead weight coming back in, the alligator chopped his head off in front of the leading hook, very unusual. Caught one more small blue, livelined him to no avail, worked the wall with the rapala and couldn't raise a striper to save my life. Then caught one slightly larger blue, about 4-5 pounds. Left at about 4:15PM as water velocity increased.

Garry

[Pfishingruven]

Not a bad catch....thanks for the report!