Point Pleasant Canal Fishing Reports

[wink_man]

Hit the inlet at about 6pm last evening. The plan was to socailize with grumpy old men a bit, catch a shad or 2 and go to the south end of the canal and try for a striper.

Shoprite Eddie is there and tells me the shad were there a half hour ago. Finally see very small schools here and there, seemed I'd have my line out, see shad breaking in a different direction than my line was, and by the time I reeled in and cast, they were gone again. Finally got one, and one was all I needed.

Hit the south end of the canal at dusk, I livelined that shad till 11:15pm when he managed to get off the hook. Nada, zip, the shad was getting nervous a few times, but no takers.

Garry

[wink_man]

Hit the Manasquan Inlet at about 4:45 this morning. Wind west/northwest, water clear, cabbage and weed minimal, and boat traffic minimal. Tide was in the last stages of outgoing.

No Hickory shad surfacing anywhere. About 5:30 I started blind casting for them, and mananged to pick up 4 as friend Scott(aka Gulp on here) joined me. Made a quick decision to head for the canal and liveline them before they died. Scott was hesitant, said he didn't have a strong enough pole, I told him his fluke outfit would work just fine. So off we went.

Tide was outgoing and fairly strong at the canal, tides are still falling an hour + late. We both started livelinging, Scott working south from Pine Bluff, and I worked north. We worked those shad back and forth, and could not draw a strike. Tide went slack and just as it started to change, Scott watches a gator take his shad just under the surface and run with it. I told him to give it plenty of time to swallow it, don't hit it till he stops and then moves again, and wait for the boat to pass. We are about 100 feet apart. Bail closes, line tightens up, rod is arced in half, and bingo, big fish on, LMAO. I head for the net while trying not to hurt my shad and get up to Scott.
Fish gave him a great fight on the freshwater outfit he uses for fluke with 14 LB. test. I think he was more thrilled at seeing the gator circle the shad and take it than actually landing it, it's definitely heady stuff.

I net the fish and he's got it. Fish was 31 inches even, and 10 pounds 9 ounces, real nice alligator. Took a few pics and tried to release it, but it wasn't making it, so he became fluke bait.


Just for comparison, here's a pic of both the predator, and the prey, I measured the shad, they are 15 inches long:



Nice morning with good company, and a good fish caught. Action was very slow though, from the shad to the alligators. Had a hard time finding shad, and we both livelined for over an hour before Scott got the hit, usually it only takes 10 minutes or so. Only difference I could detect was that it was an outgoing tide today, in comparison to an incoming all last week. And Scott got the strike just as the water switched to incoming.

Garry

[gymrat987654321]

Nice report! 

[kezsr]

good report as always,nothing like the action of a big blue on a light outfit.

[Rick,stillcasting]

wink-man,, I just started reading this board and have gotten a kick outa your canal reports and stories, all good stuff. I have to let you know slight envy is in me,I live local and have fished both ends w/o success yet. Now I wonder a few months ago there was a cinder worm hatch under darkness,bass were popping all over the mouth/river, I kept watching a fella hook-up and happy laughter on the east side w/ others,now I kinda think it may have been you along w/ others.Wishing you continued success.

[IrishAyes]

Nice report as always Garry.
Congrats to Scott on landing that alligator on his freshwater outfit.  

[Greg7]

Sounds like it was a great time! nice photos!

[Pfishingruven]

Nice report Garry!  You are definitely the "Canal Man!!"  That's a nice blue...great how you can fish for bait and then fish for the real thing.  That is some real fishing.

 

[wink_man]

Hit the inlet at about 7PM last evening, tides are falling at bad times, but figuered I'd give it a shot anyways.

Caught 2 Hickory shad and got to the canal at dusk.

First shad was hit right away, working halfway up the wall from Pine Bluff to the first curve going towards the southerly end. Fish ran with it, stopped, and never moved again. Felt weight on the end, so reeled in and the gator just bit the shad off behind the stinger hook and went his merry way.

Fished the second shad till 10:30PM, and the water was really running to fast to fish it effectively, but it seems that IF you're going to get action in the evening with those gators, it's up till dusk, and they seem to turn off after full dark.

Garry

[wink_man]

Now I wonder a few months ago there was a cinder worm hatch under darkness,bass were popping all over the mouth/river, I kept watching a fella hook-up and happy laughter on the east side w/ others,now I kinda think it may have been you along w/ others.Wishing you continued success.

Rick,
     Welcome to the site, and thanks for the kind words. I think you will like it here, good site with good people willing to share lots of information.

In regard to your comment above, I remember that cinderworm hatch well, it was in mid May. I heard about it from everyone, but unfortunately I was tied up and not fishing, so it wasn't me laughing and enjoying out there at that time, LMAO.

Garry

[Pfishingruven]

In regard to your comment above, I remember that cinderworm hatch well, it was in mid May. I heard about it from everyone, but unfortunately I was tied up and not fishing, so it wasn't me laughing and enjoying out there at that time, LMAO.

You probably WISHED it was you that he heard, though!!   

Nice report!  That Canal is a great producer!!

 

[wink_man]

This is going to be a generalized report of the Point Pleasant/Manasquan Inlet area.

There are plenty of fluke to be had right in the wash at Point beach in the early morning, tide doesn't much matter. Also this morning, spike weakfish were mixed in.

The inlet wall is producing fluke, mostly shorts, but some keepers, live killies or white gulp 4 inch mullet is the way to go there. Incoming tide appears much better than outgoing.

The rocks at the inlet are producing better fluke and some weakies. Lost9340 and Joey are fishing it right now, they have 5 keeper fluke between them, or Lost9340 has 5, can't remember all this stuff. Also, Joey had a weakie on over 24 inches, and lost it trying to lift it on the rocks. They said it was a good one, over 24 inches for sure. They also hooked a few large rays fishing for fluke on the rocks. This is going on mid day,they didn't start fishing till about 11AM.

Weakfish are at the north end of the Canal where it meets the river. I know a reliable source thats catching them, and he got one 30 inches. It's an after dark game around the change of tides, like usual, has to be, otherwise the water is running to fast to get to the bottom, but after dark is the key right now.

Large bluefish are still plentifull in the canal. What I've diiscovered is, they only want to feed at the start of an incoming tide. All last week, I had no problem drawing a strike on the livelined shad, and looked at the tide chart, on each morning, there was an incoming tide. Monday, Scott got one and we livelined for 2 hours till he got the hit, and it was at the start of the incoming tide. Today, I started livelining shad at 6:30am, didn't get a strike until 10:10AM, which was when the water went from slack to incoming. Had the blasted blue on for a bit and he came off, I guess I didn't have him hooked to good.

Plenty of hickory shad at the inlet, they show up much more reliably in the mornings, about 5AM, anywhere from 5 to 8:30PM in the evenings.
They are not always on the surface, sometimes they feed on spearing below the surface, and they're actually there, and people don't realize it. For example, this morning, they weren't jumping. I saw one little dimple about 20 feet out off the wall. Dropped the sabiki rig 20 feet out, let it sink a little, jigged it once and had 2 shad on. Second cast was a duplicate of the first, 2 more shad, then I left for the canal.

I will be on a lot less between now and the end of August. I have to help daughter get ready, packed and move her up to Boston College at the end of August, so I'll be missing a good bit of what appears to be prime fishing time occuring during that period.

Hope this information helps.

Garry

[Pfishingruven]

Great report!  Sounds like some good fishing happening. 

Sorry you have to miss out on prime fishing, but it is definitely for a great reason.  Good luck to your daughter in college!!

 

[ped579]

Hi Garry,

We got to do what we got to do.  I know from where you are coming from on this one.  College starts for my daughter on Sept 3 and she is going nuts which makes me go nuts and she is only going to OCC for the first 2 years.  Are you going up there to help her get settled in?

If so have a safe ride maybe on the way back you can stop off and do some surf fishing.  I hear if you drive along the north shore of Boston, there is a rocky shoreline with deep water.

Food for thought...

Paul

[wink_man]

Hit the inlet this afternoon about 5-5:30PM. Met Ren from here, along with his son and Dad, was a pleasure to meet you guys.

First cast with the sabiki for shad, I get a short fluke, right on top, go figure?? Lost9340 stopped down also, but I had 2 shad in short order and headed for the canal to try to prove or disprove my theory on those gators.

Started livelining at 6:45, in good light, and in an outgoing tide. Couldn't draw a strike with the shad. I livelined it through slack to incoming, (incoming started about 9-9:30PM), and continued till about 10:25, and could not draw a strike on the incoming in the dark. SO it appears those gators prefer to eat on an incoming tide in daylight. Wasted to much time testing that theory, and made a half hearted effort for weakies after that, but water was already starting to move to fast, so I called it quits. Will give the weakies a serious shot as soon as I can.

Garry

[wink_man]

Hi Garry,

We got to do what we got to do.  I know from where you are coming from on this one.  College starts for my daughter on Sept 3 and she is going nuts which makes me go nuts and she is only going to OCC for the first 2 years.  Are you going up there to help her get settled in?

If so have a safe ride maybe on the way back you can stop off and do some surf fishing.  I hear if you drive along the north shore of Boston, there is a rocky shoreline with deep water.

Food for thought...

Paul

Yes Paul, I know exactly what you mean, and yes I'll be going up there to help her settle in, I just hope my pickup is big enough for all her stuff, you know how girls are, they travel heavy with 'stuff', LMAO.

Think I'll just bypass those Mass. waters and head back to the waters I love.

Besides, there's got to be something wrong with Mass. Any state that keeps electing a Kennedy, who doesn't believe that we the people have a second amnedment right, guaranteed by the constitution, I have a problem with. But I digress.

Garry

[Greg7]

Any state that keeps electing a Kennedy, who doesn't believe that we the people have a second amnedment right, guaranteed by the constitution, I have a problem with

 

[ped579]

This is so true.

Enough said...

[captainbailey]

Fished the west side between the bridges today and caught nothing for 2 hours. Cabbage minimal, boat traffic below avg., current really picked up towards the end.   

[Hotrod]

Is there a minimal size on nothing.. how do you cook those ?