How to Discover the Best Bass Fishing Hot Spots
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012Without a doubt nothing compares to the rush and excitement of seeing a sizable striper smash a surface plug at the Cape Cod Canal. Yet in terms of repeatedly reeling in large fish in the “Big Ditch,” concentrating on working the deeper section of the land cut typically pays off in the form of big stripers.
However one can not plan to just heave a jig, bait or lure anywhere in the ditch and anticipate to be rewarded with success. The ditch contains fish filled areas and dead zones like all other fishing area up the striper coast. Being able to find the remarkable ledges, underwater hills, rugged ledges and unremitting rips is vital to regularly taking big striped bass off the bottom.
Fish flock to sections of structure like bees to honey. Frequently the bass will situate themselves deep in a gulley, or right behind a rock ledge. The structure breaks up the powerful current, virtually like a building hinders a stiff breeze.
Typical bass theory claims that cow stripers will use current obstructing pieces of structure to achieve a competitive advantage on prey. The powerful Canal current propels a wide range of bait fish and prey through the Canal. Crafty stripers fequently a spot behind a form of structure, then ambush prey while it tumbles down within the swift current.
One of the simplest ways to locate locations worthy of fishing is always to pay close attention to differences in the surface water of the Big Ditch. Bass holding bits of structure will regularly produce disturbances in the regular stream of the current. More than likely, indicators to the area of the bass attracting structure exhibits itself as a wake, ripple, whirlpool etc. on the surface of the Big Ditch.
Trekking the banks of the Cape Cod Canal, or better yet driving your “canal cruiser” down the bike path, and retaining a close eye out for differences on the canal’s surface is a good approach to at least get an idea of where to fish.
Standing waves are arguably the greatest tell-tale clue to an underwater ledge or rocky peak. If you dig up a spot with standing waves, the striped bass attracting structure will likely to be located marginally up current of the waves. This holds true concerning any type of difference on the Canal’s surface-the striper attracting structure is always slightly up current.
It is now time to zone in on the exact site of the fish holding structure. This can be carried out by fan casting a spot with a jig or bank sinker. Be certain to utilize a jig or sinker heavy enough to reach Canal’s bottom in the powerful current. I usually start out with 4 oz . and move heavier or lighter depending on existing conditions.
Cast your bait, lure or jig up current and maintain a precise count on the amount of seconds it takes the lure to achieve the Canal’s bottom. Clearly the shallower the water, the sooner the jig will reach bottom-the deeper the water, the longer it will take.
To provide an example, one superb canal jigging spot that I frequent each May and June has a large prominent peak as well as a deep, steep gulley. 7 seconds is required to hit bottom on the top of the peak. Having said that when cast into the deep gulley, it takes my jig or lure 20 seconds to get to bottom. Thanks to the increase in the amount of seconds required for my lure or jig to reach bottom, I know that I’m succeeding in delivering my jig or lure smack dab in the midst of the strike zone.
Fan casting an area like this is easiest throughout the last hour or so of the west tide, slack tide, as well as the start of the east.
The Canal is full of terrific jigging spots. Nevertheless it may take lots of time and effort to discover the best areas.
Nevertheless if regularly taking large fish off the Cape Cod Canal’s bottom is important to you, then your effort expended in uncovering these prime fishing spots can be worthy of the time and energy needed to discover them.
Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider tips about Cape Cod Canal fishing and giant tuna.