This blog addresses frequently asked questions about all aspects of fishing. All the Posts on this Blog are meant to steer fishermen and fisherwomen towards the correct lures and setup’s to use. Plus give helpful info on “How to fish certain areas” and the newest strategies on Saltwater Fishing.
If you are an avid Cape Cod Canal Fisherman then you know about the Tsunami Heavy Shad. There are 2 different sizes to this amazing soft plastic lure. You can either use the 5” 3 ounce or the 6” 4 ½ ounce shad. There are 4 colors, but the most effective colors out of the 4 are the Blue Back, Pearl, and Bunker patterns. There are many applications for correctly using the Heavy Shad, but the majority of people love jigging the shad on the bottom.
Especially with all the different braided lines on the market today, you will be able to feel every single bounce or piece of seaweed on you setup, while you are jigging. The Blue Back color is the best color for fishing in the Spring time because of all the River Herring and Mackerel that are migrating. The Bunker color is the reason for a lot of giant Striped Bass being caught in the Fall because of all the Pogies/Menhaden (whatever you wish to call them) that are running thru the Canal.
When casting the shad in the Cape Cod Canal make sure to cast at your 11 o’clock or your 1 o’clock, the direction of the cast depends on the direction of the current (East or West). I usually use this soft plastic when the current is at full strength because it will hit the bottom and stay close to the bottom, but also it will make it possible to swim the bait in mid-water. Don’t’ be surprised to have a fish hit it close to the rock bank during retrieval. This shad is the most preferred plastic because of the paddle tail. This paddle tail never stops vibrating and causing a commotion in the water.
This lure is an essential weapon for the Cape Cod Canal. If you don’t have it, then look at it in link below and buy some.
The Bullet Head Jig is a universal lure that fits perfectly on any Soft Plastic lure. The best Soft Plastics in my opinion are the 6”, 7’ and 9” Slug-Go’s. This Soft plastic lure is made by Lunker City, which is made in the USA. There are many others like Al Gag’s and Ron-Z 10” tails; these lures have a great taper to the end of the tail. All of these plastic lures fit perfectly fit on the bullet head Jig.
There are many different sizes to these jig heads. The best weight for the Cape Cod Canal is the 2-6 ounce weights. To effectively apply the soft plastic to the smooth surface of the jig head. You can use any sort of Super glue to keep the plastic from sliding down the shaft of the hook. The Bullet head Jigs we sell at our store are made by Heads and Tails. This company is based out of New York and they are made out of high quality lead that doesn’t really dent our crack.
You can ask anybody around the Canal. The Most effective fishing technique is Jigging. Using Buck Tail Jigs, Soft plastic tails and heavy plastic shads are the best lures to have in your jigging arsenal.
Check out the link underneath to see the specifications.
The Tony Maja Bunker Spoons have proven themselves over and over again to be the best and brightest trolling spoons around. The Maja’s come in many different colors and weights, so you can effectively use them in Shallow or Deep water. The 4 colors are White, Chartreuse, Green and Multi Color. These colors hit every part of the spectrum and match up to tons of baitfish. After my father and I at Canal Bait and Tackle placed the Maja Bunker Spoons on our wall we had to try them out, especially during the spring when the mackerel migrate up to New England.
I used the Maja’s first. My friend and I went out on May 20th just to the outside of the East End of the Cape Cod Canal. From May 20th to around June 7th. The 40 pound plus Striped Bass come thru the Canal. The setups we used were 7’ Bunker Spoon Rods that we custom made at our store, and the reels were 113H2 with 50lb Dacron backing line and 100yds of Stainless Steel Wire. The leader is just 30’ of 80lb mono leader with a 200lb Spro Ball Bearing Swivel. That is my favorite setup to use.
At first I was a little skeptical of the design because the spoons are kind of flat, so I thought the action would be limited. You usually want a wide 6-8ft span for the Spoon to travel left to right. This action allows the lure to cover a lot more water and attracts bigger fish.
As I started to let out line at the beginning of the troll, the Bunker Spoon proved me wrong. It moved perfectly and within 10 minutes we had the first Bass on the line. We only went out 2 miles at the end of the Canal heading NNE towards the CC Buoy and within 3 hours of fishing we caught 10 Bass. The biggest one was 36lbs.
So inevitably I use Maja Bunker Spoon’s all the time. If you haven’t seen the lure yet check out the bottom link to look at the Specifications.
Pyramid Sinker vs. Bank Sinker?
The 2 most popular sinkers to use for onshore fishing are the bank sinker or the pyramid sinker. A lot of people ask "What is the best sinker or weight to use for onshore fishing?" The answer is both.
The Bank Sinker is special because the tear drop shape makes it perfect for long distance casting and great for not being caught on a rocky bottom. But the down side to using the Bank Sinker is that it usually doesn’t sit in place in a strong current. These sinkers have a tendency to roll on the bottom.
The Pyramid Sinker is mostly used for weighting a rig for a sandy bottom. This weight cast just as good as a Bank Sinker, but if the area you are fishing has a rocky bottom, you will lose your weight and rig every time. The sharp points to the Pyramid Sinker will easily grab on to a rock and not let go. But, when used for beach fishing this sinker stick and embeds perfectly into the sand.
These two weights are used for different applications for fishing. That is the reason why the Bank and Pyramid sinkers are the most popular.
Spinning Setup for bluefin Tuna!!
Hi this is Jeff and Bruce from Canal Bait and Tackle.
Alot of people ask us "What is the best spinning rod and reel combination to catch Bluefin Tuna?" Our answer is for the rod use a Shimano Terez 7' rod and a Shimano Stella 20000 reel. This setup balances out really nice and is deadly effective for controlling a Small School Bluefin Tuna. I have attached a video of Riptide Charters Terry Nugent using one of these setups and catching nice bluefin's.
Listen to the drag system and think of the power this tuna has. Watching this video gets me pumped for to go out for tuna. Alot of money for the setup, but if you want quality and a guarentee to land a Bluefin then you need to check this setup out!
Tons of New Lures, Rigs and Weights!!!
Some Nice schoolie Striped Bass were caught at the Herring Run on Sebile Magic Swimmers.
NEW DAIWA EMBLEM SHOT. IN STOCK!!!