Among the many gear changes that have made fishing in the Cape Cod Canal more accessible over the past decade, the development of heavy, sand-eel-style swimbaits like the Fish Lab Mad Eel has helped anglers easily present a lifelike bait to the stripers hanging on the bottom.
On The Water’s Jimmy Fee walks through the features of the FishLab Mad Eel, and why it excels in the deep, fast waters like the Cape Cod Canal.
FishLab Mad Eel: https://fishlabtackle.com/collections/inshore/products/mad-eel
FishLab Mack Attack Hard Swimbait: https://fishlabtackle.com/collections/inshore/products/mack-attack-hard-swimbait
That reel sounds like is in heavy need of maintenance.
Love the canal, but love Chatham light better…..last time I was there (2015) seals had taken over and couldn't even land a fish. Fish would come in bitten in half from the seals. Hey were everywhere, chasing in lures and your catch. That's why all the sharks are there now. Everywhere has turned into a zoo. Can't even consider montauk anymore. Gazillion people now. Gotta fish 2am away from everyone and the crowds
The implementation that I’m struggling with this type of angling is where the jewelry goes.. should the Rod handle go between the Jewels, or off to one side?
Are subtle twitches of the rod tip more enticing, or powerful sweeps of the entire rod? Whenever there’s a soft bite, do you wait patiently to see what happens or should there be an immediate thrust with violent upward motion?
And where do the jewels go in that event?
Why are you wearing waders fishing the canal?
what rod are you using
is that the lamiglas carbon surf
How long is that leader?
I’d have to say that the biggest mistake I see people make when fishing paddle tails in the canal, whether they’re swimming/sweeping them, or bouncing bottom…..people don’t realize that once that paddle tail gets past you down tide, combined with the insanely fast retrieve speeds with modern spinning reels, that paddle tail is creating a ton of lift and causing the lure to rise exponentially faster than you may think.
So to anyone experimenting with paddle tails, or even those who may have not had the best luck with them, really slow your retrieve down when it gets past you in the tide. Like Danny plug painfully slow, otherwise you may think you’re still in that sweet spot just off the bottom, when in reality you’re 20+ feet off the bottom. And I know that paddle tails are all the craze right now. They don’t require the same dedicated jig stick telephone pole stiff rod to fish, they’re forgiving against the bottom, as one hard crank or lift translates to a ton of movement on the lure end if you need to lift the lure out of a hole or burn it up the ledge, but DO NOT sleep on good old fashioned rat tails (sluggo, hurley, Ron Z, mega shad, etc). Especially at night, there’s times where that crazy vibration from the paddle tail is just not the look they’re after and simply switching to a straight rat tail which is a subtle, arguably more realistic presentation will change your entire night.
Bucktails are definitely more of an advanced bottom lure that requires a lot of angler input, weight selection, etc. Paddle tails with that natural “parachute” lift are a great starting point, then maybe move onto rat tails when you’re comfortable, and finally bucktails, diamond jigs, and those lures that by design are going to contact the bottom much more throughout a sweep and therefore require a more “in tune” angler fishing them.
Really nice job. Many helpful tips. Thanks
Jimmy what do you use for a casting finger guard?
Everyone talks about how crowded the canal is. Occasionally I pass over the Sagamore bridge and look out…I don’t see anyone out there. Even this video…nobody.
did i miss him actually catching a fish? bullshitshit salesman
What rod are you using
Your crones must hurt at the end of the day
I don't understand why people use clips on lead head jigs. The clips catch a lot more weed because they ride perpendicular to the current and the direction the lure is going.
Wish I was @ the canal rn
I’m more of an Al gags whip it head guy
What size reel are you using?
Great video and tips!!? How many pound line do you recommend for canals?
I just moved back to mass whats a good rod and reel set up. 500 to 600 range
There sure is nothing like summer bass fishing best part about it is frog season where i live in New Brunswick Canada and it looks like you had a great time on the water that is what is all about!
Love the minnows jumping at 1:14
Thank you for the video. I fish the canal all the time! I still consider myself a beginner. I have a question, what rod and reel is that? I’d love to try that set up out. I need a new rod and reel!!
Very nice tips 👌 I've used paddle tails before, but I just wasn't sure how to fish them. For the most part it seems like I was doing it wrong. I was jigging them instead of letting them do the work on their own. This video will definitely help a lot and I can't wait to go out again and give your tips a try. Thank you!
which weight was he using?
Simple and effective lure. Can't ask for much more than that.
I found out about these last winter crushed striped bass on the fish lab mad ell 8in 5oz. What reel is jimmy fee using?
uol91
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