What's Going On?

[roym]

Fished the East End of canal this am and watched two ~18 foot boats trolling /drifting from Murderer's Row-Pip's Rip to near the mouth in the dark with only one small running light on each for hours on end. I thought fishing in the canal from a boat was prohibited. Not to sound like Marvin Gaye but....What is going on??

[TonyO]

It is illegal. If you can reach them, bomb a 4oz sinker or jig into them.

[aws]

It is illegal. If you can reach them, bomb a 4oz sinker or jig into them.

I've always wondered why the canal is off limits. Is it just to keep fishing boats from jamming it up?

[roym]

TonyO

My thoughts exactly..unfortunately I was on the Cape side.

[pclaus01]

It's off limits for the boater's own safety. Guys like TonyO are used to pulling in a cow or two every trip to the ditch. But if it's 5am and the fishing is slow...Well, the temptation is just too great to launch that 4oz jig and see how big a fight the guy would put up. :eek:

[jighead]

I don't find it very responsible for shore-bound fishermen to tell other random strangers to "bomb 4oz sinkers" at boats who are breaking the law. It is a cute saying, but I believe that there are enough nit-wits in the general public who would try such a thing. It would be akin to shoot at a reckless dirtbiker during hunting season. (#$107)
I recommend calling the Coast Guard or Corps. (#$122) Make a phone number list and carry it with you. More wacky stuff happens at the canal every year.
I don't fish from my boat in the canal, but I have had a lot of yahoos cast in front of my bow as I exit the Sandwich Marina. (It is no fun to pull 50feet of mono from the hub of your prop. --124-3 )
The canal rule stems from Coast Guard/Corps regs which prevent you from obstructing a navigable waterway. In this case, fishing from boat is deemed inappropriate for this waterway. Likewise, fishing from shore, if obstructing boat traffic, can be deemed inappropriate.

Save the 4 oz sinker launches for the jetskiers. Those guys are the most blatant of lawbreakers/liabilities. A jetski will stop and circle if the driver is knocked out. A boat could keep going...
I am also sure that your average boater can muster up a lot more weaponry than a 4oz sinker.
If someone were to cast at me, on purpose, for any reason, they will end up on the nightly news. No funny icon needed.

[OffshoreAngler]

I agree, we had some engine trouble off of Chappy near the Gut & Beach. We were drifting towards the shore and were easily 100 yards from shore and not for long, maybe 5 minutes. Next thing we know we are getting deadly dicks off the side of the boat maybe 5-10ft away. A group of shore fisherman thinking they are more special than they are. What if it they hit us? We had words and moved on. Our point was made to them and they weren't going to do it again. Lighten Up!!!! It's fishing, not survival..... :confused:

[blueYak]

I saw a 20' cc fishing 1/2 way between the maritime academy and the rr bridge on sunday 300 pm. Is this in the canal? (i think so) If not, where does it start?

Jay

[BobG]

That nonsense at Pip's Rip has been going on for three years now. It actually culminated last summer, during the beginning of comm bass season. At times, there would be as many as 15+ boats fighting for a spot on Pip's. Often, they'd be in so close they would run up on the mussel and sand bars there. Fishing from shore was all but impossible. I, along with several other fishermen raised as much hell as the law would allow, but the C of E claimed they didn't have it in their fuel budget to run a boat to the east end several times per night.
To the best of my knowledge, they did get registration #'s and names of the worst offendors, and issued them stern warnings.
But, I think the only reason the comm boats didn't invade Pip's this summer was due to the fact the fishing was so bad the entire summer, it just wasn't worth the effort. :rolleyes:

[Bob Parsons]

Genererally from the maritime academy out along the sides CC does not bother you I believe. Going towards the RR bridge is definitely a no no. Sunday there was a boat anchored up just inside the east end of the canal and one drifting. The one drifting was surprise that no one had come out and shooed them out.


AS far as this morning (mon 10/11) fishing further east into ccb was not an option so maybe they were just being tolerant since traffic was light. Certainly if a large ship was coming they would have been out to speak to them I'd bet.