Best Way To Be Efficient On The Miami Canals?

[rchiuz]

Hi all,

 

I was fishing the snake creek canal this morning and caught a nice 2.5 lb peacock on a top water popper. I was just walking up and down the bank casting parallel until something would hit. My question is for those the canal fish often, what's the most efficient way to fish the canals while bank fishing?  Do you go with baits/lures that cover a lot of water fast or go with a soft baits? I just wondered this because a good chunk of the canal I fished this morning had no activity.

 

Thanks in advance!

[BassinLou]

Hi all,

 

I was fishing the snake creek canal this morning and caught a nice 2.5 lb peacock on a top water popper. I was just walking up and down the bank casting parallel until something would hit. My question is for those the canal fish often, what's the most efficient way to fish the canals while bank fishing?  Do you go with baits/lures that cover a lot of water fast or go with a soft baits? I just wondered this because a good chunk of the canal I fished this morning had no activity.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I walk the bank until I develop a pattern. Not all stretches of our urban canals are made the same. Cover can go from bare to coverage with grass and pads, rocks or artificial cover like the occasional chair, A/C unit, couch, shopping carts, etc.... Lol!! You know what I am talking about. Fish may be holding in different places or depths along the canal. With the rains we have been having, try your luck close to around the culverts that may have cooler water running through them. The fish can stack up around those areas. It's not unheard of for me to cover 1-2 miles looking for fish.

[rchiuz]

I walk the bank until I develop a pattern. Not all stretches of our urban canals are made the same. Cover can go from bare to coverage with grass and pads, rocks or artificial cover like the occasional chair, A/C unit, couch, shopping carts, etc.... Lol!! You know what I am talking about. Fish may be holding in different places or depths along the canal. With the rains we have been having, try your luck close to around the culverts that may have cooler water running through them. The fish can stack up around those areas. It's not unheard of for me to cover 1-2 miles looking for fish.

LOL the shopping carts , ac units statement cracked me up, too bad its true!

[SirSnookalot]

If I were fishing one of those areas, my first thought is my target species, my rod selection comes first.  For me it would be med or ml for bass and peacocks, mh for freshie snook and tarpon.  My lure of choice would be the same for all, fluke rigged weedless as it can be fished close to the shoreine or more open water, pot luck fishing.

[zachb34]

I live on a canal myself and fish that the most because of its convenience. I can take a quick trip for 30 minutes or less and it's easy. I'm not in miami (West Palm Beach), but living on a canal has taught me a few things. First off if you're just fishing really quick it's probably worth it to cover as much as water as you can. For me before trees where trimmed, I could only fish about a 200 foot section from one side. It forced me to slow down a lot and within that small section, I've found some "hot spots" literally areas of about 5 square feet that hold fish consistently. If you plan on making that a typical spot for you to fish I'd cover some water some days amd then pick apart small sections at a time. That way you can learn those "hot spots" within the larger area. My hot spots tend to be better during prespawn and spawn phases because the main lake that's fed by these canals holds good fish that move into the smaller more protected waters to spawn. Also canals here are there mainly to drain and control the waters around them. Currently my canal has strong current and low water levels due to the anticipated hurricane coming our way. That puts bass in a typical ambush position. I'd try and pay attention to current in the canals you fish if possible. Fish can stack up at the ends where there's culverts or even a spillway.

[SirSnookalot]

I live on a canal too, too many gnats out there this time of year, I don't fish canals usually until late October.