9/29/23 First Canalbie

After seeing albies in the canal a couple weeks prior, I had returned a few times in attempt to catch them to no avail. Canalbies are tough... they pop up, then they vanish, then they pop up again somewhere totally different, usually far away from where ever you last saw them. I had been fishing mostly from Bell Rd to Bourne Bridge the few times I went, and every time I would at least get a few good shots at them, often getting a short strike or 2, or even hooking and losing one or 2. Considering they'd often show right in the middle of the canal which is pretty much out of range, I would usually use the 40g metal jig thinking I would get it front of them more often than the lighter epoxy. Problem was, they would not eat the metal jig. So after awhile I switched to the 7/8th oz epoxy jig in bone or chartreuse which is one of the most consistent produces for these fish. With this lure I would get more strikes but still, no landings. Until today. It came to my attention that the East End of all places was seeing a more consistent showing, and these fish had rumored to even push into cape cod bay. I even heard reports of these fish on the Outer Cape and Provincetown, which seems unusual. There was also some Bass action taking place at the east end, so thats where I went when I got there in the early morning. No less than 50 trucks in the lot, I took a quick look and saw a fierce lineup, so opted to go check out the rest of the canal. Anyway, after seeing minimal throughout the canal for a few hours, I went back to the East End and by now there were much less anglers. I got there around the turn of the tide mid morning and as the tide slacked, several big schools popped up, frothing around well outside my range. Eventually a few fish popped up right in front of me and I got a perfect cast into them which yielded a bite, and after an underwhelming fight, slid my first canalbie onto the rocks. The big schools that were showing were mostly toward the center of the canal, and while I never got into those, I was content with what I got. I fished a bit longer and the schools became less and less active, and I left. Stopped at the west end with minimal action to be seen so I left and went home. Very tough place to catch an Albie but certainly a unique opportunity, these fish have been hanging in the canal for weeks at this point, they even stuck around through the 10 day noreaster, so they'll likely stay a bit longer until water temps force them to leave.