Expect the unexpected when you spend your nights and mornings on the Cape Cod Canal.
You never know what you might encounter along the 7-mile stretch of the Cape Cod Canal. Here are some memories and stories from a guy who wets a line on the Big Ditch almost every day.
It’s A Gamble
Double Trouble
The Magic Swimmer comes with three treble hooks, but Patrick Sebile, its talented creator, advised me many years ago to remove the two rear hooks when fishing for striped bass, with only the belly hook remaining. “Zak Attack” Baker of Sagamore Beach was slowly reeling his blue mack Magic Swimmer, bearing two hooks, through the flooding east tide when his lure got hit hard followed by strong tugs. Zak was thinking he might be fighting a 40-pounder, but the battle ended with two bass about 20 pounds apiece, one on each hook! Technically 40 pounds of striper, but not the 40-pounder he envisioned!
Wrong Slots!
Bill “Slots” Walsh, the pride of Roslindale, is a great guy and accomplished Canal Rat who acquired his nickname by reeling in a good number of keepers. His lovely wife Tricia read one of my reports and was surprised to see that her husband was called “Slots” so she immediately asked him, “Have you been going to the Canal or the casino?”
The Ditch Life
Tired Canal Rat
Todd “Bluefish” Benedict has been fishing his whole life. The affable angler won the Stan Gibbs Cape Cod Canal Fisherman’s Classic a few years ago with his 36.4-pound striped bass entry. Todd muscled the heavy linesider to the rocks after it fell for a 3-ounce Al Gags green mack Whip It. Just like most fishermen, Todd rises early and goes to bed before most of the rest of the world. We all try to lead a somewhat normal life notwithstanding the onset of early evening fatigue that hits us well before non-fishing enthusiasts. Todd was out to dinner with his wife and another couple in a Woods Hole restaurant when, just as they were enjoying drinks and appetizers, he nodded off with his chin landing on his chest. Todd was still sitting upright as his snoring hit some deep decibels before being awakened by a soft rib shot from his understanding wife! We can all relate to the price we pay for burning the candle on both ends!
Lucky Dog
I was standing in 10 inches of water, ready to cast when I noticed a woman walking behind me on the service road while pushing a baby stroller. I turned to look at the passenger expecting to see a child, but instead there was a small dog getting a ride in the stroller! I mean… I think it was a dog, either that or it was a 2-year-old kid in desperate need of a shave!
Have Rod, Will Travel
Experienced surfcasters know where to go for a nice cup of Joe. Gray Gables Market in Bourne is a “Bull” MacKinnon cast from the Canal, serving delicious breakfast sandwiches and much more. Personable owner Russ Salamone said that he can always tell that the fishing is good when he sees his parking lot full of vehicles with license plates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.
Wayne’s World
Some fishermen are also hunters including “Insane Wayne” Cole from Halifax who shot a 9-point whitetail deer with his .50 caliber black powder muzzleloader rifle. The animal’s head skeleton with antlers are mounted on the handlebars of his Canal bike making for an unusual sight as he rides down the service road in search of breaking fish!
Crime & Punishment?
Goodbye Lure
It was beautiful fall day with fish in the water and boats going by at Aptucxet on the Cape side of the Canal. The guy next to me made a long cast and soon his reel went off with zzz-ZZZZ-ZZZZZZZ as the line quickly ran off his spool. I told him it sounded like a nice fish, but he said, “No, I just hooked that sailboat!” He grabbed his pliers and cut the line as the big catamaran in front of us continued to ride the west tide. The boat owner got a free plug and the unlucky caster got a not-so-free trip to the nearest tackle shop!
Innocent Bystander
A crime victim is often described on the news as an “innocent bystander” so that term has made its way into our verbal lexicon to the extent that some bystanders, even those not associated with criminal activity, are labeled as “innocent”. I send photographs of anglers holding fish to the editor and always try to provide the name of the photographer for photo credit, but many of these photos are taken by someone who just happens to be walking by so the fisherman will tell me it was a bystander. One surfcaster informed me that their photo was taken by an innocent bystander. If the photographer was innocent, does that mean the angler was guilty?
Record Blue?
One of my favorites TV shows is Law & Order SVU which I find to be very realistic after having spent close to 40 years in courtrooms and police stations. Actor Ice T does a great job playing a seasoned detective, but in one episode he tells a colleague that he was fishing in Sheepshead Bay and caught a 35-pound bluefish! Ice-T was just reciting the script, but the IGFA bluefish world record is 31 pounds, 12 ounces. The writers should have had him catch a striped bass instead of a blue. I have caught plenty of Canal bluefish in my time with the biggest probably about 18 pounds. Ice-T set a world record and didn’t even know it! Maybe Ice-T really could have entered the record books if he had plugged the Canal last summer when some big choppers invaded the Big Ditch, like the 39-inch yellow eyed devil landed by Mike Dick in June that were chasing schools of macks, peanut bunker & squid. The criminal components of this show are dead on, but I think they could use a fishing consultant – anybody available?
Who We Are
The Oklahoma Pencil
Ger Cheng is an avid sportsman and a real nice guy who he doesn’t let any physical limitations get in the way of his fishing. Ger lives in Oklahoma, but loves to plug the Canal whenever he can while using a wheelchair to maneuver down the service road. He locks the wheels, then slides onto the rocks to get in position for a cast. The good-natured Laotian was working his loaded bone colored Cotton Cordell in an Oklahoma river in April while sharing the day with his son Logan. Suddenly, his lure got hit hard as line ran off the spool, while the drag performed the sweet symphony we all love to hear! After a ferocious battle, he landed a 43.5-inch freshwater striped bass that pulled the Boga down to 44 pounds! Who would have guessed that this Canal classic would hook a trophy striper in Oklahoma?!
Best Dressed
Phil Chorman, a longtime member of the Plum Island Surfcasters, fishes the Canal with his handmade surface plugs whenever possible. He had intended to do some fishing in Florida while there for a family wedding in Stuart, but the busy time with relatives delayed him from wetting a line. Determined to squeeze in some casts sometime, Phil and his nephew Bryan started throwing plugs into the St. Lucie River while wearing a suit and tie in between the wedding ceremony and the nearby reception! They didn’t have time to change so they ended up being the best dressed anglers on the dock that day!
Movie Star
My cousin John Cornish is a great guy who owns a couple of boatyards close to the Canal – Atlantic Boats & Stonebridge Marina. John has navigated several boats down the Big Ditch over the years including a beautiful 45-foot Super America named El Rancho. We had a great time fishing off his spacious boat outside of Tarpaulin Cove and elsewhere. A major movie star who was in demand for Hollywood films had ordered the boat to be custom built by Riva in Italy, but never got to use it himself as he passed away after a long battle with cancer. My cousin took possession of the vessel eventually and enjoyed it for many years. The movie star had become famous for his iconic action films with a legendary stage name that gained international acclaim. His real birth name was Marion Morrison, but the world knew him as John Wayne!
Animal Instincts
Shop Dog
A sign in Red Top Sporting Goods reads “Shop Dog On Duty”. Red Top owner AJ Coots named his powerful 4-year-old Great Dane after a popular Shimano reel favored by many ditch denizens including this typist. It becomes obvious that AJ is a passionate sportsman when you discover that his beautiful dog is named Stella!
Buster the Bear
Several sightings and photos of a black bear roaming southeastern Massachusetts had become the talk of the Canal, but not this season. The bear, given the name Buster by somebody, was filmed jumping off a dock in Marion, one town over from the merry moat. Buster was last seen swimming across Sippican Harbor so we were all glad the well-travelled carnivore didn’t show up at our fishing spots and he hasn’t been seen since!
Seal the Deal
The existence of the East End Seal has been a growing legend for several years. There is no debating the fact that seals have become an increasing problem in the world famous Cape Cod Canal, and some might argue that encounters are more prevalent when you pass the Sagamore Bridge, heading east. Our own editor, Dave Anderson, brazenly declared that he’d never been ‘sealed’ as he descended the riprap bank at the spot often called “Engineers” by Canal regulars. It wasn’t long before his Guppy Pencil was attacked by a bass that Dave estimated to be around slot-size, but when the fish developed afterburners, he knew something was up. The terrified bass raced in toward the bank, pulling drag like a small tuna, where an explosion erupted from the nearshore water. The East End Seal grabbed his bass and swam off at an incredible rate of speed, forcing him to cup the spool, breaking the line. We may never know if the East End Seal is always the same seal, but if your hooked bass is attacked east of the Sag’… you know who to blame.
Every season, brings its own set of strange occurrences, amazing catches and new friends. That’s what’s truly at the core of what makes this place so undeniably addictive. The fish are almost a bonus, when you consider the beauty of the place, the history that has been made there, the great people and the opportunity to spend time doing what we love in such and amazing and productive place. It may be December and we may be preparing for a New England winter, but I’m already dreaming of what the 2026 season may have in store… I hope to see you there. Catch a big one!
Doherty is a retired Massachusetts District Court Clerk-Magistrate and the author of SEVEN MILES AFTER SUNDOWN and Laughs, Lies & American Justice. He had fished the east end of the Canal so often that other anglers started calling him East End Eddie, thus a nickname became a pen name. He can be reached at eastendeddie789@yahoo.com
