Fall run strategies for the biggest fish funnel on the Striper Coast.
The 2026 season on the Canal has seen extreme highs and some crushing lows. After May and June provided repeated opportunities to catch some truly impressive fish – capped off by the incredible squid blitz that no one is likely to ever forget – the summer has been slow and inconsistent. We’ve seen plenty of bait and really not a lot of bass. But I’m not worried about that and you shouldn’t be worried, either. The fall run always delivers in the Canal, and if the piles of mackerel and bunker that have been popping in and out of the Ditch this summer, stick around for September, it could get very interesting, very quickly.
Something else I love about fall at the Canal is that it doesn’t have to be all about stripers. Anglers can target blackfish along the rip rap or around the bridge pilings, I’ve seen more than a few knot-headed sea bass take down a jig intended for striped bass. Bonito and false albacore have become more and more prevalent in September over the last few years, prompting most hardcore Canal casters to keep a few epoxy jigs in their bag, once I know they’re in, I carry a dedicated lighter stick, just in case the funny fish charge through!
September Stripers
For all of the hype that the spring run (rightfully) gets in the Canal, the fall run is often more about consistency. The runs of fish may not be as intense, but they often last longer and the bite isn’t always about pencils and Magic Swimmers. Migratory stripers use the Ditch as a highway, and since the Canal is often loaded with big bait such as bunker, mullet, mackerel, sea herring, squid, butterfish and more, they often stick around for a bit to take advantage. This action tends to peak toward the second half of the month, as water cool and the migration picks up in urgency. During this time the Canal offers a lot of ‘round the clock’ action, with anglers finding success day and night. And while the famous breaking tides are still very productive in the fall, any time you find baitfish running through, and they could big macks or tiny peanuts, the odds are high that you will be able to find stripers or perhaps bonito or albies.
Let’s admit, as surfcasters, once spring striper fishing comes to an end and the heat of the summer comes, it’s all about the grind trying to chase the bass as they move in and out of deeper, cooler waters. Back in the 2010s we enjoyed consistent striper fishing all summer long in the Canal, but the reality is that there are just not as many fish as there were at that time and summertime forces us to seek out stripers from beaches and rocky stretches when the Canal is slow. It’s late nights and early mornings, grinding it out, chasing tides, monitoring bait, trying new fishing spots and celebrating those midsummer victories as they come. This can be very time consuming but it’s all part of the lifestyle and it makes the fall run fishing feel like a reward after all that time spent gutting it out.
Pregame
As this issue lands in your mailbox, it is time to prepare; summer is coming to an end, and the striper migration is about to begin. Now is when you should be changing out hooks and restocking lost jigs, not when the first report of Canal craziness shows up in your feed! If you wait, you’re too late, that’s the harsh reality; don’t be that person!
My game plan is to try and ‘match the hatch’ and I try and do this with color and size, but I also want to be able to fish at all depths so I can cover most situations. Mainstays in my Canal bag include; paddletail soft plastics such as those by a local angler under the name East End Lure Company, and I like two baits made by FishLab, the MadEel and the MackAttack. Magic Swimmers are a required in the Canal and I love them; one thing I always do is remove the tail hook and replace it with a tied flag. For topwaters, my go-to is a white Wally’s Pencil Popper, and it’s good to have some smaller offerings as well, like the 2-3/8-ounce Guppy or a Super Strike Little Neck Popper in the same weight. I will also pack a few epoxy jigs just in case! If you visit the three local tackle shops – Red Top, Maco’s and Canal Bait & Tackle, you will be able to stock up on all these items in a variety of colors. My favorites include white, pink, green mack, blue mack and whacky mack.
History Lesson
Thinking back to 2025, we were coming out of a summer that was quite similar to 2026, the Canal had been slow through July and August, even some of the hardcores were starting to falter. But it didn’t take long, once we crossed into September, before things started to heat up. There was an abundance of peanut bunker and squid and the bass coming into the Ditch were all over them.
As is so often the case in the fall, the jig bite was on fire. I was doing some serious damage with the MackAttack in both green and blue mackerel colors. There are two things that make jigging the better option in the fall, the first is, you can fish a prime tide at any time of day or night; you’re not waiting for things to line up for daybreak twice per month. Secondly, the fish often hug the bottom in the powerful currents, and the only way you’re getting down to them is with a heavy jig. When the fish are stacked on a piece of bottom structure, the bite can be fast and furious.
We all know that things can change from year to year, but a pretty good plan of attack is to fish either end of the Canal in the fall and try get the fish coming in and out of the Canal to feed. When I fish the west end, I like the west tide, meaning the current is running out into Buzzards Bay, I will jig this tide day or night (but I’d definitely give the night bite an edge). At the east end, there’s a little more variety. The bait and bass tend to come in with the west tide, but the east tide sets them in places like Pip’s Rip and Murderer’s Row. In 2025 we had a good east end bite that lasted a few weeks, jigging the last 2 to 3 hours of the west tide as it came down to low slack. No matter where you fish in the Ditch, the current changes are great times to fish.
September Playbook
| DITCH TUNNY |
| When targeting albies and bonito, any epoxy or resin jig will work, I like the ones made by Hogy and JoeBaggs. Last fall I had the best luck hooking bonito when tide was at slack just beginning to move on a west tide, I also had a lot more success when I fished closer to the west end of the canal. These species are fun to target because they are super picky and timing and accuracy is everything when it comes to catching them. I find if I stay put and don’t move around I have better luck as they have proven that they will circle back and end up swimming by again. I like to use a light tackle rod and reel for these fish as they are super hard fighters and have soft jaws. |
The first fall run action in the Canal often seems to coincide with an event that lowers the water temp, which is typically the first northeast storm. And once that happens, the bite tends to remain strong – with ebbs and flows – at least through the first two weeks of October. If you’re fishing in daylight, do your best to identify whatever baitfish the stripers are pushing, the menu is long for fall stripers, but matching the size and basic color will often help you get more bites. I find that I do best by targeting current changes. After dark, it’s usually more about picking the right jigs to stay in the strike zone, so make sure you have a variety of weights from 3 up to 5-1/2 ounces. And I’ll say it again, jigging can be just as effective in daylight, so always be prepared to bounce fish deep.
September at the Canal is the perfect time for locals or those willing to travel. The Cape traffic is mostly over with, the kids are back in school and the bass are in and bulking up for their long southerly migration. One of the best things about the fall run in the Ditch is the diversity, the bite can change daily, as new pushes of bass come in, and on the right days you might snag and albie or bonito to make things even more exciting. Being that I live 20 minutes away, you can bet I’ll be taking full advantage, because the Canal really does offer a great chance to hook that fall run striper of a lifetime.
