Fish Funnel

Years of fishing the Cape Cod Canal have equipped me with a strange ability. I can set the alarm for any time — 2:37, 3:11, 1:55 — and wake up one to five minutes before it goes off, almost without fail. This is a defense mechanism that comes from sleeping next to a very understanding wife. I think my subconscious knows that her understanding hinges largely upon the fact that I rarely wake her. Whether I’m coming home from the surf or leaving for the canal, the ungodly hours I keep are ignored, so long as they don’t affect her.

The Cape Cod Canal is a 7-mile, man-made shortcut between Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. The differences in tide timing and height between the two bays send water rushing through the canal at speeds as fast as 6 knots, but with extended slack periods that last about 30 minutes, when the two water bodies equalize before the current slowly creeps in the other direction. It’s the great power of these currents that draws baitfish into the “Big Ditch,” and huge numbers of striped bass follow them into what is the largest fish funnel on the East Coast.

As I drive down the homestretch of MA-25, the unknown promise of the coming tide evokes boiling anticipation. It’s funny how easy it is to convince myself that things