Dave Souza: A bike can be an angler’s best friend

I just spend a good part of my recent vacation fishing the Cape Cod Canal. The canal is about 7 miles long. When you figure in the other side, you have 14 miles of fishing real estate to cast lures, bait and if you get there at the right time when the current stops and tides come together you can also fly-fish.

To get around you can walk or do what most of the regulars on the canal do, ride bicycles. These are bikes of all different styles to get you from location to location. The most common is a plane Jane, no frills bike. This crowd is not trying to impress other riders with the price they paid for their carbon frame, road monster. In fact most could care less about the bike as long as it’s a comfortable ride over the level access road of the canal. Some bikes are equipped with those annoying horns and headlights for night travel.

The main accessory is what I call granny baskets on both sides. These are large metal baskets that are filled to the top with gear. In these, anglers carry lure cases, extra clothing for the colder weather, rain gear for bad weather and any other things that you may need to making fishing work for you. Attached on the back of these baskets are tubes to accommodate carrying two, four or sometimes six rods. These tubes are set so the rods stand almost straight up so you don’t crash into another anglers as you pass them on the road.

My bike also has two kickstands to keep them from toppling over from the leverage caused by long 10- and 11-foot surf rods hanging to one side when parked. One kickstand is in the regular spot and one attached to the granny basket on the left.

After all these years of carrying one rod like a spear and my gear in a backpack, I finally bought a set of granny baskets for my bike. I installed the tubes on the back of the baskets and fill the baskets up with all sorts of gear (most of the time that I don’t use). As much as I hate to admit, it has made fishing at the canal and other locations much easier. If you see anything happening down the canal you have fast access.

During the quiet time when the current stops before changing direction, I like to ride the access road looking for stripers. I’ve always had luck when this coincides with the sun just going down. They will sometimes come to the surface and the water that is usually very active is much calmer. At this time if they are moving near the surface you cast to them. Don’t think you can do this with any rod. You need a rod 10 to 11 feet long and then it’s still hard to hit the center.

Once the canal changes direction, it’s back to picking a spot and casting big heavy jigs while fighting the current.

I’ve been using a bike to go fishing for years. In the beginning, it was more of a necessity. I used to live in Barrington, Rhode Island, where parking is illegal even in your own driveway. I once walked out of my house to find a cop running my old photographer’s license plate to see who I was.

Barrington at the time had public access to Narragansett Bay from Nayatt Point to the Warren River. The access was a couple of small paths from one of the main streets to the beach. It sounded good in theory, but the reality was different. Yes, you did have access to the water, but you couldn’t park your car within a mile or so of the path.

Here’s a quote from Stripersonline.com dated September 27, 2006. An angler was asking where he could park to go fishing in the ocean state. Here’s the answer one of the other anglers gave him.

“50% of fishing in Rhode Island is figuring out where to park so that your car is still there when you come back. That said, parking gets a lot easier in October, so you're in luck. If you have a wife who will drop you off in places with no parking and come back later, you are even luckier. So, the first rule is to read all the signs about parking etc. and follow them…”

In Barrington, parking to fish never got better in October or any other month of the year. I know this problem all too well. The only time parking wasn’t a problem was when I lived two blocks from the beach in Rumstick. I could just walk there. For my short time living in the high rent neighborhood fishing was never a problem, unless I was caught fishing from the beach after 9 at night. Even with no car in the lot and standing waist deep in the water the beach was closed. That’s a whole other story.

Soon after we bought a house in the lower rent district of the town. Now I was a couple of miles from the beach. I had access to the Palmer River next to my house that I fished constantly but sometimes the big stripers wanted nothing to do with that patch of water so the Barrington Beach was the only place to go for a quick hour or so of fishing.

I would pack a backpack with the gear I needed and throw my bike in the back of the truck. I parked in what is known as the Center. There are several stores there including a Shaw’s Market. It’s adjacent to the East Bay bike path where people would park their cars and take a ride. I never hit the bike path. Instead I headed to Rumstick, where lawyers, bankers, corporate bosses and other assorted big shots live. It was their part of town and didn’t want fishermen standing in the water and spoiling their view of Narragansett Bay.

On my bike I was invisible. I could drive through Rumstick, down one of the paths, chain my bike to a pole or fence and have the beach to myself. I never had to worry about a ticket or getting towed. The locals had to tolerate the surf and fly fishermen because no one owns the water under the low tide mark. So much for Barrington.

If you have read my columns over the years, you may have noticed that I complain about no fishing access in Fall River on the Taunton River. It’s one of the shortsighted things the local politicians do. Our waterfront has proposed uses for everything and anything except sport fishing. Usually nothing comes of their projects and we still can’t fish the river from the shore.

Fortunately there has always been pretty good access for freshwater fishing and it has gotten better with the opening of the Quequechan River Rail Trail. It starts at Rodman Street where the New Haven Railroad had a large freight yard in days past. It’s just a block away the Super Stop & Shop. There’s always some kind of parking in the area.

Ride down the path and go under Interstate 195. When you reach the other side, you have arrived at the Quequechan River. There are plenty of largemouth bass on both sides of the path to keep you busy during the dog days when the stripers are vacationing off New Hampshire and Maine. For that matter if you like freshwater fishing this area is good all year long. As you head further down the bike path you cross the Brayton Avenue Extension and come to the north end of the South Watuppa and a continuation of the bike path. Once again, there are plenty of opportunities to fish for large and smallmouth bass.

If you like the idea of fishing in exotic looking areas the bike path may surprise you. Many spots don’t look like you are in Fall River. The water is pretty clear, sometimes too clear. The exception is after a storm. The river muddies but a times murky water makes fishing a little easier. If you can see the fish, they can see you. The plants and animals you may see along the way will give you a new appreciation for the city.

So now with the Quequechan River Rail Trail offering many more fishing spots right in the middle of Fall River, my fishing bike will be used more than a few times a year on the Cape Cod Canal and sneaking around the Barrington no parking zones.