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Northern Aqueduct Fishing?

171K views 431 replies 33 participants last post by  barnfield11 
#1 ·
Hi new to the forum and have read alot of the aqueducts from you guys here, but mainly the southern ducts. Seems like you guys got some good fishing down there. Read striper bill website thanks really helpful and informitive stuff you got there. I used to live and work in the Bakersfield area for a couple of years and never knew about the aqueduct system was only 30mins from me. If I only knew back then, Oh well, at least I can still fish the northern ducts. Any of you on the boards ever fish this area, 132 Maze blvd near I-5 near Modesto, Ca.? If any of you do can you give me some pointers or areas where the big ones could be. I've gotten alot of channel cats there and 1 baby striper last Sunday I was using chicken livers and mini night crawlers thats what I got the striper on. Still looking for more stripers. Any info would be helpful im new to this and would help lots.


thanks.
 
#282 ·
Went out the last 2 days and only 1 fish per day.fished about 20 to 30 minutes each time . The fish are just not schooled up or not ready to bite . Hit bird rd and mc arthur for one fish each.most likely will not fish this weekend way too busy , need to get the big boat ready for skiing , the kids are really bugging me now to get it ready.will keep trying during the week to find schools and different methods . Watched the you tube video on the 2 liter minnow trap , so easy I must try.live bait is it but the bait store in tracy had a car drive through the tackle area and is in repair.
 
#287 ·
Water barely moving this weekend. Went out Sat evening rode the scooter south on Mendota from Lammers to McArther only 2 caught, few bites Sunday evening rode the scooter north on Mendota from Lammers caught 12, most at the pumps. Lots of thick moss growing due to lack of water moving. The hunt for the 20" + goes onhappy3.gif
 
#288 ·
Water barely moving this weekend. Went out Sat evening rode the scooter south on Mendota from Lammers to McArther only 2 caught, few bites Sunday evening rode the scooter north on Mendota from Lammers caught 12, most at the pumps. Lots of thick moss growing due to lack of water moving. The hunt for the 20" + goes onhappy3.gif
Good to hear you caught , what kind of lure ? All i caught this weekend was the flu on friday.
 
#290 ·
Thanks feeling a lot better .. So now I can tell you where the fish are not biting ,at least for me yesterday after work.Mendota canal at westly ,road tripped down south a bit and caught one 21 inch carp on the swim bait. 2 guys across from me landed a couple of fat keepers on rattle traps .Slow water flow and lots of moss.tossing the lure at the right spot next to the gates but no stripers.
 
#293 ·
The water was moving after work today and they were biting .started fishing at 132 and i5 on the mendota at the gates .2 at 18 inches and 2 at 15 inches. Moved to the north of the gates to bird road and 2 at 19 inches. Good day for 1 and 1/2 hours . The guy across from me caught 2 nice 18 inchers on a stick bait.:flyfish:
 
#297 ·
Went out this morning around 9 when it started warming up, right off I-5 in Patterson. Went down to the pump house and was throwing a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 jerk bait (white/yellow/blue combo) hooked a big one, snapped my line :/ Lost my 15 dollar lure and probably a good sized fish (guessing 20" plus).

Been hitting them with the jerk bait and a big broken back rebel, all in Patterson, probably around 25 fish in last 2 weeks, mostly 14"-19". It's very fun, however, I hate dragging the fish up the concrete embankment. Good luck this weekend boys!
 
#301 ·
Use to curse the flow a few years ago when all I used was bait. When I go after work I usally get to the water as quickly as possible and the bait stores are way out of the way when using a 30 minute window of time to fish in.fished the mendota at grantline a couple of days ago no flow but a couple of nice fish at 17 and 18 inches. Missed a few bites and landec a large mouth about 10 inches.
 
#300 ·
Tried tne minnow trap.left it overnight and check it today after work.no minnows due to all the moss that clogged the opening. Guessing the water started moving sometime after I tossed the trap in . Will try it again next week with the line tied to the opposite end of the trap. Fishing slow with low current , my brother hit the westly area and nailed them while the water was flowing at a set of gates, all big ones.
 
#307 ·
Nice catch , what kind of lure were you using.I used the swim shad last time .That area has some big fish and the biggest we have caught there were not at the gates.Chicken liver for the big ones, having a two pole tag works great at this place.The Farm is on its way to getting fished out , some of the guys from work have been out there and seen cooler loads of under size striper being hauled out by the same two poachers.
 
#308 ·
Went out wed started a lil late in the morning. Didnt think id bag anything. Started with some LC in amer shad and ghost styles. Nothing. Had a couple bites on flukes. Stopped at gates and fished on the east side because thats the side that the bank was in the shade. Thought the fish would be in the cooler water. Caught one 18 1/2 fatboy. I kept it and ate it that night. Caught it on anchovie.

Talked to a duct worker that was parked. He said theyre cleaning the banks because theyre allowing farmers to pump theur water in the duct from the wells theyre digging to store. And then release it back to their fields when they need it. I noticed a big increase in water levels. Anybody have any success at night?
 
#309 ·
Talked to a duct worker that was parked. He said theyre cleaning the banks because theyre allowing farmers to pump theur water in the duct from the wells theyre digging to store. And then release it back to their fields when they need it. I noticed a big increase in water levels. Anybody have any success at night?
Where I fish in the evenings, not too much to talk about. I fish until sundown, I haven't fish past that. I'll have to try that one night.
 
#316 ·
Went out today , started at noon and had 15 with the gates down at the same spot gates were down and no flow. Used the swim shad with a vertical twich off the bottom.finished at 2 pm when the sun broke through. There were 4 guys together on the other side that were catching on chicken livers.all fish were about 17 inchers.
 

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#317 ·
Your out of san mateo? Have you been fishing in the bay? Use to fish a lot around alameda for sharks and rays, not to eat but a hell of a lot to of fun to fight.Fishing the cali aquaduct the last couple of times for a really good bite, will have to hit the gates near work , its a hike but the mendota has stopped moving and looks full with moss all around.
 
#323 ·
Went out to the CA duct out in Patterson for nothing. Was trying out my new lures (live target and Spro). There were others out using chicken liver. They said they haven't landed anything either. Far different from the previous weekend when stripers were hitting both cut bait and lures from what they said. Will try again next weekend. Hopefully with a different outcome. Still too warm to start chasing Kings.
 
#324 ·
hit the farm yesterday at noon , hot and humid . Worked hard for 10 fish between 10 and 17 inches . gates down and slow flow .Actually used an old hair raiser from a few years ago , and caught the 17 inchers on it. the up side of the gates were dead ,not a single bite.Looking for a new fishing hole in the tracy area . I know of a set of gates with no foot prints , just trying to figure how to get out there. not easy to access .
 
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