5 Locations That Will Get You Started Fishing At The California Aqueduct Today

The California Aqueduct is about 444 miles long.  It stretches just north of Tracy and ends near Los Angeles. Along the way it also diverts water west and east of the Central Valley.  With so much water to cover where do you start?  It’s not like you can launch a boat into this concrete river and start casting as you float down stream. 

If you have trouble finding fish here, you’re not alone.  I’ve fished this water system for as long as I can remember.  It’s one of the most underrated waterways where striped bass, black bass and other species of fish can be caught year round.  Seasonal patterns, wind, water clarity and water flow all play a key role in locating them.  There are several places for finding these elusive fish but they have consistently been caught at these locations regardless.  

Below I’ll show you a few locations when targeting for striped bass.  Feel free to click on the images below. You’ll get a better look with the images enlarged.

 

Check Gates

Check gates can be some of the most productive therefore most popular locations to fish at the California Aqueduct.  These gates control the flow of water and when there’s disturbance from the flowing water, it creates a feeding opportunity for predatory fish. 

Here’s why this location works

When there is current flowing, it creates more oxygen which makes the stripers more active and engaged in feeding.  The current also carries food through the gates and right into stripers waiting in ambush.  When fishing these locations, the first lure I like to use is a jerkbait.  You want to let active stripers hone in on the sound and vibrations from your lure.  Sometimes you’ll see more than one fish following a striper you just hooked up.  By hooking into a fish, you sometimes inadvertently turn the fish on, creating a feeding frenzy. These striped bass will compete with each other for an easy meal. 

Try casting along the steep walls of the aqueduct as well.  That’s where most of the bait fish congregate when the water is flowing.  A striper lying in ambush would be foraging along this area. 

If the sides do not produce, throw the lure as close as you can to the check gate outlets.  I’ve noticed stripers school up inside the back of the check gates when a gate is partially open. 

If the fish don’t take the jerkbait, use a jig head (use a heavier or lighter weight depending on water flow) with a pearl white fluke rigged on.  Cast it out at several locations in the area.  The key is to let the current do the work and all you have to do is introduce a twitch here and there with your rod while slowly reeling in your lure.  If the fish are not near the top or middle of the water column, then you want to let that jig hit the bottom before jigging it back, if the current permits.  Sometimes these stripers, especially in the afternoon hours, like to relate closer to the bottom.  Fishing near the bottom of the aqueduct will entice these deeper fish to bite. 

Of course, these aren’t the only techniques and lures that will work here.  There are many other ways to catch fish using a variety of tactics.  These should help you get started. 

So experiment and see what works best for you.

 

Bridges

Unlike a lake or reservoir, the Aqueduct doesn’t have traditional structure or cover we are used to seeing.  So when the fish find something out of the ordinary, they naturally relate to it. 

Bridge pylons are great examples of this and here’s why

They provide cover for the bait fish to use as a place to hide or shield themselves from predatory fish. Look Here and you’ll see what I mean.  That shot was taken about a foot or two beneath the water surface next to a bridge pylon.  The schools of silverside minnows were using the pylon as cover from the striped bass that were actively feeding on them.  A lone pylon not only creates cover but it also provides a break from the current for the bait fish. 

Here’s how you fish this location

You want to find the pylons with high concentrations of baitfish.  The ideal times for fishing these locations are right before sunrise and sunset.  If you see large concentrations of bait fish swarming the pylons, there’s a high probability that this area will have stripers waiting in ambush.  If you decide to hit this area in the morning, I like to use a top water lure.  A white spook or popper usually does the trick.  If the fish aren’t interested in top water lures, use a jerkbait.  Again, the Duo Realis 120 or Luckycraft Pointer 128 works very well in these areas.  In recent trips, I have found the Alabama Rig combined with white flukes to work as well.  The stripers will be drawn to lures that resemble the bait fish.  An A-Rig swimming as a school will do just that.  You can take it a step further by matching the hatch.  Instead of white flukes, use more natural colored plastics that resemble the bait in the area.  

Hunting In The Shadows

In the afternoon hours, the sun beams down on these bridges and it casts a shadow over the surface of the water.  Stripers have no eye lids so the sun beaming down would cause some discomfort if they stayed in direct sunlight.  They can either go lower in the water column or find shade.  Bridge structures provide exactly that. They will sometimes congregate in the shadows to hide from the sun and to ambush prey. These locations can be great places especially in the summer months when the sun penetration on the water surface is at it’s highest.  

Cast your lure where the shadow of the bridge meets the sunlight.  I like to use a search bait such as a jerkbait.  If the school of stripers are there, you’ll see them swarming your lure as you retrieve it in.  You’re first few casts will tell you if they are active on the surface or not.  You’ll hook into one or two your first few cast.  If there are no takers, they maybe deeper in the water column.  Throw a swim bait or a rattle trap type of lure.  Fish the middle of the water column and the bottom.  Try to yo-yo the lure back and see if there are any takers.  Give bridges a try, they’ll produce for you when the school moves into that area.

Grates/Cutouts

If you travel along the California Aqueduct, you’ll notice grates and cutouts along the concrete wall. 

Grates – are shielded with a vertical metal enclosure that acts like a filter from aquatic vegetation.  

Cutouts – are not covered like grates, they are openings cut into the concrete wall.

These grates and cutouts were incorporated into the aqueduct system so that farmers could use them for irrigation purposes.  They can attract predatory fish because it provides cover for smaller fish.  If you’ve ever dropped a worm into one of these grates, you’ll often catch smaller species of fish.  I’ve caught bluegills, largemouth bass, perch, gobbies and even a gold fish!  Where baitfish congregate, bigger fish are sure to follow when fishing these areas. 

To fish a grate, a jerkbait is very affective.  A hungry striper will hone in on a lure for an easy meal.  If a jerkbait doesn’t do the trick, try a swimbait or fluke.  When fishing these baits, try to imitate an injured fish.  Stripers know there are baitfish relating to these areas.  I like to sneakup on a grate and throw my swimbait or fluke at an angle across the grate.  As the lure reaches the metal enclosure, I like to bounce it over the rectangular bars and have the bait go in and out of it.  This makes your lure look like it’s using the grate as cover with it slowly popping in and out. 

To fish a cutout on the aqueduct wall, I like to throw my jerkbait right into the hole and let the current take it inside a little before retrieving it back out.  I’ve noticed stripers lie in ambush inside the cutouts.  They act like funnels for disoriented baitfish that get sucked in when the current is flowing.  They make easy meals for stripers that wait here.  When the water current takes your lure in, let the current do most of the work and slowly retrieve it out.  Most of the strikes usually happen a few seconds after my retrieve starts.  You’ll notice a hard pull, followed by the striper darting right out of the hole.  If you don’t get a strike, try the entrance of the cutout or areas nearby.  Stripers may be foraging nearby or relating a little deeper. 

There are several of these grates and cutouts along the aqueduct system, if one location doesn’t work, move on to the next one.

 

Open Water

Open water are areas where there’s no cover for the fish to relate to, just a vast stretch of water.  I know I’ve been talking about how fish like to relate to cover but having structure only accounts for a fraction of the California Aqueduct system.  A lot of the canal is open water.  Striped bass are nomadic fish.  They are constantly traveling along this vast waterway. 

According to the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Division of Marine Fisheries, a striped bass was found 540 miles away from where it was initially tagged 42 days later.  That’s almost 13 miles a day it can travel.  

So, the stripers are constantly on the move and you should be too.  There are several ways to fish these areas.  Again, I like to use my trusty jerkbaits when fishing open water.  These are excellent search baits that can entice nearby fish visually, through sound and vibration.  Use your jerkbait and comb the area.  While you are casting out, keep in mind the type of retrieve you are using.  You can quickly reel in the lure at a high rate of speed to entice active fish, jerk the lure with an occasional pause in between or simply reel it back with a slow and steady retrieve.  Whatever type of retrieve you intend to try, let the fish tell you what it likes.  Sometimes when you catch a striper, you’ll notice that the hooks are lodged into its side or head.  These fish are active fish, meaning they are either hunting or agitated by your lure.  Stripers will sometimes try to injure its prey before eating it resulting in these types of hookups.

If you get several hits but no hookups, then the fish are chasing but not committing to the bite.  You’ll sometimes see the fish give chase but turn away just as the lure is reaching shore.  Try retrieving the lure at a steady pace.  Every few seconds, jerk the lure but maintain that steady retrieve as you jerk the lure.  This retrieve pattern has worked great for me in the past when the fish are behaving like this. 

Experiment when you’re out there and you will find what works best for you.  One method that not alot of people have tried in open water is to use a planar board.  There’s actually a detailed post about how to use that technique.  You can read about it here.  In a nut shell, the planar board will allow you to drift your lure out to any location along the aqueduct and keep it there while you are walking your lure down the canal.  This is a great search technique because it allows you to cover a lot of water in a short period of time plus your lure will be in the water the whole time.  Schools of stripers will make contact with your lure if they are traveling in that area.  If you troll a section of waterway with no success, move a few miles down and try a new area.  Remember when fishing at the aqueduct, always keep moving.  Trolling with a planar board will accomplish just that.

 

Irrigation Pipes

Along the California Aqueduct, there are irrigation pipes that pump water into the canal system.  When these pipes are pumping water out, they create a disturbance that can attract stripers to this area.  When the water turns on, it kicks up sediment that muddies up the water as well.  Stripers will use this change in water clarity for ambushing prey.  Fish this area from all angles, deep and shallow. 

The first lure I would try is a searching lure such as a jerkbait.  Cast it out at an angle downstream and retrieve it to the outer edge of where the water is resurfacing from below.  Stripers will linger just below the turbulent waters for disoriented or unsuspecting prey.  If the fish are there, they’ll take it on the first few casts.  If nothing bites, you may want to try a little deeper with a swimbait or sinking fluke setup.  Imitating bait fish here is a great way to catch fish, since the stripers are usually hunting for baitfish that have been disoriented by the water flow.  Throwing an Alabama Rig would also be a great rig to try if nothing bites.

It’s a good idea to return later if there are no takers.  With the water flowing, stripers are sure to return when they begin to feed.  They will use these areas throughout the day to hunt baitfish, if you return at the right time, catching multiple fish in a short amount of time is certainly possible.

The Combo

Sometimes a combination of these locations are excellent for striper fishing.  For example, a grate located near a bend would be a great place for fishing.  The grate can provide long term cover for bait fish, while the current can carry unsuspecting prey along the bends for stripers waiting in ambush.  The stripers have two possible food sources which will increase the likely hood that more predatory fish will congregate here.

Here’s another good example, a bridge situated next to a bend with an irrigation pipe pumping water nearby. This is a great scenario because the bridge can provide cover for both baitfish and predatory fish alike. The Bend will also provide a great ambush point for predatory fish and the irrigation pipe when pumping water, will provide a feeding opportunity for predatory fish to ambush prey.  I’m not making this up, there are actually places like these along the California aqueduct plus many more combinations I haven’t even mentioned.  So it’s a good idea to keep an open eye for these places.  Try to mix and match to find what combinations work best for you.

Time To Roll

Now that you know where and how to get started at the California Aqueduct, go out and try it for yourself. These are just some of the locations you can use to find fish at the California Aqueduct.  If you’re out there for the first time, give these locations a try.  The California Aqueduct can be an intimidating place to fish.  It’s easy to get discouraged but put some time into it and your confidence will only grow.    The best way to learn this waterway is to experience it for yourself.  

Right now, I want you to do one thing

Leave a comment that describes a time when you caught a striper at anyone of these locations.

For Example:

If you’ve caught a striper by a bridge before, your comment might look like:

“Hey, one time I caught a striper right under the bridge with a fluke.  It was on a slow retrieve and it just hammered it.”  

I’d love to hear a story like that.  So leave a comment and let me know what you think.