Help Please,
I am new to the Palmdale area and am a fishing fiend. I love bass and stripper fishing and have done well over the years at castaic and silverwood. What I need advise on is where and how to tackle the Aqueduct stripers and cats. Have mainly been fishing the areas around the 14 and Ave S. I would appreciate any and all comments and help with this, thanks.

sorry for the slip up, strippers are a whole lotta fun but I realy am looking for stripers, lol.

Use one dollar bills ;)

For stripers in the aquaduct, you could find some good info in the archives on this site.There were alot of posts about what,when and where to fish. I haven't fished the concrete river yet, I still can't picture catching a big striper in that kind of structure,current and clear water. Sounds like fun though.

I would like to check out the stretch of aquaduct right before it goes underground to feed Silverwood, that would be an interesting spot to fish.


Trev-

Trev,
Those dollars are the best bait. Thx for the heads up on the archives.
Chet

Trev,

You're talking about the summit valley access point. There are stripers in there, I've heard them at night splashing around..I am yet to catch one though. I have seen some absolutely monsterous cats come out of there, and I know the striper are just as large, but are notoriously hard to catch. If you ever want a partner, let me know. I've been looking 4 someone who is willing to fish that stretch of the aqueduct and figure out the striper mystery.

~onelove4u

onelove..

Are you talking about the the last stretch of aqueduct before it goes underground? I did'nt think there was any road access to it.
I've seen it on maps and heard the crazy security guard on top of the Silverwood dam talking about seeing big stripers in there. He said something about big siphs or somekind of gates to prevent big debris or fish(?) from going in...some kind of back-current?

I'll let you know if I head up there..

Phish..

Yeah there's access to it. From summit valley rd. Just past the old dump road heading east.

Its a long ass stretch of aqueduct, that no one ever sees. I know for a fact, that there are some giant fish in there, but I don't know what the security guard was talking about. I don't know of any siphons or anything.

I know what happens to them past that stretch though..they either

1. get dumped into silverwood (very rare)

or

2. get choped up in the electric turbines at the power plant near silverwood. (quite often)

At least this is what I know. Someone from edison would know better. But they're big! AND Fu*$%ing hard to catch!

~onelove4u

Whats up Bank Pounder,

Im looking at fishing that stretch out in Palmdale soon. Have you had any luck?

The only part of the aqueduct I have fished is out in summit valley...no stripers yet.

~onelove4u

What really sucks is: when I try to catch stripers at the aqueduct I can't get'em. But, when I am catfishing I accidently catch'em. People say live bloodworms are great for both. I used nightcrawlers. When dragging them in is when I would catch a striper. I also hear Bucktail jigs do well. Late spring when the water is warming, I would see alot of topwater splashing. So, topwater baits are a choice then. I could never predict boils. So, just gotta have'em with you at all times. I usually go out in late spring. I will see you there sometime.

Hey Fisheez,
I hear that alot. I forced myself to left the cat gear home and just work the S.B. baits and it finally paid off, my first one and she swam away great, only 4 pounds but it's a start. I'll see ya out there, I work the duct all over the west side of the valley.

Onelove,
I scratched a small striper a couple weeks ago in the rips behind a set of gates at 25th on a bucktail. Can't miss me, I look like the old wrestler Hillbilly Jim in my overalls, I'll see ya out there.

Hey Bankpounder..

Have you fished the aqueduct anywhere closer to the victorville area, or just in palmdale?

Has anyone fished in the victorville area?

I ask because I've been targeting it for a couple of trips now, trying to figure out the secret and how the fish move through the gates, when the water runs, and so forth.

Any info would be much appreciated!

~onelove4u

Oneloove,
I have tried out by LLano, farmed a nice boil on an old ac plug, and that was it for the 3 hours I was there. I'd be interested in scouting out that area by Silverwood, sounds like some toads are in that stetch. I have found that they like the current ripping and hang in the eddies behind the gates.
I know their main diet is sacramento perch, may take a couple old plugs and redo the paint on them to try and match. You ever need a partner give me a holler. Just got a new wireless fish finder am dying to try out.
Chet

got side tracked here, as for the water flow it varies but generally I have found the gates are up from around 7 P.M. till around 2 P.M. the following afternoon with the water flowing. After that they lower them for a few hours. It really varies with the rain though. The fish are just rushed through the open areas under the gates. The only area's where they have prob's is above a pumping station or the siphons, where unfortunately they become fish bait.
Hope this helps ya.
Chet

Hmm...That makes sense, the fish being chopped up by the siphons and pumps, but the water is pumped into that summit valley stretch, seemingly uphill, and there are tons of cats in there. Do they really get chopped up, I wonder? Or just banged around a bit like a 49ers fan at a Raider game?

I like the perch idea..I'm going to give that a try. I'm going to fish on friday if the weather is OK. Maybe I'll see U out there in palmdale, or if you go out to victorville, let me know and we'll meet up.

Peace,

~onelove4u

What is the cross street for summit valley rd where you can park to fish the aqueduct?

onelove,
I will be working tomorrow unfortunately, but Saturday am going to hit that last stretch just before it goes underground into silverwood. I haven't been there before but I believe you are talking about the section to the south of Las Flores road. Or do you mean the section between Las Flores and Summit Valley Road. Any info will be kindly appreciated, thanks.
Chet

Where is the access point from summit valley rd? In yahoo maps and mapquest I see that road but can't see an access point to the aqueduct.

Its on the only PAVED road off of Summit Valley Rd, 1 Mi west of the airport. Drive around, you'll find it.

~onelove4u

Hey Onelove,
Found your Summit Valley access area this morning at the top of that hill. Fished for about 3 hours till my fingers were numb. No stipers but one lovely channel cat about 10lbs.
My map shows another road that comes out east of the airport called Las Flores that runs all the way down to 173 that crosses the duct about halfway to Silverwood from there. Have you or do you know anything about this spot.
Let me know next time you are going out , I'll see ya out there.

Hey Pounder,

Congrats on the cat. You know, Las Flores is actually a ranch owned by a private owner that takes up a huge amount of summit valley. The Aquaduct may/may not pop up on areas of that ranch. I've never walked the length of it myself, but know that it gets sucked under about a mile down from where you were, before it surfaces at Silverwood again. It could pop up somwhere, but I don't know.

What were you using when you cought the cat? I went for striper today, in the Victorville area off Amargosa, and don't think theres much in there, except structure (old cars). My first cast I let my bucktail hit bottom, started the retrieve, and BAM! got snagged on something and couldn't get it off. Tried some more bucktail action further down, nothing, topwater in the evening, nothing. Almost lost another bucktail to the same thing later on...what the hell can be down there? Its a cement channel!?

Anyway, would appreciate the advice on the what U caught the cat on, as I'm thinking thats what type of fishing I'm doing in there from now on. I don't think the striper like me.

Cheers,

~onelove4u

Hey Onelove,
I caught the cat while drifting a large chunk of chicken liver. I was using a 2/0 Kahle hook and about a 1/4 ounce of split shot about 2 feet above the hook. Cast it out and let it sink and walk along the bank as it drifts. I marked a bunch of fish on the bottom there but I guess the cold still has the majority tight lipped. Were there any saftey ladders around where you got snagged. Sometimes there is a huge belly in the anchor cables to those things. Don't give up on the linesides, still nipple freezing cold water in there.

Hey Bank,
Do you take one of those portable fish-finders to the Duct?

Hey Fisheez,
Yeah, got a Hummingbird Smartcast wireless fishfinder for a gift, little thing works great. Use it to find bits of strucure to fish.