View Full Version : Gates closed
Cableguy
03-01-2011, 01:00 PM
So I went out again yesterday evening and the weather was perfect. The water level seemed to be 2' low and the gates were closed. Water looked like AM / PM coffee. No current at all. Question: Does fishing suck when the gates are closed and there is no current? What should I be hoping for? What are perfect conditions? ::???:I figured if I did hit a spot where the stripies are they would be trapped.....wrong again.:Skunk:
RickyRick
03-01-2011, 02:47 PM
I was out yesterday as well... Same conditions here in the central valley. I had one pole soaking with anchovies n my other I was throwing cranks. No love. About 15 minutes before sunset they were jumping out of the water all around me though. When the sun set it was quite n no action. I am on a 7 straight skunk-fest!
Dalizzy07
03-01-2011, 07:06 PM
The water is quite flowing a little bit here in Bako
Lucky Lager
03-01-2011, 07:36 PM
no flow out here yesterday. closed gates.
some flow today though. gates open about 1/4 way.
i showed up the same time as one my neighbors. he got a hit right away, but neither of us had any more action
Yeah about 1/4 to 3/8 is what we saw today too in the AV. I don't know how open Bako was because we were not at any gates there to see but it was flowing there too.
wackyrigged
03-01-2011, 08:01 PM
It was not moving today when I arrived then it started flowing hard ten minutes later,I have always thought it as a crap shoot maybe the gates will/open close while I am there maybe not.I think of it more of a lucky timing thing more than you can plan or figure out.From what I know (which isnt much) stripers like it open gates flowing fast.I have always had better luck fishing slow water or eddys baiting for catfish not lure fishing for stripers.
Stripers can be caught in all water conditions. There were a few years not long ago when flow was non existent for months and I caught stripers no problem. Flow or no flow, they have to eat. The gate hoppers like flow but a true duct fisherman is not just a gate hopper, imo.
Lucky Lager
03-02-2011, 08:27 AM
Stripers can be caught in all water conditions. There were a few years not long ago when flow was non existent for months and I caught stripers no problem. Flow or no flow, they have to eat. The gate hoppers like flow but a true duct fisherman is not just a gate hopper, imo.
i can only remember one fish that i didn't catch at a gate/siphon.....not that my memory is great. and that fish was in about 3-5 feet of water, and very low flow. just a lucky toss
i wish i knew how to hit the open water with some kind of knowledge/feeling of where the fish would be. every time i do the duct walk, about a mile in i just get the feeling that i'm playing the lotto & maybe i'll land my lure on the face of a fish by blind luck. i feel like i'm just wandering along, with no purpous or direction.
Trout Chaser1
03-03-2011, 10:35 PM
I might hit the av duct in the morning around 6ish before school and hopfully hook up on one... I'll post up if I end up goin and if I get skunked or bring home a stripppeyy!!
Lucky Lager, Stripers are on the move. They come and go. That's why open water works. It's just another so called tool to catch them. Like I said many neglect it. Sometimes they are just not where you are and sometimes they don't bite but they are in open water too. BTW, most of my DD fish have come from open water.
wackyrigged
03-04-2011, 08:09 AM
Is there anything that lets you know an open water spot will be good?Say like a transition from rippling surface to calm. As someone mentioned before I feel like I am casting into emptiness, I too have only caught fish near either a gate or a bridge.I have heard curves are big producers,but I think you are saying straight sections are great too just a matter more of being at the right spot at the right time.
Marine_Michael
03-04-2011, 09:10 AM
Actually when he says open water he means anywhere that is not within 100 yards or so from a gate or siphon. Bridges, grates, curves and straight aways are all considered open water.
This explains Silverwood going down again, STOP IT ALREADY THE FISHY'S ARE ALL CONFUSED!
Marine_Michael
03-04-2011, 11:37 AM
Sorry, not our call Seal. If I had my way the gates would flow 3/4 to full from @ 10pm till 4am, from 4am till 1pm 1/2 open and 1pm-10pm 1/4 to 1/3 open.
Hell I'd be happy if they'd just let it flow with some relativly consistant flow, at least that way there is a chance of figuring out thier pattern. The way things have been lately, finding them is almost like winning the lotto.
Lucky Lager
03-04-2011, 01:13 PM
BTW, most of my DD fish have come from open water.
that makes sence. with less structure to break up the flow, the bigger/stronger fish would be better suited for those areas.
btw, the one i got in open water was the 2nd largest i've cought.....still not a DD :Angry:
i must not be attracting the big pigs right
that makes sence. with less structure to break up the flow, the bigger/stronger fish would be better suited for those areas.
btw, the one i got in open water was the 2nd largest i've cought.....still not a DD :Angry:
i must not be attracting the big pigs right
They have a much easier time swimming in the open water than at gates and siphons. I'm sure you have seen the churning water at gates and to a lesser degree siphons. It sure doesn't seem like it would be easier to swim around in that stuff compared to open water flow which is way less turbulent. I don't know why the bigger fish are out in the open more? Maybe because it is easier for them and they are lazier, lol? Bottom line, I would fish them all. Of course it is easier to gate hop but you are missing out on some great opportunities in open water. If you think about it, the fish have to go through open water to get from gate to gate anyway :Wink:
Lucky Lager
03-04-2011, 03:18 PM
They have a much easier time swimming in the open water than at gates and siphons. I'm sure you have seen the churning water at gates and to a lesser degree siphons. It sure doesn't seem like it would be easier to swim around in that stuff compared to open water flow which is way less turbulent. I don't know why the bigger fish are out in the open more? Maybe because it is easier for them and they are lazier, lol? Bottom line, I would fish them all. Of course it is easier to gate hop but you are missing out on some great opportunities in open water. If you think about it, the fish have to go through open water to get from gate to gate anyway :Wink:
yea, it's pretty turbulant in most of the area. where the current hits the walls & begins to churn is where i see calmer areas.
the open water all looks the same to me, i'm not sure where to throw? nothing stands out to me. the fish definatly have to pass back & forth, i'm just not good enough to find them......yet. i'll figure it out one day. when i'm 90 :Head Bang:
Just fan cast (up, across and down).