Duct Laboring on Labor Day
Ferno, thebigsteeler and I hit the duct this morning to see if we can find some fish. It was a labor of love because the moss was throughout the water big time and very tough conditions with full flow. We get to the first spot and are working it for ten minutes and nothing. The thebigsteeler gets a hit and nails one on the KPN. We fish for another 15 minutes and no biters so we move. Drive to spot number two and nothing there after a good twenty minutes to half hour. I even get mobile and walk down flow a ways, searching, seeking but no destroying. I make my way back to where ferno and thebigsteeler are and we decide to move.
Spot number three is no better than number two and after spending 15 minutes there we drive to yet another spot. At spot number four, ferno gets bit on the bucktail as he was lifting up out of the water. The striper came up and whacked it in the air. He's next to a fence and moving down flow with the fish as it goes under the buoy line. The fish is hauling butt down flow and the line is rubbing on the cable. I lift the cable and we manage to free the line scraping on it and get the rod under it. By this time the fish has gone what seemed like 100 yards down stream with moss collecting on every inch of line in the water. Ferno is reeling it n and then the guides get filled with moss and can't reel anymore. Has to clear the tip, repeat for several cranks until more moss builds up and rinse and repeat and rinse and repeat, lol. He finally gets the fish to the shore and yanks it up the cement side. It is landed. Man all kinds of things could have gone wrong but the fish lost this one. We keep working this spot and I get a bump but can't stick it.
Spot four is worked so we decide to drive back to spot one and see if the moss is any better. Well the moss was worse but we still decide to fish it. On my third cast I get a hit on my new mafia lure and nail one. A decent battle ensues and I land my first fish. We all beat the skunk so the rest is whatever comes, comes. Ferno decides to try a new set up too and is throwing a small umbrella rig with two bucktails. He casts out in the spot I was at while I am taking care of my fish and he gets bit right away. It was like a tug of war. Fish pulling and then ferno pulling. Then it felt weird and the fish or fishes were heading way down flow. We think after he hooked up another fish or follower hit the 2nd bucktail and he might have had two fish on. This would explain the strange sensation felt on fighting the fish. It was a literal tug of war but I think three way. he is battling for what seemed like forever (easily 6 to 7 minutes) and of course the guide was filling with moss again and making things tough. The fish/fishes are tugging and running still and then all of a sudden he breaks off. Man we would have loved to see what it/they were. Oh well. We keep fishing it and I get one hit and I swing but couldn't get em. I reel in and I have a striper scale on my mafia lure treble. Shortly after that, thebigsteeler is hooked up again on the KPN and lands his 2nd striper. We don't get any more action so we decide to try one more spot on the way home.
At the final spot, there are four bait and waiters fishing and they had 2 catfish. We are working our lures and ferno gets a follower on the KPN. I am working a soft jerk bait with 1oz head and I get some resistance and I set the hook. It feels funny coming in and of course it's a catfish that I hooked under the belly with the jig. I land it while clearing moss off my guides several times to be able to reel it in. We work the spot for another 15 minutes and nothing so we decide to call it a day.
It was a labor intensive Labor Day outing. Very tough fishing conditions and just as tough to even fight and land fish with the moss and moss collecting on the tips. The stripers ranged from the 3 1/2 pound range to 6 pounds for the larger one. The catfish was a 6 lber but got released. The bigger striper had a partially digested fish in the gut which I think was a tule perch. The rest of the fish were empty stomachs.
We were in a rush to fillet out there and forgot to take pics. Nothing spectacular as far as size or weight so not a big deal imo.
We are actively looking for an apprentice to come and clear our lures of the moss after every retrieve. In turn you will learn to fish the duct in the toughest duct conditions. High flow, moss in every inch of the water column and high summer morning to mid day temps.
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Originally Posted by yolo
