Tackle Express Castaic Fishing Reports

Trolling for Striped Bass took a hit this week for the same reasons as mentioned above. We have gone from five bites a day to one or no bites as the conditions worsen. The fish are there in good numbers and size, as most fish we’re catching are seven to eight plus pounds. Producer Flies, Yak Flies and 661 KastMasters trolled anywhere from 20-60′ deep on leadcore line is producing the few bites available. 

Water fluctuations and high winds this past week have the baitfish on the move from shallow to deep and back again. Fishing live Shad and Silverside minnows has helped bridge the gap on the ever-changing Bass movements for my clients. The baitfish are either on the bank or out in the sticks and bushes in the middle of the coves and some main lake shorelines. The “Wolf packs” of a few to many quality Castaic Largemouth continue to roam these areas and can be found from two to thirty feet deep on any given day. Casting flutter spoons and Kastmasters thru the suspended bait schools is a good technique to employ to find the groups of bait chasers. Otherwise the usual finesse plastics will get grabs when the biters come thru.

Bass fishing remains steady on one to four pound fish. The water has come down five feet in the past week resulting in the Shad pulling out of the backs of the coves as the rocks that were covered in their food source, algae and moss, were left high and dry with the receeding water.

The Striped Bass were hard to locate again this week as the huge schools of baitfish were found anywhere from twenty to eighty feet deep. We did have some quality bites trolling Producer Flies and 661 KastMasters about thirty feet deep on leadcore line for linesides to seven pounds, but the activity window was short, only lasting for about a half hour when the lake first opened. No surface boils to report but hopefully that will change when they realize the coves are full of Shad.

Stripers were hit and miss this week, with some days better than others. Glassy conditions mid-week saw the bite slow significantly. Windy days are better as the fish feed actively in these conditions, sometimes throughout the day. Producer flies, KastMasters and the Fluke/Scrounger head combo are getting grabs trolling at 15′ to 25′ when the fish aren’t busting the surface. The best  area continues to be the deeper water from Kong Island to Necktie Canyon, with the fish pretty much spread out all over the middle of the Ski Arm and up to the forebay buoy line on certain days. There has also been some surface action in the West end of the Fish Arm during the first hour or so of the morning.