Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass: The Bite Is Wide Open 🔥

Bass fishing is flat-out excellent right now. Most fish are either in full spawn mode or sitting in pre-spawn staging areas, and the finesse bite is on fire. Just about any popular finesse plastic in any color is putting fish in the boat.

Hot techniques right now:

• Dropshot rigs
• Texas rigs
• Light-line Carolina rigs

Typical fish size: Mostly 1–2 lb smallmouth and largemouth, but some bigger ones are showing up deeper in the 20–30 foot zone. Jim says those larger fish are likely waiting for this coming week’s full moon to push shallow—keep that on your radar!

Producing areas:

• Steep walls and bluffs
• Main-lake and secondary points
• Rocky transition areas near deep water

If you’re not getting bit right away, keep moving until you find the active fish—classic Castaic spring behavior.

Baits that are flat-out catching right now:

• C3 Baits Shimmy’s
• Bait Merchant / C3 Baits Calligators
• Prototype 1 Worms

A wacky-rigged 5″ stick worm is also an excellent alternative when the fish want something a little different.

Quick tip from Jim (and the Tackle Express crew): Light fluoro (6–8 lb), subtle shakes, and patience are the name of the game. These fish are locked on the bottom or suspended just off the rocks—make it look natural and they’ll eat.

Striped Bass: Still Scattered

No real change here. The bulk of the stripers are spread out across the lake at all different depths. A few trollers and cut-sardine dunkers are picking up fish, but the schools are too scattered for consistent targeting. Once they tighten up, we’ll let you know—the bite should turn on strong soon.

Rainbow Trout: Boat Anglers Only

Most (if not all) trout are being caught by boat anglers using sonar to locate small schools of holdovers. Shoreline fishing remains slow. We’ll keep you posted if any new plants happen.

Important Lake Info (Save This!)

• Lake is CLOSED Mondays & Tuesdays
• Launching is West Ramp Only
• Entry gate address: 32132 Castaic Lake Drive (west side of the lagoon)

Current Conditions (as of March 29):

• Surface Temp: 64 °F (morning) – 70 °F (afternoon)
• Water Clarity: 10–20 ft – zero algae!
• Some floating sawdust in the main lake and a few pieces of driftwood still around
• Lake Level: Down 25 ft and stable

Lake Hours (as of Sunday 3/29):

• Open: 6:00 a.m.
• Launching: 7:00 a.m.
• Off water: 7:00 p.m.
• Park closes: 8:00 p.m.

Spring at Castaic is one of the best times of the year, and right now is prime time to get out there. Stop by our Santa Clarita storefront (literally minutes from the lake) or order online at tackleexpress.com before 2 p.m. PST and we’ll have your tackle, gear, and everything else on a truck the same day—99 % of the time. Free shipping on orders over $59.99, just $5.99 flat rate under that, and real anglers on the phone who actually fish these waters.

Tight lines, Jim Taibi

P.S. – Got questions about wacky rigging a stick worm or picking the right color for the full moon push? Drop a comment below or swing by the shop. We love swapping stories and helping you get dialed in.