Tackle Express Castaic Fishing Reports

The boils are diminishing rapidly making it hard to get a cast into them. We are picking up fish on the trolling fly, staying in the areas we find the quick boils. All signs point to an epic Fall bite on these saltwater transplants.

The dropshot is working a little better than the Carolina Rig as the bottom is covered in green moss in most areas making it difficult to drag the bottom. Bass are being caught anywhere from 10′ to 30′ deep on main lake points and coves with shade pockets. C3 Baits Ice Picks in Neptune Shad and Watermelon Candy are the mainstay dropshot baits on the lake.

Castaic Afterbay: Working the dropoffs and deeper water in the South end with the typical C3 Baits soft plastics will get you some quality bites. The North end weedbeds are coming to the surface and a steady topwater bite should emerge as the summer pattern continues. Bluegill are in the weeds as

Timing is the key here as the feeding windows tend to rely upon wind and current to condense the baitfish schools and subsequently the Stripers. Trolling with the fly-coring/Producer Fly technique is the best way to cover water and find the schools of biters.

Bass fishing is still good here as most of the fish are heading to deeper water. The finesse Carolina rig and Ned rig are getting most of the bites. C3 Baits Shimmys and Warthogs are great soft plastics to use in these conditions. Lighter line is the rule here as the water is clear. Bluegill are still shallow and can be caught on meal worms or red worms. 

The smaller schools of fish are around yet sometimes hard to locate as they follow the Shad in and out of the bigger creek arms and coves. A few bigger fish are being caught on live Shad but remain elusive to most other techniques. Trolling with the fly-coring/Producer Fly technique is the best way to cover water and find the smaller one to two pound fish with the occasional bigger Striper showing up for those putting in the time.