Castaic and Pyramid Lake Report 10-21-2023
Castaic Lake:
Closed indefinitly starting 10/17 due to high algae levels. Water was tested again on 10/20. Awaiting results. Stay tuned…
Pyramid Lake:
As many of the Castaic regulars head to Pyramid, here is my report after spending all day on the water mid-week chasing Shad and Stripers.
My Bass fishing report is courtesy of my neighbor and good friend Dan Conner of 512 Customs. He paints high quality hardbaits and can be found on Instagram @ 512customs – Take a look at some of his baits and give him a shout if you would like to purchase any. The detail of his work is outstanding.
Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass:
There is a really good crankbait bite on Largemouth Bass for anglers throwing Shad patterned deep divers on rocky banks and main-lake points. Try the areas that are within view of the 5 Fwy. Most of the bites are coming in the three to ten foot zone, so use a bait that will dive fifteen to twenty feet to keep it bumping the rocks. Make long parallel casts to keep your lure in the strike zone as long as possible. Finesse fishermen will connect with Bass in these same areas with dropshot rigs and wacky-rigged five inch Senkos. Any of the popular C3 and RoboWorm baits and colors will get bit. Personally, I would choose the C3 Baits Shimmy or Jobu in the Neptune Shad color. For RoboWorms I like the Aaron’s Magic hue. Senkos in green pumpkin or watermelon with black flake will always get bit. Smallmouth are showing up in limited numbers in the counts but most of them are choosing to stay with the Striped Bass schools in deeper water up to forty feet.
Striped Bass:
Main-lake schools were hard to find and seem to be spread out all over the lake depending on which way the wind blows. Try the dam area and the East shoreline by the 5 freeway. I did not see any surface “boils” while I was there but I have been given reports from trusted friends and guides of the occasional fury. Smaller Alabama rigs with a three inch Shad patterned swimbait was working for me. I’m using leadcore line to get the lures down 25-40 feet. There are thousands of big three to five inch Shad in the Yellowbar area where Upper Piru Creek comes into the lake. They are very difficult to net when the lake is full as they are in open water, but if you’re there on a day that the lake is down five feet they are easy to net. I spent an hour and a half and ended up with only 12 baits. Very frustrating!
In short, I would say that Pyramid is worth going right now. The crowds are light, the water is clean and the fish are biting!
Jim – www.661Fishing.com
