Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass:
The lake is about five feet from historic full pool and holding despite the continued release of water from the afterbay into the Pacific Ocean. The outflow has diminshed by about 50% with very little water going over the afterbay spillway at this time. The weather has been seasonal all week with temps in the low 80’s and very little wind. Daytime temps continue to rise in the forecast for next week. Small largemouth seem to be everywhere and anywhere although anglers weeding thru them are sticking some nicer fish. Smallmouth bass are showing in greater numbers as their post-spawn lethargy seems to have ended. Our best action is still in 10-25’ of water in the Fish Arm of the lake. The 5” Senko in watermelon patterns and Daiwa Neko Fat worms rigged wacky style and weightless are getting bit for our clients on a regular basis. Dropshots with 4-1/2″ RoboWorms in Aaron’s Magic will also score numbers of bass. Carolina rigged C3 Baits Ice Picks and Shimmys in Neptune Shad and Red Smoke are also producing quality fish for our clients. 

Striped Bass:
What was an excellent Striper bite stripping Producer flies on our “fly-coring” rigs has slowed somewhat due to the lack of wind, combined with little to no water coming in from the forebay. The fish are mostly done spawning and are gorging themselves on the abundant freshwater shrimp throughout the water column. This activity has spread the schools out and made them more difficult to target. Look for the bite to steadily improve as they start moving shallower with the inevitable shad spawn in the coming weeks. The lake is setting up perfectly for an epic summer/fall season unless the water gods decide to drastically lower the lake to make room for the snowmelt from this year’s historic Sierra snowpack.

Castaic Afterbay:

The water in the lagoon is starting to clear up with the reduction of water coming in from the upper lake. We are seeing more and bigger fish lately and the bite should be excellent in the coming weeks. There are weedbeds developing and the bass are active. The dropshot is the main technique right now with some fish also being caught on Senkos and jigs as well. The big fish in this weekend’s FOCL float tube tournament was over 6 pounds.