Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass:

Bass fishing remains consistent as the fish have moved into their summer pattern. There are wolfpacks of smaller bass pushing glass minnow schools around the main lake points and cuts. Our go-to rigs are the finesse Carolina rig with a C3 Baits reaper and a dropshot with a C3 Baits Shimmy or small Roboworm. Translucent color schemes are matching up better with the forage and clear water. Neptune Shad or Red Smoke for the C3 baits and Prizm Shad and Purple Smoke for the Roboworms. We are finding willing biters in the 10-30′ depth range in the Fish Arm of the lake. Water temps are holding steady around 80 degrees and the lake remains at full pool. Small underspins rigged with tiny Zoom Flukes or Lunker City Fin-S-Fish, as well as Lucky Craft Pointer 78’s in Ghost Shad or Aurora Black patterns fished on windswept points are a good choice in the afternoon. There is a small window of topwater action first thing in the morning with small popping baits getting a few bites but anglers are finding frustration trying to get the attention of bass that are keyed in on the small minnows. 

Striped Bass:

Striper fishing remains fair to good depending on what day it is and where you look. We have been focusing our attention in the Fish Arm of the lake. Sporadic boils continue on main lake points and open water with the Stripers keying on the small glass minnows. Small walking baits and poppers like the Live Target Bait Ball series are the best way to match the small forage. The bulk of the stripers haven’t settled into a solid pattern yet but look for this bite to improve dramatically with the onset of threadfin shad in the coming weeks. We have developed a strong trolling pattern with our best approach being the Producer Fly / Fly Core rigs in 10-30′ of water. We are also seeing improved action on our custom 661 KastMasters and pearl white Zoom Flukes rigged on a Kietech tungsten ball-head jig.

Castaic Afterbay:

Not much has changed at this small fishery. The lagoon continues it’s good fishing pattern with the morning and overcast days being the best windows of opportunity. Quality bass continue to be caught on the finesse Carolina Rig with a 4-1/2″ curly tail RoboWorm in purple smoke. The bass are actively feeding on small shad and bass fry and there is a topwater bite if you get out early and head for the North end weed beds. Still not a lot of angling pressure during the weekdays and those in the know remain tight-lipped.

Jim – 661 Fishing