Castaic Lake Report 10-23-2022

Largemouth Bass:

Another week of varied conditions saw the return of Santa Ana winds and temps in the mid 80’s early in the week, shifting to a cold front and rain over the weekend. The Fall transition has the Bass scattered everywhere from the backs of coves to secondary and main lake points and bluffs. The Shad have pretty much left the shallows and are migrating back to the main lake with the bulk of the fish in close pursuit. Silverside minnows are still in the backs of a few coves and cuts extending the live bait fishing for now. Otherwise, dropshot and Carolina rigs, Yamamoto Hula Grubs, Fat Ika’s and finesse sized jigs are getting the bites from deeper fish in the ten to twenty five foot zone. The water level has stabilized about ten feet below the debris line, where it is likely to stay until Winter. The water clarity has improved with five to fifteen feet of visibility in most areas.

Striped Bass:

A few boils in the early morning around the mouths of the bigger coves, mostly in the Fish Arm, as schools of Stripers in the two to six pound range chase the transitioning Shad schools. There has also been some action at the buoy line at the end of the Ski Arm, where a few larger fish as well as the “schoolies” can be found. Lucky Craft Sammy’s and Gunfish in the 95 and 100 sizes in any of the bone or baitfish colors are getting hammered by the surface feeders. This bite along with trolling flies and vertical jigging is improving daily and should be good to excellent in the coming weeks as the water cools into the upper 60’s. Look for the Elizabeth Bay area to come into play as the water has cleaned up quite a bit this week. A surprise Trout plant went in on Friday spurring a short swimbait bite around the marina.

Water conditions:

Surface temp 71 to 74 degrees

Water clarity 5′ to 15′ in most areas

Jim – www.661Fishing.com