Castaic Lake Fishing Report

Castaic is full, clean, and fishing very well. Guide Jim Taibi of 661 Fishing reports surface temps at 78 in the morning climbing to 81 by afternoon, with 5 to 15 feet of visibility and no algae.

The story right now is baitfish. Shad in the 2 to 4 inch class have flooded the shallows... some even in three feet of water... and the bass and stripers have followed them into the backs of the bigger coves. That's pushed the bite almost entirely to the surface. Dropshots and other bottom-contact stuff are getting ignored. Taibi reports Lucky Craft Gunfish 115s and Espetit 70s/95s are the ticket.

Stripers are boiling from Center Point down toward Elizabeth Canyon, averaging around five pounds. Taibi notes the boils are smaller and more scattered than earlier in August, with bass and stripers both working the same bait and spreading it out.

Water temps are now in the mid-70s, and we're in summer mode. Algae has been a bit of a problem, with that green layer showing on top in the quieter parts of the lake. But there was mention of an algae treatment going in last week, so it should be clearing by now. Overall the bass bite has been good, mostly in deeper water around 20 feet. Dropshots and wacky-rigged C3 worms in Cinnamon and Purple Haze are reportedly the hot baits, according to guide Jim Taibi. He also mentions that once the water clarity stabilizes, the shad should push shallow and spark a better reaction bite.

For stripers, there've been sporadic boils around the lake, with a few anglers reporting fish on Chappos and jerkbaits. But nothing consistent.

Conditions have been excellent at Castaic over the last couple weeks (even with the recent weekend rains). Water temps are sitting in the mid 60s, and bass action is in peak spring form. Per guide Jim Taibi, largemouth are still in one of the three phases of the spawn cycle, while smallmouth are in post-spawn but already starting to feed heavily. Dropshot and Carolina rigged straight tail worms are working best in the warmer sections of the lake (Fish Arm). Taibi also reports wacky rigged Daiwa Neko Fat worms are working extremely well for both numbers and bigger fish.

Striper action has been inconsistent, with bait soakers getting the occasional fish. Schools are spread out and difficult to pinpoint.