AnglerBob
10-26-2009, 10:09 PM
Got shad? If you did, you were in the money Friday at Castaic. If, on the other hand, you checked your personal shad supply and found it lacking, you were in for a rough day.
Bassmaster Jack and I arrived just prior to opening, to find a sizable line of bass boats. “Are you sure it isn’t a holiday,” I asked in amazement, not yet having seen the piece in WON about the topwater fishing at Castaic. Fortunately, the line moved quickly upon opening and soon we were ready to rent a boat and head out.
At the bait shop, the boat-rental guy was involved in a serious mound conference with a guy who looked familiar, that I later recognized as “Trout Only.” Gathering ‘round, we joined the discussion on strategies and locations. Shortly thereafter, we hit the lake. Our plan was to troll with shad imitations until we’d culled 9 or 10 limits, and then try throwing topwaters at boils for some larger 30-40lb models.
The first blow to our arrogant confidence came early when we realized nobody seemed interested in our trolled offerings. We’d cross over points and huge schools of shad would appear on the meter, with multiple striper arches underneath. The fishfinder looked like the simulation picture. Then I realized, it WAS the simulation picture. But even once I took it out of “demo” mode, there was STILL a helluva lot of fish down there.
Frustrated, we pulled into a cove to look for boils. Several bass boats were there already, but they weren’t fishing: they were busily involved in rounding up shad. Jack studied one boat’s technique in fascination.
“Makin’ shad, eh?” he asked cheerfully.
“Yep.” The guy stared at the shallows, net poised to strike.
“Wow, that’s great! Hey, once you get the shad, where’s a good place to fish?”
The man looked up with only a shred of annoyance. “Brother,” he said, “I’ll tell you what. Once you have the shad, it don’t matter WHERE you fish.”
Setting up camp in the cove, we threw topwaters and baited with anchovies to no avail. We gave up and moved further up the Fish arm, drifting anchovies through Elizabeth Canyon and Dry Gulch. Eventually Jack would get a wrist-wrenching strike; this would be our only nibble all day.
With the day wearing on, we decided to head for the no-fail spot: the buoy line. Surely here the skunk would cease following us and we could once again reclaim our angling dignity. We grabbed a spot between two boats, one a Bayliner with several friendly guys (Vietnamese, I think) who seem to be out there every time I go. These guys must eat striper seven days a week. They sure can catch them. After watching the fourth one bounce over their rail, I apologized to Jack. “Sometimes you’re just not in the right spot here,” I explained. “I think we’re just a bit too deep.” We fished for an hour for nada. Then, miracle of miracles, the Bayliner left. We manuevered into their spot quicker than a dog finds a dropped sausage.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/Castaic%2010-23-09/IMG_0963.jpg
Surely, we'll catch them here.
And we blanked there too. Like fools, we watched as the boat on the OTHER side of use now reeled in fish. The Trout Only guy cruised by the buoy line, trolling in his Crestliner, whose stern rode low in the water from the weight of multiple striper limits. Eventually, we packed it in, trolling some new patterns back to the marina as a sort of Hail Mary pass.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/Castaic%2010-23-09/IMG_0966.jpg
Trolling @ 120 knots, this float plane caught as many stripers as we did.
Although the day ended in failure, I learned a lot from the boat-rental guy and from the FNN-ers who answered my call on setting up trolling rigs, so I think when the fish get a little less shad-crazy I’ll be poised to catch some nice ones. I rigged up an old cheap saltwater outfit (7’ Ugly Stick Tiger, Penn 155) with some 50lb braid and it works great for dragging umbrella rigs. Meanwhile, though, there’s a bad stink here, and it ain’t fish.
Bassmaster Jack and I arrived just prior to opening, to find a sizable line of bass boats. “Are you sure it isn’t a holiday,” I asked in amazement, not yet having seen the piece in WON about the topwater fishing at Castaic. Fortunately, the line moved quickly upon opening and soon we were ready to rent a boat and head out.
At the bait shop, the boat-rental guy was involved in a serious mound conference with a guy who looked familiar, that I later recognized as “Trout Only.” Gathering ‘round, we joined the discussion on strategies and locations. Shortly thereafter, we hit the lake. Our plan was to troll with shad imitations until we’d culled 9 or 10 limits, and then try throwing topwaters at boils for some larger 30-40lb models.
The first blow to our arrogant confidence came early when we realized nobody seemed interested in our trolled offerings. We’d cross over points and huge schools of shad would appear on the meter, with multiple striper arches underneath. The fishfinder looked like the simulation picture. Then I realized, it WAS the simulation picture. But even once I took it out of “demo” mode, there was STILL a helluva lot of fish down there.
Frustrated, we pulled into a cove to look for boils. Several bass boats were there already, but they weren’t fishing: they were busily involved in rounding up shad. Jack studied one boat’s technique in fascination.
“Makin’ shad, eh?” he asked cheerfully.
“Yep.” The guy stared at the shallows, net poised to strike.
“Wow, that’s great! Hey, once you get the shad, where’s a good place to fish?”
The man looked up with only a shred of annoyance. “Brother,” he said, “I’ll tell you what. Once you have the shad, it don’t matter WHERE you fish.”
Setting up camp in the cove, we threw topwaters and baited with anchovies to no avail. We gave up and moved further up the Fish arm, drifting anchovies through Elizabeth Canyon and Dry Gulch. Eventually Jack would get a wrist-wrenching strike; this would be our only nibble all day.
With the day wearing on, we decided to head for the no-fail spot: the buoy line. Surely here the skunk would cease following us and we could once again reclaim our angling dignity. We grabbed a spot between two boats, one a Bayliner with several friendly guys (Vietnamese, I think) who seem to be out there every time I go. These guys must eat striper seven days a week. They sure can catch them. After watching the fourth one bounce over their rail, I apologized to Jack. “Sometimes you’re just not in the right spot here,” I explained. “I think we’re just a bit too deep.” We fished for an hour for nada. Then, miracle of miracles, the Bayliner left. We manuevered into their spot quicker than a dog finds a dropped sausage.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/Castaic%2010-23-09/IMG_0963.jpg
Surely, we'll catch them here.
And we blanked there too. Like fools, we watched as the boat on the OTHER side of use now reeled in fish. The Trout Only guy cruised by the buoy line, trolling in his Crestliner, whose stern rode low in the water from the weight of multiple striper limits. Eventually, we packed it in, trolling some new patterns back to the marina as a sort of Hail Mary pass.
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/AnglerBob/Castaic%2010-23-09/IMG_0966.jpg
Trolling @ 120 knots, this float plane caught as many stripers as we did.
Although the day ended in failure, I learned a lot from the boat-rental guy and from the FNN-ers who answered my call on setting up trolling rigs, so I think when the fish get a little less shad-crazy I’ll be poised to catch some nice ones. I rigged up an old cheap saltwater outfit (7’ Ugly Stick Tiger, Penn 155) with some 50lb braid and it works great for dragging umbrella rigs. Meanwhile, though, there’s a bad stink here, and it ain’t fish.