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View Full Version : Newbie Striper Slayer--Castaic dam (11/8 am)



dkinla
11-09-2013, 02:00 PM
well, I had Friday off, so I invited my cousin out for her 1st ever fishing trip... couldn't believe she never went fishing before, but was hoping I would be able to get her on some striped bass at Castaic lake off of the dam.

We get to the lake around 6:30am, and her 1st lesson of the day was how to be a good fishing Sherpa :LOL:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/01D54299-FCC1-4880-B178-4266463966E8-4880-000005EEC40AC024_zps731ca96e.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/01D54299-FCC1-4880-B178-4266463966E8-4880-000005EEC40AC024_zps731ca96e.jpg.html)

we started the long walk across the dam, and by the time we got 1/2 way across, could already see there were a BUNCH of people fishing already towards the far end :Shocked:

well, we settle down a little after the 1/2 way mark, and setup our gear... We had 3 setups with either nightcrawlers/bloodworms. I had some old sardines, but didn't end up using them. Gave her some tips/pointers and settled in.

the waiting game... weather was pretty brisk in the am, with a slight breeze.. no heavy weeds along the shoreline, but I think there's a decent band of weeds deep about 25' out or so that you could get snagged in

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/14FDA4B1-53BA-44FA-B239-BE23556C3471-4880-000005EECF9DEB92_zps1f299c4c.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/14FDA4B1-53BA-44FA-B239-BE23556C3471-4880-000005EECF9DEB92_zps1f299c4c.jpg.html)


About 10 minutes in the water, and see my line indicator jump and hit the guide, so FISH ON! She quickly got the rod/reel and started her 1st ever battle! :LOL:

here's the shaky video I shot of her first ever fish... the BEST part of this vid is just a few seconds in when you see the surprised look on her face and vocal comment when she feels a little drag pulling action... man that's priceless :LOL: :LOL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8RLi2iG_8

she and I were both laughing so hard cause she didn't really want to hold the fish with her thumb/fingers, but this was her first fish:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/EA23CC5F-BC3D-40D5-91A8-450DDB0129E9-5324-0000065A40BA71BB_zps24f05309.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/EA23CC5F-BC3D-40D5-91A8-450DDB0129E9-5324-0000065A40BA71BB_zps24f05309.jpg.html)

once she composed herself a little better... a better shot, and not too shabby for her 1st striped bass :Wink:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/019FDDD1-1C9B-4238-B364-514D9377A53F-5324-0000065A484EA7EA_zpsaa56d5cd.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/019FDDD1-1C9B-4238-B364-514D9377A53F-5324-0000065A484EA7EA_zpsaa56d5cd.jpg.html)

well, we started to get a pretty steady bite the whole morning, which kept me and her busy... more action shots:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/DF856CFB-1803-4C82-B0A6-0FB4EB762C79-4880-000005EEFDB528A4_zps36ed9cf8.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/DF856CFB-1803-4C82-B0A6-0FB4EB762C79-4880-000005EEFDB528A4_zps36ed9cf8.jpg.html)

here's another quick vid of another one of her striped bass battles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjhZj63-J6A

Not sure which striper was which, but here's a decent schoolie size she caught:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/172711CF-FFD2-4145-9CF0-717681785ABD-4880-000005EEEFBF0E65_zpsa3575eac.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/172711CF-FFD2-4145-9CF0-717681785ABD-4880-000005EEEFBF0E65_zpsa3575eac.jpg.html)

and a quick vid of maybe the same striper (?)... she got better at holding the fish :LOL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWyXpKW8DeQ

this was one of the smaller ones, but had a fellow fisherman take this shot for us:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/CC9437D1-C69C-4FDA-8242-D2CE514BE204-4880-000005EEDAA40525_zps9299fce3.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/CC9437D1-C69C-4FDA-8242-D2CE514BE204-4880-000005EEDAA40525_zps9299fce3.jpg.html)

the action was pretty steady for the first 2 hrs I say... she definitely got spoiled by all the action! and she was pretty good about putting the worms on the hooks as well :Wink:

There were maybe 75 people along the dam... not quite as many as the weekend before, but definitely way more than the past few months. I did see a couple guys bring in maybe 7-8# stripers on flyline sardines.

but there was a lull in the action for a bit to relax:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/CB6B5913-55D7-45D9-94C2-C38A037ACBCC-4880-000005EF05D2AD88_zps707c5508.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/CB6B5913-55D7-45D9-94C2-C38A037ACBCC-4880-000005EF05D2AD88_zps707c5508.jpg.html)

She ended up catching 9 striped bass for the am... nothing too big... all schoolie size, but I think she had a great time! Yes, after watching the vids now, I see that she's not holding the rod/reel correctly, but I'll let her know next time :Wink: didn't realize it as I was too busy filming/netting :LOL:

so we headed back to the car around 11am or so, and went down to the cleaning station. She was a trooper! helped me clean the fish too!

here's the damage from the am... 9 schoolies!

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/B6D48170-6AA7-4B56-B893-B3CFFAF06DD9-4880-000005EF1336B43D_zps8736eb28.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/B6D48170-6AA7-4B56-B893-B3CFFAF06DD9-4880-000005EF1336B43D_zps8736eb28.jpg.html)

quick vid of her striper slayfest :LOL: :LOL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBy0HC4msTM

this was the most number of stripers I ever caught from shore at Castaic... was a great am out to catch up with my cousin Michelle. Missed a few bites, and she lost a couple more near the shore as well.

anyways, headed back home and dropped off some fish for my coworker, and she took some home to share with her parents as well.

what better way to celebrate than to enjoy some albacore belly, yellowtail, etc. at Sugarfish in Studio City :Wink:

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/dkinla/22D6AB5A-3630-4507-BF87-161A4227AFD9-4880-000005EF1A640577_zpsb5af7975.jpg (http://s654.photobucket.com/user/dkinla/media/22D6AB5A-3630-4507-BF87-161A4227AFD9-4880-000005EF1A640577_zpsb5af7975.jpg.html)


*update* here's a short vid of a striper that broke her off coming in... one splash... and off it went. At least she has the classic "the one that got away" story as well :LOL: She was still talking about losing this one while we were having lunch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0xbCPu6Z1E (heartbreak!)

(was probably my fault for not changing the leader out... might've had a nick or something... but shhhhh, don't tell her :Wink:)

thanks for reading guys...

bassmeister
11-09-2013, 02:09 PM
Nice, first trip and already a veteran. Her smile tells the whole story.

catchingsomefish
11-09-2013, 02:11 PM
Congratulations on the striper catches, that's awesome for her first ever trip, of course you have ruined her as far as other species go, once you have had a taste of mr stripey, and the way they fight, you pretty much don't want anything else, lol...................good job..................Dave

MikesOcean
11-09-2013, 02:43 PM
Good stuff dkinla! Her smile is worth a million bucks!

Great videos too!

I don't know who was more excited! Keep it up and fun read!

cutbait
11-09-2013, 03:52 PM
Good job there DK.

She looks very happy and a future repeat trip.

You did well

dkinla
11-09-2013, 04:35 PM
thx for the nice comments guys... she's still talking about the trip! haha... I might have to loosen up the drag a little more next time!!


*update* here's a short vid of a striper that broke her off coming in... one splash... and off it went. At least she has the classic "the one that got away" story as well :LOL: She was still talking about losing this one while we were having lunch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0xbCPu6Z1E (heartbreak!)

(was probably my fault for not changing the leader out... might've had a nick or something... but shhhhh, don't tell her :Wink:)

koifish
11-09-2013, 08:54 PM
Nice pictures Danny. look like you have a great time.