Brewfish
02-05-2014, 04:00 PM
Went to Castaic on Monday. It was a very interesting day. A major theme for the day was People Are Good! :)
Stopped at Gallions on the way and had the first positive interaction of the day. I bought frozen sardines, nightcrawlers and was hemming and hawing about also getting lugworms. The gentleman behind the counter said "Tell you what. I'll give you a discount on the lugs." Thanks dude!
I got to the lake just minutes after it opened and was surprised to see NO BOATS THERE. Kinda spooky. I launched, turned right and spent the first 30 minutes slow trolling a swimbait on the surface, hoping for a biggun'. Nothing doing. During that time I see two other boats launch. Went to Necktie area and tried the B&W. To tell the truth, this was my first trip to Castaic since Necktie turned on and I was hoping that some other boats would be there to show me the general area, but there was no one around. I ended up fishing some minor marks just outside of Necktie, on the Kong Island side, pretty much in front of the old water ski spot, in 35 - 50 feet of water. Is that the right area? Right after I anchored up, the wind machine started. Man, did it suck. Kept getting blown off the anchor. Not a single bite. Went to various spots in Fish Arm, hoping to find a spot with fish and protected enough to let me anchor. No doing. At 2:00, I said the heck with it and decided to bail.
On a whim, I decided to take a quick look in the Fish Arm just for grins. Lo and behold, there was a single boat off Sharon's. I drove over there slowly to say hello. They were pulling anchor as I pulled up. They asked how I was doing and I said thumb's down. Then the Good Samaritan in the other boat saved my day, saying "Try it here. We got about 5 stripers but we gotta go. We're fishing in 70 feet of water." Thank you! Even though it was semi-protected off Sharon's the wind was still blowing so hard it took me about 20 minutes and multiple tries to get the anchor to stick in a place where the boat ended up even close to 70 feet deep. As the boat swung back and forth, the depth changed from 45 feet to 65 feet. But the good news was: there were fish all over!! In the next two hours, I got 7 schoolies and could've had 12 or so except I was goofing around with kastmasters (no bites on lures). The fish ate lugs and nightcrawlers really well, and just nibbled at the 'dines. Nothing big, just decent schoolies. I know you know what they look like, so I'll spare you the photos. Once again, thanks to the Good Samaritan!! I hope karma pays him back big time.
Two more interactions with nice folks: at about 4:45 the lifeguards came by to warn me about the time. They were super nice, and the Ms. Lifeguard of the team was pretty easy on the eyes. Right before they left, she called over: "Just so you know, you are the only boat still out. Enjoy your private lake!" Classy!
I headed for the ramp and it was Victory at Sea. Gnarly waves crashing right at the ramp. I'm wondering how in the hell I'm gonna manage this, when another lifeguard named Jonathan comes running down to help me. He totally hooked me up, jumping in the water to get the boat on the trailer and me on my way home with a smile on my face!
This day restored my faith in mankind and fishkind!
Peace out,
BF
Stopped at Gallions on the way and had the first positive interaction of the day. I bought frozen sardines, nightcrawlers and was hemming and hawing about also getting lugworms. The gentleman behind the counter said "Tell you what. I'll give you a discount on the lugs." Thanks dude!
I got to the lake just minutes after it opened and was surprised to see NO BOATS THERE. Kinda spooky. I launched, turned right and spent the first 30 minutes slow trolling a swimbait on the surface, hoping for a biggun'. Nothing doing. During that time I see two other boats launch. Went to Necktie area and tried the B&W. To tell the truth, this was my first trip to Castaic since Necktie turned on and I was hoping that some other boats would be there to show me the general area, but there was no one around. I ended up fishing some minor marks just outside of Necktie, on the Kong Island side, pretty much in front of the old water ski spot, in 35 - 50 feet of water. Is that the right area? Right after I anchored up, the wind machine started. Man, did it suck. Kept getting blown off the anchor. Not a single bite. Went to various spots in Fish Arm, hoping to find a spot with fish and protected enough to let me anchor. No doing. At 2:00, I said the heck with it and decided to bail.
On a whim, I decided to take a quick look in the Fish Arm just for grins. Lo and behold, there was a single boat off Sharon's. I drove over there slowly to say hello. They were pulling anchor as I pulled up. They asked how I was doing and I said thumb's down. Then the Good Samaritan in the other boat saved my day, saying "Try it here. We got about 5 stripers but we gotta go. We're fishing in 70 feet of water." Thank you! Even though it was semi-protected off Sharon's the wind was still blowing so hard it took me about 20 minutes and multiple tries to get the anchor to stick in a place where the boat ended up even close to 70 feet deep. As the boat swung back and forth, the depth changed from 45 feet to 65 feet. But the good news was: there were fish all over!! In the next two hours, I got 7 schoolies and could've had 12 or so except I was goofing around with kastmasters (no bites on lures). The fish ate lugs and nightcrawlers really well, and just nibbled at the 'dines. Nothing big, just decent schoolies. I know you know what they look like, so I'll spare you the photos. Once again, thanks to the Good Samaritan!! I hope karma pays him back big time.
Two more interactions with nice folks: at about 4:45 the lifeguards came by to warn me about the time. They were super nice, and the Ms. Lifeguard of the team was pretty easy on the eyes. Right before they left, she called over: "Just so you know, you are the only boat still out. Enjoy your private lake!" Classy!
I headed for the ramp and it was Victory at Sea. Gnarly waves crashing right at the ramp. I'm wondering how in the hell I'm gonna manage this, when another lifeguard named Jonathan comes running down to help me. He totally hooked me up, jumping in the water to get the boat on the trailer and me on my way home with a smile on my face!
This day restored my faith in mankind and fishkind!
Peace out,
BF