Castaic Lagoon in Kayak

[crazyfisherlady]

Hello Everyone,
I'm fairly new here and learning a lot about my new obsession--fishing. My daughter got me back into it a couple years ago.

I am the proud owner of a new fishing kayak and I've been getting it ready for it's first voyage. I need to start out at a place that's low key without a lot of boat traffic and also a place that will inspect the kayak upon arrival. For example, at Casitas you have to have it tagged, quarantined, and stored there (unless you have a special kayak trailer for the tagging), which basically makes using a kayak there impossible unless you want to put up with that. I think the Castaic lagoon might be the right spot to try out the kayak and get comfortable. Does anyone here fish from kayak there or any other small vessel?

Also, I seem to recall that Castaic is stocking. I assume they also stock the lagoon?

I actually like to fish up at Cachuma and am so disappointed about the turn of events there with the halting of the trout stock. Have there been any developments with that? Cachuma also doesn't require a tag for a kayak and will inspect upon arrival. I was hoping to make that my "home" water but the lack of stocking program there might change things for me.

Thanks for any input and happy fishing.

Crazyfisherlady

[shinbob]

Welcome to kayak fishing! It's a blast!

The lagoon is a good place to try out the kayak, but perhaps not so good for fishing, especially at this time of year. They haven't stocked it with trout in years. But it's nice and small, and not a lot of boat traffic at all. That's where I went when I first got my kayak, and it's a fun place to explore the shoreline.

They've been stocking the upper lake with trout, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it for a beginner kayaker -- when the wind picks up it gets hairy.

My recommendation is for Pyramid. Although it's a large lake with a lot of boat traffic, if you stay in the marina area, it's practically a little pond that doesn't get affected by the wind too much. They stock it, so you have an excellent chance to catch trout and stripers. And there's a 5mph speed limit in the marina, so you won't get waked too much (but still keep an eye out)

Too bad about the Cachuma trout plant situation, I don't think that's going to change in the very near future. But it's still a great place to go kayaking, especially starting in the spring, where you can target the bass and panfish. Lots of fun little coves to explore.

[crazyfisherlady]

Thanks Shinbob for the recommendation about Pyramid and some thoughts on the lagoon. Are there other places around So Cal that you like for freshwater kayak fishing?

[shinbob]

To be honest, my absolute favorite place to kayak fish is the Eastern Sierras. Incredible scenery, clean, clear, cold water, and lots of fish to catch. Lake Mamie is almost tailor-made for kayaking, as it's a shallow lake with crystal clear water. Go out first thing on a calm morning - paradise! It's like kayaking on glass. Gull and Silver lakes are also awesome, as well as the Virginia lakes, Lake Mary, Mammoth Twin lakes, I could go on and on.

But you asked about SoCal, in the Northern area I think Pyramid and Castaic Lagoon are the best bets. Piru is kind of a mud hole right now, and they don't plant trout there either. Further south, Irvine Lake is a lot of fun. Big Bear is also great, I like the area around Grout Bay.

You should also consider saltwater harbors. By far my favorite is Newport, especially the upper bay nature reserve. Wonderful place to kayak, lots of things to see, and you can catch plenty of fish in the harbor. The planes taking off overhead from John Wayne can be a bit of a distraction, though.

[exfactor]

you could always go to Los Caneros pond off of fairview turnoff in Goleta. A small pond that has pretty easy access, and is close by. And, decent bass and panfishing. No inspection, no traffic, no fees

[Ifishtoolittle]

To be honest, my absolute favorite place to kayak fish is the Eastern Sierras. Incredible scenery, clean, clear, cold water, and lots of fish to catch. Lake Mamie is almost tailor-made for kayaking, as it's a shallow lake with crystal clear water. Go out first thing on a calm morning - paradise! It's like kayaking on glass. Gull and Silver lakes are also awesome, as well as the Virginia lakes, Lake Mary, Mammoth Twin lakes, I could go on and on.

But you asked about SoCal, in the Northern area I think Pyramid and Castaic Lagoon are the best bets. Piru is kind of a mud hole right now, and they don't plant trout there either. Further south, Irvine Lake is a lot of fun. Big Bear is also great, I like the area around Grout Bay.

You should also consider saltwater harbors. By far my favorite is Newport, especially the upper bay nature reserve. Wonderful place to kayak, lots of things to see, and you can catch plenty of fish in the harbor. The planes taking off overhead from John Wayne can be a bit of a distraction, though.

Negative on upper newport. You can certainly kayak up there, but you can only fish from shore.

[crazyfisherlady]

Exfactor, thanks for the info on the little lake in Goleta. I looked it up and it looks lovely. A nice spot to check out sometime and no too far either.

[bendopolo2004]

Caneros is almost empty...

[HBAR]

not really a great place to fish (unless they happen to stock that day or the next, you can thank all the dang poachers for that one), but Hansen Dam is a 9 acre water hole that's perfect to practice/getting use to the kayak. There are some bass in there and possibly a catfish or two, but it's only 14 ft deep all around. There are no fee's, inspections but the "bay watch" rejects will require you to wear your PFD.