Photo: Ben Green of Ben Green Insurance with a Lake Castaic update prior to the BBT on February 17 VIDEO BELOW
SoCal anglers, the Castaic Lake action is on and to help with the bite. Best Bass Tournaments (BBT) offers a weekend Lake Blast.
CURRENT CASTAIC CONDITIONS
The forecasted slight chance of rain at Castaic is expected to wait until Sunday to make its appearance, leaving Saturday with sunny skies and air temps in the mid-70’s, with the nighttime lows stable in the mid to high 40’s.
Southerly and southeasterly winds on the lake range from 12 to 18 mph, with the lower end on Saturday,
The lake is currently at 81 percent of total capacity.
READ RELATED: 5 Winter Patterns to Fish McClure
CENTER OF THE WATER COLUMN
Castaic is home to a good population of baitfish. Techniques that present in the center of the water column, where the baitfish school is a good way to target bass.
A dropshot rigged with a longer leader (up to 3-feet from the weight to the hook) will keep the bait off the bottom, higher in the water column and allow the angler to fish that mid-range strike zone for an extended period of time.
The Strike King Dream Shot (shown upper right) would be a perfect soft plastic to nose hook for the dropshot rig.
Due to the clarity in the lake, decreasing the dropshot’s line diameter might be necessary for more bites. Berkley Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon in 6- to 8- pound test would be a good downsized option.
FIND THE FEEDING FISH
Swimbaits like the Berkley Beat Shad (shown lower right) are productive at any depth; however, using your Lowrance Electronics to visually watch for the feeding depth will maximize your potential with the lure.
Using the soft plastic swimbait to swim through the water column at the depth where you have located feeding fish will be a high percentage opportunity. The retrieve speed needs to be adjusted (fast or slow) by the action of the bait.
A couple of practice casts to watch the bait’s movement will help determine this. You don’t want the tail moving so fast or so slow that it loses its intended movement.
Counting down the fall rate of the swimbait on your practice casts will also give you an idea of when your bait is hitting the correct depth so you know when you’re presenting to the target fish that you’ve located.
READ RELATED: Iaconelli on fishing the center of the water column with a Beat Shad when bass are feeding on baitfish in 3 BAITS ON IACONELLIES BOAT RIGHT NOW
The BBT SoCal Region will blast off for competition on Castaic February 17
BBT CASTIAC FEBRUARY 17 EVENT DEETS
Launch: West Ramp
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