Casitas fishing help

[bassinator]

going down to casitas this weekend. wondering how it has been and what to use. also what are some good swimbaits to use down there?

[oakview]

As for the bite...I believe the lake is turning over...So for me the bite has slowed down...THey did stock trout but only 600lbs which is a small amount...I checked all over the lake today, couldn't find'em...If you are going to throw swimbaits...I would say the Huddleston...the lake has dropped atleast one foot if not more in the last four days...So most of the fish are off the bank...If you want to try a floater...3:16, rago or BBZ...

I recommend a shad net...there are some huge bait balls in different parts of the lake...I counted 12 different bait balls today...they were huge...

If not live shad...use our depth finder and go deeper...10 to 40ft of water...both texas rigged and drop-shot...

Anyway, I hope this helps

David Roberson
Orso Swimbait Co.

[Kelly Ripa]

Bites been tough for me. Jigs in 25-40 feet of water and spoons from 20 to 50...I wouldn't suggest you waste your time with swimbaits if you are not already very adept at throwing them and already knew what you were going to throw as the locals pound this little piece of water all week long and the fish tend to get lock jaw on the weekends. Good luck and post a report. I will be out for a very few hours Friday morning and will post a report but the weather is going to be messing around as it has already begun to blow like crazy in Santa Barbara but not here in Ojai yet.

Rip

[DougH]

Dang Rip, I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, but I do, and we're gunna size Daves boat up behind my truck. I think it sits a touch higher than his truck. It's all about Havasu right now baby!

If it was me, I'd do exactly as the Ripper suggested. I heard the spoon bite is getting slower too, but I'd still drop it if I saw some big arches on ledges...

Something tells me the Rip will have a spoon story for us very soon.....

[Rob Cummings]

Doug...you drop it everytime you see big arches...this weekend shoud be nothing different

[Lance]

Funny, I never thought DougH was a dollar menu kinda guy

[DougH]

I just love those golden arches on my color graph! Big McFish to go please !

[Rob Cummings]

I meant he drops his pants when sees poolman's "arch"

[Kelly Ripa]

Actually you'd be hard pressed to see any arches guys....The biguns are right on the bank. I sent Bassinator a P.M......bummer about the wind but I scared the crap out of not one but two big fish today by making a crappy cast and landing 4 feet from the bank which caused the first one to leave the bank with a swirl bigger than my motorguide can push and the second while I was shaking a buzzbait out of a bush. The second one was truely spectacular and must have been as big as a mule for all the ruckus she made leaving the area. I just don't want to fish big baits all day and am somewhat confused about Casitas. It's pretty rare to catch 20 odd fish (for me at least) in a day here. It's true I have had some better days for size at Casitas but the numbers game eludes me here. Next week I'll be at Cachuma and I'm going to whack'm good. No size but I'll be able to catch them on just about any technique I choose. I conducted some experiments today trying to pin down the personality traits of these floridas here and I came up with a big zero so far as to why I can catch them on a spoon here but with a strange twist as to how. I have spent an hour screw'n around with my meter and I haven't pinned this part down either. I'm not lov'n the new home waters but I suppose if I huck 9 ounces all day I would have more to show for my day than three 2 pound fish. For me it's a tough call. Empty the boat and bring out the big bait or sit down and try to figure this little pond out. Casitas (to me) fishes very, very small and for sure the fish'n is better midweek....I just need to keep fish'n I 'spect as it's the only solution to my questions. I don't mind it being a tough nut but man I've never been on a lake where the bigger fish are more predictable than the smaller ones. I wonder where I'll be next year this time.....fish'n the morning wood all day or ????????


Rip

[Rob Cummings]

Kelly...welcome to the Dead Sea!! Just put all your fairy wands back in the garage and just take a swimbait rod only. Learn it, live it, love it!

[mark poulson]

Rob,
How's the jig bite right now?

[Kelly Ripa]

Jig bites on and off Mark browns in color and having a rattle seems to matter also as DougH kicked my bass last week and I did'nt get a bite but when I put on the rattle type jig I had better luck....

I'm an old man Rob...Tossing swimbaits isn't as fun as it used to be ....It's rare for me to use a fairy wand as it is but power fishing here isn't like the rest of the world. Somehow I think my chatterbaits will never see water here ...Just have to get a smaller wood bait....But the two fish I surprised yesterday would have snapped 15 pound test in an instant so I'll have to keep the big stick with the 25 pound if I want to actually land one of those brutes.

Rip

[DougH]

I'll be unvieling my new jig line at Havasu next week...
can you say ....niiiiiice!! and no Rip, they aren't hair.....yet

[Rob Cummings]

I dunno about the jig bite Mark, it's been over a month since I've thrown anything other than a swimbait up there. From what I see and hear the jig bite is pretty good.

[Oldschool]

This is my 2 cents worth;
The lake has a definate 18 to 20 foot thermocline and is not turning over. You may be seeing some decaying vegetation raising. The surface temperatures are around the 70 degrees and the bait is schooling up for the colder water period.
Was there a 2 weeks ago and the bite was good on the points and around the marina area with shad schools on spoons with a few bass going between 6 to 9 lbs, which was very rare for a Casitas spoon bite. If you were in the marina watching, I was spooning those bass.
The jig bite is up tight in 2 to 10 feet early. Couldn't get anything interested in swimbaits. The hot ticket for the shad bite on the bank is Basstrix Bait Fry 3" flylined. If you don't already have the 3" bait Fry you maybe out of luck as Bruce is running way behind in supplying his excellent products.
Someday the bass fishing community will realize how much damage live bait fishing can be to our small giant bass fisheries. The shad netters are becomming as big of a problem as the tin fleet was in the 90's, soaking crawdads on the big bass locations during prespawn. The law doesn't allow you to net live bait with a boat under power and includes trolling motors.
Tom

[JeffJ]

Hey Kelly the lake can be tough! Just slow down and think BIG! This lake fishes different than any other lake in our area! I will be out there alot next year tying to learn it better!

[Oldschool]

Been fishing Casitas since 1958 and managed to learn a few things over the years. All our lakes are small and receive tremdous fishing pressure. Casitas doesn't have water contact sports, similar to Cachuma, so the bass tune into boat noise and tend to shut off esaily when boats are running around on weekends. Approaching the area queitly and presenting lures inside out or uphill works well because you are not parking on top of the bass trying to return from where they were spooked out of or casting lure right on top of them. Slow also gives the bass time to settle and return to being active. The big thing with Casitas is the short active bite period and you need to be in the right place at the right time when that occurs.
Tom

[some guy]

I havent been to this lake this year, but it sounds like this lake really plays into my style..i should give it a shot. I prefer fishing 30ft and deeper with big slow secrets.