Castaic Lake Fishing Guide Report 11/15/2016 – Good numbers of largemouth and smallmouth bass continue to be the hot deal at Castaic Lake in Castaic California for our fishing guide service. The numbers are good and most of the fish are on the small side but there's good numbers of small bass in fairly shallow water in the newly flooded brush throughout Castaic Lake. Small plastic worms and shad invitations are without question the best technique and we highly recommend the split shot technique with these baits. A spinning rod with 6 or 8 pound test line and small shad invitations should provide you with the best success. The striper fishing remains tricky. One day they come up breaking and we have some excellent fishing and then it's 4 or 5 days and we don't see any type of surface activity at all. You have to remember this lake received a tremendous amount of water in a short period of time and all of that flooded brush and the gasses that come off of trees and bushes that are submerged in the water really messes with the pH level of the lake. The pH level is the controlling factor of how aggressive fish will be in the water. When pH levels are between 6.8 and 7.2 they offer the fish the greatest ability to absorb oxygen through the water and move and generate good fishing. When pH levels are below 6.8 or above 7.2 it's difficult for fish to absorb oxygen through the water. The longer the brush stays under the water the less gases it will release and the better the fishing will be. As we spoke about last week there was a trout plant which is promising news and were expecting another one any day. People always ask do I know when trout plants will happen in reality no one knows any longer when they will happen. The Department of Fish and Wildlife really doesn't want anyone to know even lake personnel on many occasions because they do not want people to be crowded on the ramp where they can hardly back there truck up to make the trout plant. Text messaging and Twitter really changed the world of fish planting and when it happens, It's mostly done anonymously and very few people ever know when the actual day of a trout plant will happen. With a steady band of cool temperatures in front of us anglers interested in going fishing can call or text me directly at 818-439-1154 for more information or you can book your fishing trip online by clicking the book online button that you see on our page. Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.