Heat Is On @ Castaic Lagoon

[AnglerBob]

Quick trip Wednesday for some freshwater action. Had tried to go two weeks ago but boating on lagoon and main lake totally closed due to wind. Today it was dead still and rapidly warming. Wouldn’t say it was crowded but definitely some people out there. It takes me a while to rig out my yak so I beached it in a sandy area and moved the car as to not keep others waiting.

I marked fish mostly around 10’ depth and suspended in deeper water. However, there were bluegill in very shallow water and they were schooling with small bass. Occasionally larger bass would cruise through this very shallow water. I started with blue roboworm and caught one small-ish bass in the shallows. Couldn’t get another. Most of the bluegill looked pretty small but there were a few larger ones and I thought it might be fun to try them. I had nightcrawlers but nothing bit on them. I switched to a minijig but couldn’t fish it well in the extreme shallows. I found an old trout mouse tail and I gave that a shot. Fish were hitting it but the ball freaked them out so I cut it off and just use the orange worn part. Bingo. Bluegill and small bass both hit. I tried fishing it a little deeper to see if I could pick up any roaming bass that might be hemming them in. This worked. Casting near the dock I picked up a nicer fish maybe a hair under two pounds. Fought like a monster on the minijig rod.

Water temps started around 74 and rose to 80 as the day went on. In search of bigger fish, I hit several more spots on the lake including the buoy line and the areas near the fishing pier. Lots of metered fish on points and underwater humps but the action was dwindling, probably due to the extreme heat.

Packed it in @ 12:30 as it was an inferno. For anyone making the trip I'd recommend super-small finesse tackle, long casts and lots of patience. Nice lake for kayaking, super clean water.