Lake Casitas for a month

[ExBassGuide]

I will be staying in Carpinteria Calif. That is 28 miles from the lake. It looks to be about 2-4,000 acres. It is north of L.A. the lake is about 75 miles north west of L.A.
I am changing jobs and I will be flown to Carpinteria Calif and live there for a month for training before I return to the Portland area.
Does any one have any information on this lake?????
I also picked up a small netbook laptop so I can stay conected with friends and family. The fishing sould be very good the next few weeks!
Roger

[fishnfun]

Try to get in contact with James Smiley (from the other site) I think he lives down there now

[Bassinator]

Always look for fishing guides in the area. Thats how I got a good feel on how to fish clear lake a few years back. Just my 2cents.

[GarySt]

It used to be a good bass fishing lake, but I haven't fished it in 30 years. There is some shoreline to fish, but not a lot. If you get the chance, head over to Ojai on the same road you take to get to Lake Casitas. It's a small but intersting town. There's more than a few Hollywood types that live there, lots of orange and avacado orchards and some good restaurants (like The Ranch House), etc. There's no telling who you might see there. There's also Lake Castaic over near Vallencia (northeast of Magic Mt. off the I-5). It would be a long drive from Carpeneria but that lake had a few State record size bass taken from it. I think it still holds some records. You might google both the lakes for information.

[boblag]

I'm assuming you won't have access to a boat...
It's hard to find a good bank fishing spot there because most of the lake is off limits (from the bank) and the parts that aren't have been fished to death. The lake is extremely pressured and in my experience the bass are very smart. The attraction of course is that there are probably some record-sized bass in there. When I was in that area a couple of years ago I spent most of my time at Cachuma and Piru, which are both pretty close to Carpinteria. If you get the time, I would also suggest a run out to the desert about now; the Colorado River and some of the canals off of it are probably in full fall bite. Let me know if you would like any other info., including exact bank spots. Here's the CA version of ifish:
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/index.php

[ExBassGuide]

Wow This forum has some very helpfull people! I now have offers for maps, phone numbers to people that will be glad to help and maybe even a posible back of the boat trip. and lots of detailed information about the lake and other lakes not too far away. I have to say this forum is awsome with loads of nice, friendly and helpfull bass fishermen. I would just like to say THANK YOU to every one for all the help!!!!!!
Roger

[Bassinator]

Hey lets look at it this way.. We wont have to worry about roger sore lipping all those big fish for a month :) lol

[jcft2007]

Hey Roger,

Also, Casitas, Piru, Cachuma, and Castaic don't alow any float tubes. I know you can tube the Castaic Lagoon. Also Lake Perris is also fun in one. That lake is pretty low now due to Dam issues and repairs.

Good luck, Joel

[MolaJoe]

I grew up fishing all the lakes mentioned here. Lake Casitas is a tough one if you don't have a boat. I've seen some hogs caught from shore, but you are limited to areas that are not the best. My choice is the afterbay at Castaic. (Lagoon) Lots of shore fishing, and most of the locals claim it holds a worlds record, and I don't disagree. I've caught small largemouth to 10 3/4 pounds here from shore.....and yes, I do mean small. I've seen fish to right around 18, and have heard of bigger by guys like Butch Brown who fish this area a lot. Think big! Throw baits that look like the stuff that falls out of the stocking truck, and who knows....Roger, you may be the new world record holder for largemouth!

[Nocturnus]

I grew up fishing all the lakes mentioned here. Lake Casitas is a tough one if you don't have a boat. I've seen some hogs caught from shore, but you are limited to areas that are not the best. My choice is the afterbay at Castaic. (Lagoon) Lots of shore fishing, and most of the locals claim it holds a worlds record, and I don't disagree. I've caught small largemouth to 10 3/4 pounds here from shore.....and yes, I do mean small. I've seen fish to right around 18, and have heard of bigger by guys like Butch Brown who fish this area a lot. Think big! Throw baits that look like the stuff that falls out of the stocking truck, and who knows....Roger, you may be the new world record holder for largemouth!

Castaic holds the world record bass, no doubt about it in my book. My evidence being that I use to work for ABA. On my first tournament, a guy caught (what was then) the second largest bass ever caught in a tournament. She weighed in a little under 21 lbs. Assuming that fish is still alive, she would be about 30 something by now. Although I doubt Florida largemouth live all that long, it gives one pause to think that there was a year class that fish belonged to. And that was back in 92! I would think that means there have potentially been world-record breakers being made in Castaic for at least 15 years. How no one has been able to claim it is beyond me!

-N

[flippinbaits]

dump the 4lb test and the 3 inch senkos...its graduating time :)

good luck down there rog...give me a holler if you have any further questions

[kill2hunt]

i live close to the lake and fish it at least three times a week and do well. i fish robo worms drop shotted and fish very SLOW!!!!! if you go through the main gate and go right follow it to the other campsites and there will be a romote control airplane strip park there and fish to the right in the cove, its deep and the back has alot of cover. i fish light line and feel i get alot more hits, remember there are record fish in the lakes down there and they get hammered by fisherman and they are smart! somedays they just plain have lockjaw! natural colors work the best and lots of the time they are light hitters! dont get disscuraged its not a numbers game usually but the fish are healthy and can be pretty heavy ( i have a 12.9 thats going on the wall) i would be willing to tell you more about other lakes close by that have good fishing some i think are alot better! good luck and hold on!!!!

[BassBware]

hey roger. i'd recommend watching the swimbait posse video. alot of the action is from castaic lake. tuan still has my dvd

[Jrr]

Poodles dipped in flourescent blue dipit dye works great , looks just like a bucket of trout when there swimming around..........:excited::D

Cataic and casitas is where I started using and learned swim baits in the late 80's so those fish have seen everything, point is think out of the box:twocents:

[cherylshusband]

I used to fish there a lot in the 60s - when I was a kid

since I haven't fished it in over 40 years, I suppose it has probably changed a bit, so I have no advice for you

however, good luck and have fun