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Here's a little article I was writing for a message board but thought you guys would appreciate it better....
Ah,.. the Castaic and Pyramid boilers!
Every year starting in mid to late August the conditions start to come around to a magical convergence, when the stripers begin their yearly rampage on the surface at Castaic and Pyramid. The shad population have usually grown to adult size and depending on the summers food supply, (algae and small plankton) they are fat and fast!
(I have netted shad in excess of 4" in length at this time of year at both places) The deep schools of shad that have languished in vast schools grazing on algae begin breaking up into smaller groups and begin moving up the water column pursuing wind driven and ever shrinking algal blooms.
Hmmmm,....
As well, the juvenile stripers and largemouth bass follow and their behavior becomes more aggressive as there food becomes more mobile (difficult to catch) and the element of "schooling" or competitive feeding behaviors comes into play.
Oooo starting to get good.
Then, the shortening days, clearing water, and falling water temps, begin to squeeze everything together near the "ceiling" . The Surface! The stripers begin to herd the shad like cattle to the slaughter....
yeah!,...yeah!,...
Finally, the Trigger.!
Over the years my colleagues and I have noticed that although fishing for stripers and bass during this time, improves in general, and almost any day during this period you will see boiling stripers (and bass), virtually everywhere on the lake, these usually are fleeting moments. Ones and twos, deep boils, deep flashes and a bird or two. The fish are disorganized or the school is small. BUT!!!!,....
When the pressure falls,.. a front is imminent, and the sky clouds over....
The water gets glassy and dark....
The air temp begins cooling....
It is so quiet you can here a fart in the next boat....,
and then...
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!!!!!!!
By far, as I look back, our biggest days striper fishing at Castaic and Pyramid occurred in conditions like these, and year after year it has been the same. Literally acres of crashers, porpoising, some fully out of the water, chasing shad out of the water onto the bank, diving birds, boats full of fishermen ripping around in every direction, casting with abandon in every direction, shore fisherman scrambling over the rocks trying to get an angle for a cast! Hookups as fast as you can put a line on them! MAYHEM!!!
Jeeez, I need to lie down for a minute...,
Ok you get the picture,
As much as I live for the excitement and fun when this happens there is a downside. The MAYHEM!!
When fishing gets this crazy so do the fisherman, and unfortunately, they become their own worst enemy when this happens. Chasing the crashers has become a nasty and dangerous technique where boatloads of fisherman armed with big topwater lures drift about waiting for a breaking school to go off and then blast full throttle straight at the breakers in an attempt to put a cast on them. I have seen as many as 10 or 12 boats at one time charge a school. It's a real mess.
But, there are ways to avoid this disaster and still enjoy the experience. We'll talk about this some other time.
For the tuber, Pyramid is your venue. The marina channel area of the lake is one of the most consistent striper zones on the lake,( but any of the large coves along the east side of the lake are productive, they are just a long kick.), so after you launch here, you really don't need to go far. There are at least a half a dozen key breaking spots in the marina channel where the fish will typically appear many times a day. As well, because the speed limit is 5 mph in the marina there is less chance of you having to compete with other boats when the fish break. This is a good place to start.
Tackle wise you should have your favorite shad imitation topwater lure on, as well as a spoon, ready for the breakers. And then a medium to shallow running lure of your choice to blind cast around or kick troll, while you wait for the schools to break. If you feel like fishing plastics make sure they are open hook rigs.
Casting distance is critical, hence baitcasting rigs, with spoons or spooks are the most popular setups being used. Your hooks must be razor sharp! Stripers are slash biters and missed bites on their part are common. When you make a cast into the breakers 9 times out of 10 you will be on instantly! Make your retrieve as erratic as you can. If you get boiled on but the fish misses, stall for just a second and then continue. Be aware that these fish will pursue your lure right the boat and are notorious for biting very close, so set your drag a bit lighter for those rod tip bites. As a consequence when you do get bit DO NOT SWING!!!! Use the reel and wind until you feel pressure and then strike! A short sharp side swing will do. Usually the fish are only visible on the surface for a few moments. Enough time for a few casts at most. When they go down it is usually over, but keep looking around they may appear a short distance away very quickly.
COUPLE OF TIPS:
1) Have your sh-t together!
When the fish break you have only moments to react so keep your gear organized so you can react cleanly.
2) Don't assume that the breaking fish are your only opportunity. Blind strikes are still the number one way most stripers are caught at Pyramid. (well that and bait)
3) Be quiet! travel as quietly as you can there have been many times when the shad sought refuge under my toon and as a consequence the boil literally started under my butt!
4) match the hatch! These fish are visually keyed on SHAD!!! It is very important that you try to match color and sometimes size.
5) Keep your eyes peeled! There are many clues that you must be aware of that will clue you in as to where the next eruption will occur. Most are structure related. Others like birds, are less obvious. Learn which species are the divers. Sitting birds are almost as good as "working" ones. Look for distressed bait sign. flipping or wrinkling or best of all, a slick. The best giveaway is usually a silent deep boil.
WORD OF CAUTION! :
Stripers are built with long sharp dorsal spines. When you get one close to your boat
be careful! It is best to not lift the fish out of the water. Stripers are also fragile and die easily. You may have to resuscitate them, particularly the big ones.
Over the recent years the average size of the stripers in both lakes has decreased dramatically for a number of reasons and typically you will find that the schoolies range from 2 to 10 pounds. ( in the past it was 8 to 25. Ah the good old days) but fish over 10 are not uncommon.
This type of fishing is ultimately the greatest moment of your fishing career or the most frustrating. It is to my mind the most exciting! Just seeing an acre of stripers blow up will give you the adrenaline rush of a lifetime! But try and be and calm. When the fish go off it is seconds of glory followed by long periods of waiting. The hardest part is staying sharp! And don't lose you attitude even if you don't get one, or you have problems. This is one of the rarest moments in fishing ! Watch ,learn and enjoy. What I have learned is a culmination of years of pursuing this fish. I could almost just sit and watch when they go off. Almost...
Lastly, Stripers are great eating and particularly, at Pyramid, harvesting a few is a good thing.
Anyways, keep checking the weather and I'll see you guys up there....,
PS.
got the word last week, IT'S ON UP THERE!! come on UPS!!!
bodfish
Ah,.. the Castaic and Pyramid boilers!
Every year starting in mid to late August the conditions start to come around to a magical convergence, when the stripers begin their yearly rampage on the surface at Castaic and Pyramid. The shad population have usually grown to adult size and depending on the summers food supply, (algae and small plankton) they are fat and fast!
(I have netted shad in excess of 4" in length at this time of year at both places) The deep schools of shad that have languished in vast schools grazing on algae begin breaking up into smaller groups and begin moving up the water column pursuing wind driven and ever shrinking algal blooms.
Hmmmm,....
As well, the juvenile stripers and largemouth bass follow and their behavior becomes more aggressive as there food becomes more mobile (difficult to catch) and the element of "schooling" or competitive feeding behaviors comes into play.
Oooo starting to get good.
Then, the shortening days, clearing water, and falling water temps, begin to squeeze everything together near the "ceiling" . The Surface! The stripers begin to herd the shad like cattle to the slaughter....
yeah!,...yeah!,...
Finally, the Trigger.!
Over the years my colleagues and I have noticed that although fishing for stripers and bass during this time, improves in general, and almost any day during this period you will see boiling stripers (and bass), virtually everywhere on the lake, these usually are fleeting moments. Ones and twos, deep boils, deep flashes and a bird or two. The fish are disorganized or the school is small. BUT!!!!,....
When the pressure falls,.. a front is imminent, and the sky clouds over....
The water gets glassy and dark....
The air temp begins cooling....
It is so quiet you can here a fart in the next boat....,
and then...
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!!!!!!!
By far, as I look back, our biggest days striper fishing at Castaic and Pyramid occurred in conditions like these, and year after year it has been the same. Literally acres of crashers, porpoising, some fully out of the water, chasing shad out of the water onto the bank, diving birds, boats full of fishermen ripping around in every direction, casting with abandon in every direction, shore fisherman scrambling over the rocks trying to get an angle for a cast! Hookups as fast as you can put a line on them! MAYHEM!!!
Jeeez, I need to lie down for a minute...,
Ok you get the picture,
As much as I live for the excitement and fun when this happens there is a downside. The MAYHEM!!
When fishing gets this crazy so do the fisherman, and unfortunately, they become their own worst enemy when this happens. Chasing the crashers has become a nasty and dangerous technique where boatloads of fisherman armed with big topwater lures drift about waiting for a breaking school to go off and then blast full throttle straight at the breakers in an attempt to put a cast on them. I have seen as many as 10 or 12 boats at one time charge a school. It's a real mess.
But, there are ways to avoid this disaster and still enjoy the experience. We'll talk about this some other time.
For the tuber, Pyramid is your venue. The marina channel area of the lake is one of the most consistent striper zones on the lake,( but any of the large coves along the east side of the lake are productive, they are just a long kick.), so after you launch here, you really don't need to go far. There are at least a half a dozen key breaking spots in the marina channel where the fish will typically appear many times a day. As well, because the speed limit is 5 mph in the marina there is less chance of you having to compete with other boats when the fish break. This is a good place to start.
Tackle wise you should have your favorite shad imitation topwater lure on, as well as a spoon, ready for the breakers. And then a medium to shallow running lure of your choice to blind cast around or kick troll, while you wait for the schools to break. If you feel like fishing plastics make sure they are open hook rigs.
Casting distance is critical, hence baitcasting rigs, with spoons or spooks are the most popular setups being used. Your hooks must be razor sharp! Stripers are slash biters and missed bites on their part are common. When you make a cast into the breakers 9 times out of 10 you will be on instantly! Make your retrieve as erratic as you can. If you get boiled on but the fish misses, stall for just a second and then continue. Be aware that these fish will pursue your lure right the boat and are notorious for biting very close, so set your drag a bit lighter for those rod tip bites. As a consequence when you do get bit DO NOT SWING!!!! Use the reel and wind until you feel pressure and then strike! A short sharp side swing will do. Usually the fish are only visible on the surface for a few moments. Enough time for a few casts at most. When they go down it is usually over, but keep looking around they may appear a short distance away very quickly.
COUPLE OF TIPS:
1) Have your sh-t together!
When the fish break you have only moments to react so keep your gear organized so you can react cleanly.
2) Don't assume that the breaking fish are your only opportunity. Blind strikes are still the number one way most stripers are caught at Pyramid. (well that and bait)
3) Be quiet! travel as quietly as you can there have been many times when the shad sought refuge under my toon and as a consequence the boil literally started under my butt!
4) match the hatch! These fish are visually keyed on SHAD!!! It is very important that you try to match color and sometimes size.
5) Keep your eyes peeled! There are many clues that you must be aware of that will clue you in as to where the next eruption will occur. Most are structure related. Others like birds, are less obvious. Learn which species are the divers. Sitting birds are almost as good as "working" ones. Look for distressed bait sign. flipping or wrinkling or best of all, a slick. The best giveaway is usually a silent deep boil.
WORD OF CAUTION! :
Stripers are built with long sharp dorsal spines. When you get one close to your boat
be careful! It is best to not lift the fish out of the water. Stripers are also fragile and die easily. You may have to resuscitate them, particularly the big ones.
Over the recent years the average size of the stripers in both lakes has decreased dramatically for a number of reasons and typically you will find that the schoolies range from 2 to 10 pounds. ( in the past it was 8 to 25. Ah the good old days) but fish over 10 are not uncommon.
This type of fishing is ultimately the greatest moment of your fishing career or the most frustrating. It is to my mind the most exciting! Just seeing an acre of stripers blow up will give you the adrenaline rush of a lifetime! But try and be and calm. When the fish go off it is seconds of glory followed by long periods of waiting. The hardest part is staying sharp! And don't lose you attitude even if you don't get one, or you have problems. This is one of the rarest moments in fishing ! Watch ,learn and enjoy. What I have learned is a culmination of years of pursuing this fish. I could almost just sit and watch when they go off. Almost...
Lastly, Stripers are great eating and particularly, at Pyramid, harvesting a few is a good thing.
Anyways, keep checking the weather and I'll see you guys up there....,
PS.
got the word last week, IT'S ON UP THERE!! come on UPS!!!
bodfish
