The striper bite has been kickin' ass for me these couple of weeks!!! I don't fish Da Great Castaic but I do fish many striper waters around the northern California area. I do find that if the water clarity is at least 1 foot or more then lures can produce pretty well. Bait? Anchovies, Shad, Pile-worms, and sometimes chicken liver. Personally, I prefer lures. Why? I can cover more water quickly and catch the active fish....o.k. it also makes me feel special.Ha,ha,ha!!! Nah, just kidding. Anyways, although stripers can be caught up on the surface, day in & day out close to the bottom is where the majority of my bites come from. Lures? Swimbaits, big spoons, and rattle-traps. Jerk'm hard most of the time, but steady sometimes. Most bites come as the lure settles. Don't spend too much time in one spot if you want to catch plenty. Move if you haven't got a bite after 10 casts. But if you don't mind waiting them out in a good looking spot then that's o.k. too. Whoah! This post is probably getting too long. Good luck and let me know how you do.