i had a few hours to fish this morning and knew the wind was going to start blowing *sometime* from the direct north. Bypassed bothering the horny LMB and went directly to the stripers at the north end. Froze my butt off along with 2 other boats, but each boat got at least 1 striper by the time i unhitched at 8:30. mine was 5-6lbs on cut anchovy and his filets are now freezing solid for a sunday brunch.

The stiff breeze turned into something a little more than that...quickly. :o Riding in on 1-2' windswells spaced about 10' apart in my 12' gregor was quite the fun (& wet) ride. The park ranger helped me at the dock. Thanks alot, Mr Ranger. :) :) :)

Glad to hear that you got in OK..When you said 'north end' do you mean the buoy line?

yep. i was in 95' of water and the other 2 boats were towards shore.

One more question..How big of an outboard do you have on your 12 and how long did it take you to get in?..just wondering in that type of conditions..I haven't been to Castaic since November..

I was not even allowed in...
Ranger shut it down...
He stated that the wind was to bad for an 11' boat...
I ended up headung to Puddingstone Lake...
Got skunked there but it showed potential for nice size bass...

they used to hold everyone off the lake until about an hour after sunrise when north winds were predicted. if the winds didn't show up, they'd let everybody on the lake.

I have a 20hp merc. it has plenty of guts for slow-down then speed-up then slow-down again. a single digit outboard would have been a long & bobbing ride in. I usually fish the fishing arm or pyramid this time of year. this was my first experience in these conditions. (hopefully my last)

I have been out on those rental boats before when the wind really made things sour. And scary. I almost capsized with a swell hitting me from the side dropping some water in. WOE! :o I always try and fight the waves head on even if I make my ride a longer haul.

What is the length of those rentals??

>What is the length of those rentals??

maybe 14'? but with one of those, you can just gun it up on the ramp. :o you dont have to dock, back down the truck and get it on the trailer. There's been a lot of sunk boats at the docks at castaic over the years just because of that particular type of wind. I've had some water ski buddies who have had a rider drive their trucks around from the main ramp to the west ramp to retrieve the boat.

Is it better at the west ramp for retrieving a boat when the winds are strong? It seems like the waves can be more turbulent at the main ramp?

when the wind blows directly in from the ski arm - head-on to the main ramp docks, yes. when it comes from the fishing arm, or off the ocean, the main ramp docks are pretty much protected.