Hey Dilbert. It is kinda tuf as a starter. Especially starting with Castaic. Bass fisherman love the place. Although, you gotta have a boat & fish-finder to be more more successful at bass. Plus alot of different lures to choose from (colors, spinners, crankbaits, poppers, plastics, etc.). Trout are just not active right now due to the high temps. They are usually real deep & not very active there. Stripers are more active during Fall. When temps change from hot to cold. A couple of weeks of cooler weather are necessary for water temps to start changing. Then the stripers are on the prowl. Some people can catch stripers now in deep water, but it is really more tuff. Catfish are active now. Blue cats are more so at night. Channel cats can be caught during a.m. or p.m. Right now it is catfish season! Easy shore fishing sometimes. Try Irvine Lake at evening hours. It's $16.00 no fishing license required. Or try Silverwood at Cleghorn. Fish as deep as you could from shore. Use small pieces of Mackeral or thread a nightcrawler through a #2 hook & use some Berkley catfish scent. Castaic seems to be a little tuffer for cats cause there is mostly blue cats there (nocturnal feeders). Hope this helps! Fish on dude!