Today arrived at lake at usual time. Things started out bad. I thought I would be smart and take the side plate from my new corsair 400 that I won in the corsair derby and put it on my 200 that has been sucking lately more than ever. Things seemed fine until I realized that the levelwind wasn't moving on about my 2nd cast. Despite being mechanically the same the reels just didn't match up correctly. Tank. So I only had one other rod and it had 20lb on it, no good for crankbait fishing. Tried a 10" power worm half-heartedly for a few minutes and then switched to the Castaic gizzard shad. Ever heard the phrase, " a blessing in disguise? " Well second cast I get bit and land a 3lb 3oz bass. Next cast I'm bit but miss the fish. This was all going on about 100 yards from where I keep my boat in the marina cove. So I worked over the rest of the marina cove and landed four more bass all about 2 and half and missed a couple bites. Very nice... I continued around the corner from the marina cove towards the white oak ramp. Along the way I caught one small one and one about 2lb. Then I drove back to the swimming pool, but it was not all that hot in there and I landed one small one and one about 2 and half pounds. The moon was coming up and the sun was going down so I pulled into the marina cove for the last pass. Right away I farmed a nice bite. Then another nice bite. Rrrrrr, next cast and I got whacked again and connected. Bounced her in the boat and weighed her at 3lb 9oz, very nice again. Next cast (yes they seemed to be coming in bunches) and another about 2 and half pounds. And a few casts later another missed one and that was all that was left of the daylight. <BR>Tips on fishing the Castaic Gizzard shad. <BR>1. Heavy line is good 17lb minimum, I fished 20lb and that seemed about right. <BR>2. Medium retrieve. Not too fast or the lure won't run straight. Fish it steady, no action needed.<BR>3. Try to cast parallel to the weedline, this is easier if there is no one else in the boat so you can acheive proper positioning.<BR>4. Make your boat go the right speed. I tried to put every cast about 20 feet further than the one before. Combine this with how fast you are retrieving and you should be able to find the right speed. <BR>5. If you miss a bite, keep reeling steadily they sometimes come back for it.<P>Special thanks today to Austin who parks his boat by mine, he's the one who turned me on to this bait and it definitely rocks. I would have to call it the AC Minnow of the summertime. He reported getting 5 on it today himself, and has been doing very well on this lure since last year. <P>Oh and #6,<BR>shhhhhhhhhh<P><BR>