Lake Pleasant, Castle Creek Ramp, Saturday Nov 16
Striped Bass! We have a fun day trip planned to Lake Pleasant. Plan on meeting at the Castle Creek Boat ramp at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 16. Please note that the Castle Creek boat ramp is NOT the main entrance to Lake Pleasant, so use your favorite map application to find the boat ramp and the best route. Also be aware that there is an entrance fee, I believe that it is $7/vehicle plus $2 for a non motorized boat or $4 for one with a motor. If you have a small motor to put on your kick boat, you may want to bring it along, as the better fishing area is a pretty long row from the ramp. You may also prefer to bring a power boat if you own one.
In 2023 we also caught some pretty hefty (2-3 pound!!!) white bass, which have the same type of horizontal stripes as a striped bass, but are more "pan fish" shaped. There is also the possibility of catching largemouth bass and crappie.
Tackle recommendations are straightforward--use the rod and line you use for fishing Rocky Point, Mexico! For me, that is an 8 weight rod matched with a 300-400 grain sink tip line. A Rio "Striper" or an Orvis "Depth Charge" are two examples. For flies, big streamers that imitate a thread fin shad are perfect. A 2-2.5 inch long plastic helmet head with a gray top and a white bottom works well, and the same length chartreuse and white Clouser should work as well. Sturdy leaders with 1X-3X fluorocarbon tippets will allow you to flip over these heavy flies and land some hefty stripers.
A fish finder is also a handy accessory. Often times the stripers school in open water, and if you can spot them on a finder you have a better chance of catching them compared to casting blindly in open water.