BAITS BIGGER, BETTER IMPROVEMENTS HELP FISHERMEN.

Byline: Randy van Vliet Special to the Daily News

With water temperatures reaching a comfortable range for trout, local waters such as Castaic Lake are being planted for put-and take-style fishing.

I recently tried to get in on some of this style of fishing and discovered how well big baits, most of which are made in California, can perform.

Equipment consists of a 7 1/2-to-8-feet-long rod rated for 2-to-6 ounce lures, a good bait-casting reel such as a Calcutta 700 or a Daiwa 30SL, 25- pound test of your favorite brand line and your favorite big bait. You need this heavy of equipment because the weight of these baits can break lighter rods.

A key to big baits is where in the water column the fish are feeding. If there are boils on the water's surface and rainbow trout are jumping in front of the swirls, a lure or bait that swims on or near the surface is the ticket to getting bit. Casting in front of the melee with something such as a Castaic Soft bait, Generic trout, MS Slammer or an Osprey and using a stop-and-go retrieve can yield bone-jarring takes. The bait manufacturers are constantly upgrading, modifying and improving their products, and it shows.

Pat Buckley of Buckley Big Bass Guide Services at Castaic Lake was recently using a prototype of the Osprey Talon, due out this week. It is called the Inline, and it really helps with saving a bait from being torn up after the take of a big fish. By allowing the hook to separate from the bait and slide up the line, similar to the way a plastic worm slides up the line on a largemouth bass Carolina or Texas rig, the bait gets less chewed up on the bite.

Mike Shaw of MS Slammers has also worked on improving his bait. Shaw's latest creation is a wooden plug that features a Plexiglas lip and a new purple and black paint job. Similar to a Rapala jointed floater, but scaled up considerably in size with a realistic rubber tail, the action from the tail, in combination with the jointed has been known to cause many a striper to mistake it for another stocked trout.

Opinions vary as to whether you should throw a soft bait or a hard bait. The hard baits are quite durable, lasting as long as you can keep from losing them. The down side is that the fish feels that hardness in its mouth on the take, so the time frame for setting the hook with the lure is much shorter before they figure out the bait is bogus.

The soft baits, according to Steve Harner of Osprey Lures, have a more natural trout feel in the Stripers mouth, causing them to hold the bait longer, actually trying to swallow it.

Buckley has been consistently doing well on the stripers this last week. If you are interested in trying this style of fishing, he can be reached at [phone].

Uma-X Trading Company handles Generic trout, MS. Slammers and Osprey Talons in the event these big baits are not available at your local tackle shop. They can be reached at [phone] or at www.umaxco.com for information on availability.

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Photo:

Jerry Rago landed this 15-pound striped bass on a Generic trout hard bait while trolling at Castaic lake.

Randy van Vliet/Special to the Daily News