That sucks you've had so many problems with your Castaic's. I guess I usually lose mine before I have anything go wrong with them. x(
I tend to use my floating Castaic's (pre-snap version) for trolling primarily, I like the eratic action. Don't overlook the sinking or slow sinking 8" Castaic's, they are fairly cheap in price and pretty durable. I like bouncing the sinkers on the bottom, and the slow sinkers should work well for an under the surface steady retrieve.

Pencil popper's around any inlet or current areas could be good as well.