We're catching some great trout on Shasta Lake this week!
Shasta Lake is really fishing great right now! We are seeing limits of big rainbows and browns daily and theres no chance of things slowing down anytime soon. We are digging deep for these fish in the warm waters of Shasta, but anything below 70' feet is producing good numbers of fish! I'm running Mack's Lure tackle for these trout and honestly, theres no need to use anything else. 4" Sling Blade or Double D dodgers with UV tape are a top producer and a shad pattern Humdinger or Criplure tied on a 3' foot leader behind the dodger will definitely get bites. I have been trolling 4 rods at about 1.5-2.0 mph to get most of my bites. I'm also kicking the motor out of gear after hooking up and we're seeing doubles and triple hook ups as the dodgers fall behind the down rigger weights. The fishing is really good folks and now is the time to get on Shasta to catch limits of these great fish.
Limits of Whiskeytown lake Kokanee salmon this week!
Whiskeytown Lake is also producing limits of great Kokanee salmon to 17" inches. Its go time on this lake as the quality of these great fish begins to diminish in mid September as they prepare to spawn in late October when we typically see the first good rain periods. The fishing is good at the green bridge and in the Whiskey Creek arm right now. I expect this area to just get better from here on out. Deep in the Whiskey Creek arm, I'm starting my troll 45' feet deep. As I make my way out into the channel, I'll drop down to as much as 65' feet to consistently get bites. In the main body, I'm dropping two rods at 65' feet and two at 63'. There is a tight bite window and you'll find that once you find it, the fish will come a lot quicker. I'm running Mack's Lure UV Sling Blades and an assortment of Mack's hoochies and wedding ring lures. Use a .8" smile blade above your hoochie for more bites. Lures that have their own action can be run on longer leaders, but I like the hoochie rigs to be around 8" inches from the top of the bait rig. Don't forget to marinate with some garlic scent, krill powder, or oil canned tuna on your shoe peg corn. Some days it makes a world of difference to have a few different scent smells for these Kokanee. I'll be booking Kokanee trips through mid September and still have a few available dates if you would like to load the cooler with Kokanee or would just like to learn more about how to effectively fish Whiskeytown Lake. Tight lines!
