Quality rainbows and browns are being caught daily on Shasta Lake!

We’ve been fishing Shasta Lake this week waiting for the Sacramento River salmon bite to pick up. With zero rain in the forecast, Shasta Lake is definitely the best option for catching some great trout here in the north state. Water conditions are excellent, and although levels are down, water temperatures are cooler than normal already for this time of the year. We’re catching a majority of our trout trolling small spoons behind inline side planers. Some of the water we’re fishing is fairly shallow so getting the gear away from the boat is critical. Trolling speeds are ranging from 2.8 mph to 3.2 mph since winter trout seem to prefer a faster trolled spoon. Good spoon colors have been UV blue, blue/white, black/white, and rainbow colors. Fly patterns such as the Jay Fair trolling flies are a great choice too! Trolling them on 2-5 color 27 lb lead core lines behind an action disc is really productive most days. Try tipping the flies with a small piece of nightcrawler, some days the trout can’t resist them. I recommend the flies that coincide with our fall colors, such as, red’s, orange , rust, and sometimes black and whites. One of the small things that seem to make a big difference is the copper tinsel the Jay Fair trolling flies have tied into them. The Jay Fair flies can be purchased online at trollingflies.com and there are lots of great tips for fishing them on that site. We’re booking Shasta Lake trout trips all winter, spring, and most of the summer through August. In addition to our trout trips, we are fishing for King and or Kokanee salmon starting in the spring. We are looking forward to another great year on Shasta Lake and will be looking forward to fishing with all of our great clients again this year!

Capt. Jeff Goodwin