May on Shasta Lake has been an up and down affair, but overall the fishing is off to a good start. All the negative press on water levels at Shasta Lake should be ignored when it comes to the affects it will have on the fishing this summer. Water wars and propaganda from special interest groups always paint a grim picture during low water years. The fish in Shasta don’t know the water is low and its just another summer season of their lifecycle. The fishing will be good again this year. The pic below was taken a few days ago and shows we have over 350’ of water currently in many areas of Shasta Lake.

Screen shot over the main channel on Shasta Lake on 05/23

The presence of a spawning class of Kokanee this year definitely adds opportunities for catching an additional species each day to add to the list of fish we catch in Shasta Lake. The rainbow trout showed up in May like they do most years, and the brown trout tapered off a bit which is pretty normal as well. The King salmon didn’t make much of a showing this May, but they normally don’t start biting in numbers until mid June through July when the King fishing is at its best. With ton’s of Shad in the lake this year, we should see a strong spawn and the trout and salmon will be gorging on baby Shad all summer. When they start to key in on the Shad, the bite gets really good!

We have 3 guides working Shasta Lake again this summer so we can generally accommodate most trip requests. We have lots of room in July and August before we all switch to river salmon fishing in the fall. I would say now is a good time to book your Shasta Lake summer fishing trip.

- Captain Jeff Goodwin