Shasta Lake is full!!

We're catching some of the recently planted browns in Shasta Lake like the one pictured from Sunday.
Photo Credit: Captain Jeff Goodwin

by Jeff Goodwin
6-3-2019
Website

I've personally never seen Shasta Lake at the level its been at the past few days, and with a mere 2.5' before it can't hold back any more increases, I'm pretty sure I may not see it this high again in my lifetime.  The down side to haveing a very full Shasta Lake has been the unprecedented amount of wood and debris thats floating on the lakes surface.  If thats not enough, we're seeing stained water with the amount of bank erosion from morning winds and boat wakes crashing against the shorelines daily. Technically its a mess, but with the summer heat beating down on the waters surface its topped off status will surely begin to start its summer decline.  Water releases from Shasta are about normal for this time of the year at 13,000 cfs.  I've been fishing Shasta almost daily and will continue to do so through late August when I'll switch gears and head to the Sacramento River to fish for king salmon.  Currently the fishing is on the slow side, but thats from my point of view.  Most of my clients would agree that most days we're catching a good number of trout and bass trolling with downriggers.  Its not what I'm used to in the way of action and we're not finding any of the bigger fish everyone is used to seeing me post here on norcalfishreports.com.  Thats surely going to change soon and my records show that the great fishing should already be happening. I really think its the water conditions and the amount of debris that we are dealing with thats slowing things down.  All the trout we're catching are full of plankton and that has me thinking, where are the Shad.  We should be seeing signs of their presence, but I'm not seeing any signs of them just yet.  We know they are in the lake, I just dont know where.  I'm booked solid through June on Shasta Lake so I'm sure I'll be on the water the day things really turn around.  Its already getting better, just not as fast as I'd like.  I'm finding areas of the lake that are light on the presence of debris and I'm finding fish every trip, even if its not as many as I would like.  Stay tuned for future reports here as I will be sharing my accurate and honest fishing reports with our audience just as I always do.  Thank you!

Jeff Goodwin is a full time Northern California fishing guide.  He guides year round for salmon, trout, steelhead, Kokanee, and bass on Northern California rivers and lakes. He fishes many bodies of water in the Redding area, but also guides the Sacramento River and Feather River during certain times of the year. Jeff can also be found on the California coast chasing ocean fresh King salmon and steelhead each year. To learn more about the fishing trips Jeff has to offer, please visit Jeff Goodwin's Guide Service.  You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or please feel free to call him anytime at (707) 616-1905.