Slow improvements on Shasta Lake trout!

Fun day with Karen and Jeff on Shasta Lake. The bite was pretty good and should only improve in the coming weeks.
Photo Credit: Captain Jeff Goodwin

by Jeff Goodwin
6-13-2019
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Today we fished Shasta Lake and saw another good bite early in the day.  Its far from the fishing we will see in July, but we are starting to see a few more bites each day.  Today was the first day in weeks we've hooked into something really big.  Unfortunately, we had a knot fail and couldn't close the deal.  Its a rare event in my boat, but it happened today and my stomach is still twisted up over it.  Its tough to lose a big fish, but there is some satisfaction in knowing we were able to draw a strike from such a powerful Shasta Lake trout.  Oh well, its not the first time and it won't be the last.  todays clients still managed some nice rainbow's and caught ton's of bass, which were mostly small.  Speaking of bass, one of the bass we caught coughed up a very small shad so it would appear as though we arent too far from seeing more and more shad in the main body of Shasta.  There's tons of Plankton around so the Shad should grow rather quickly this year.  The surface temps are warming rapidly and the warm water continues to push down deeper and deeper every week.  The biters are still relatively shallow so start at about 20' but dont look too far down just yet.  There isn't much food for the trout down deep so the feeders are up high.  At this rate, I'm sure we'll have limits style fishing by the end of the month.

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.