Multi species available on Shasta Lake!

Personal best 16" Crappie for Tom on Shasta Lake yesterday!
Photo Credit: JG Fishing Team

by Jeff Goodwin
3-4-2021
Website

We're turning the corner on Winter and its already acting like spring!  The water levles are barely moving up and water temps will start to rise in the coming weeks if we dont see a big increase in flows from Shasta's tributaries.  On dry land in te Redding area, we're already seeing the spring blossom begin and allergy season has definitely started this week.  All things considered, this tells us that our Shasta Lake fish will start to get ready for their annual spring spawn.  We're already seeing some warm water fish move into the shallows and setting up around the Shad balls in the lake.  Species that will be spawning include, bass, Crappie, Sun fish, Catfish, Carp, and rainbow trout in the upper tributaries. We're going to see the presence of more brown trout in the lower lake and our Kokanee and King salmon will start schooling up as the water temps rises as well. As you can see, this time of the year creates a lot of great opportunities for anglers all over Shasta Lake.  I had a trip yesterday that was focused on rainbow trout, but the bass bite was really good and we could barely go 10 minutes without getting one or two at a time on the downriggers.  We also got a 16" Crappie trolling a Pautzke Fire Brined Shad near the surface which was a welcomed surprise.  The Crappie are going to be absolute slabs this year!  It seems like every fish in the lake is keyed in on Shad and there is a lot of bait available this year.  In short, find the Shad and the other fish will be there too. The trout bite has been tough with really clear water which is 25' plus of visibility in some portions of the lake.  The rainbows are still really high in the water column, like 5-10', especially early in the morning.  This make the use of side planers a top bet and long setbacks very necessary.  20-30' down has been best for browns near shore, but there will be browns cruising the open waters, especially later in the day.  We'll be fishing Shasta just about every day through April so we'll continue to provide reports on fishing conditions on Shasta several times a week. Our Shasta Lake trips are sold out until May but we're currently booking May through mid August on Shasta Lake before all our boats will be moving the the Sacramento River to fish for King salmon.  We will continue to catch some great fish in May, but June through mid August will be great most days we run trips for trout and salmon!  Please call Jaynie at (530) 510-2925 for more information about our Shasta Lake trout and salmon fishig trips.

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.