Shasta Lake has been fishing very well this summer!  Light boat traffic in the early mornings has us feeling like we have the lake to ourselves most days, including the weekends.  We do see boat traffic increase late in the morning but the majority of the traffic is houseboats and ski boats.  Typically we will have seen some good fishing well before the lake gets somewhat busy.  We have been trolling daily and most of what we're seeing come to the net has been rainbows and browns.  The King and Kokanee fishing just hasn't picked up like I would have predicted and at this point its not something I've spent a lot of time pursuing.  Fortunately the trout fishing has been very good for the 2-3 pound class with a few bigger trout in the mix as well.  I've been concentrating my efforts between the Pit River Bridge (I-5) and Shasta Dam.  The surface temps are hovering around 82 degrees and the temperature layer changes dramatically at 45-50' feet deep.  Its easy to see this on the sonar screens and the Shad balls are sitting above the 50' mark in the warmer water.  Generally speaking I'll put my gear in water cooler than 65 degrees this time of the year.  All the traditional lures have been working but its hard to beat small spoons this time of the year.  Trinidad Tackle Optimizer Jr's are hard to beat on Shasta Lake and with lots of color options available, the trout definitely have some options.  Trolling speeds of 2.2 mph are a good choice now but you can get bites at slower and faster speeds as well.  This summer bite lasts through September most years so we have lots of fishing ahead of us still.  We have available dates for guided fishing trips on Shasta Lake, now through the end of the year.  Call or text Jaynie at (530) 510-2925 for more information!  Thank you!

Captain Jeff Goodwin