Fishing reports for Shasta Lake

Trollers are having a blast out at Shasta for both trout and salmon, but most notably for rainbows. Some say it's the best trout fishing at Shasta in more than a decade for both size and quantity. Folks are pulling spoons & flashers down to 35-50 feet and getting fish up to 8-10 pounds (with many quality 3-4 pounders). It's still all about the shad... find the schools and you'll find fish.

Bass are also targeting shad around the lake. Mornings and evenings are seeing an excellent topwater bite. As the midday heat pushes them deeper, drop-shotting or Senkos have been best.

The Mount Shasta Fish Hatchery, will host two Kids' Fishing Days on June 15 and July 20, 2024. The event is open to children 15 years old and younger, with registration available on-site from 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (no preregistration). Fishing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Free bait and limited loaner tackle will be provided, but participants should bring a cooler or bucket for fish transport, with ice available.

After an amazing few weeks of bass fishing, the action has subsided a bit. The warming weather triggered a bigger influx of cold water runoff from the mountain, causing more variation in water temps, and keeping bass finicky. Anglers are still catching fish though, primarily targeting areas near submerged timber with crank baits or weedless/weightless soft plastics.

The Shasta bass bite has officially unlocked. Conditions are perfect and fishing everywhere has been elite. A lot of bass are moving shallow either bedding or hunting the shoreline... but many are still cruising deeper, up to 20-25 feet. Quality fish are everywhere. A tournament angler last week reported landing a 14.5 pound tank of a largemouth.

The trout bite is still very good, plenty of action trolling for rainbows. Some giant browns have also been caught recently.