Shasta Lake Fishing Report

Shasta continues to fire on all cylinders with water temps now in the upper 60s. As one species' bite starts to taper off (though not much), another picks up... and right now it's time for salmon. Kokanee season is here, and trollers are doing extremely well slow trolling pink or orange micro shrimp presentations on gold dodgers in the 40-50 foot range (sonar will help determine the best exact depth). Fish are chrome and healthy... multiple folks reporting limits of fish up to 17 inches.

Rainbows and browns are still biting well too, often hitting Kokanee rigs. But trolling spoons is your best bet... good reports coming out of the McCloud arm.

If salmon and trout weren't enough, Shasta continues to produce an awesome spotted bass bite on small swimbaits and dropshots. Most fish are in postspawn but are still hitting well off hard structure and points. Reports are that big crappie are being caught too.

Overall, Shasta is serving up some of the best mixed fishing in the region right now.

Water temps are hovering in the high 50s at Shasta, warmer in protected areas, and the spotted bass bite has been on absolute fire! Squaw and Pitt arms have been producing crazy numbers, but reports say fish are being caught just about everywhere. Senkos, shakey heads, and drop shots are all pulling fish near rocky structure, secondary points, and south-facing cove shorelines. Small cranks and rip baits are working too. Most fish are running around a pound, with a few 2 to 3 pounders mixed in.

Brown trout action has been good also, with reports of some of the largest fish seen this year. Kokanee are still a bit early, but the bite should take off anytime. The CDFW continues to stock rainbows, with multiple plants over the last few weeks.

Lake Shasta is fishing well right now as bass start easing out of their winter pattern and inching toward pre-spawn positioning. Numbers have been solid, with good action on 2 to 3 pound fish, with a few 4+ pounders mixed in. Most of the best reports are coming out of the river arms. Bass are setting up on points, humps, timber, and other defined structure. They are roaming far less, and holding tight to those key areas. Jigs and Senkos are working well. A few anglers are getting higher-quality fish on A-rigs, glide baits, and spinnerbaits as well.

Unfortunately for bass anglers, a big cold storm is pushing in next week, which could drop water temps back into the 40s, and cool off the bite some.

Trout action remains good on chrome kastmasters in the top 20 ft of the water column.