After a short break from river salmon fishing, we're back on Shasta to see how our fall trout fishing opportunities are shaping up.  Water temps started at around 65 degrees on the surface today and the water clarity is very good, but not too gin clear.  I'd say conditions for late October are perfect!  I fished with my good friend Chuck today and we ran 4 side planers in front of Trinidad Tackle Optimizer Jr. spoons all day.  The early morning fished the best by far, and our biggest big bite came around 10:00 am.  It looked to be a big brown in the 5 lb class just before he spit the Optimizer Jr and swam off with his middle fin in the air. We caught a few nice rainbows and a handful of planter size trout as well.  The afternoon bite never turned on and we called it a day around 1:00.  With limited launch facilities available, making the long runs to different parts of the lake will make things a bit more challenging in the weeks ahead.  Our guided trips won't start until the 3rd week of November so we should have a handle on where the best fishing opportunities will be.  I'm predicting a good season on Shasta and look forward to the King and Kokanee salmon fishing opportunities we haven't had in a long time this spring.  We are booking Shasta Lake trips now so give Jaynie a call at the office and she'll get your private trip scheduled for your group.  If you're a single angler, we'll put you on a singles list and schedule some trips for those of you that don't have the two person minimum required to book your trip.  Thank you and we'll look forward to hearing from you soon!  Call to book @ (530) 510-2925.

Capt. Jeff G.