Shasta Lake has been fishing very well even though we're seeing a steady rise so far this winter.  We've seen a lot of rainfall but not too much which has made for what I consider to be perfect conditions.  48-50 degree water can be found in most areas of the lake right now, water clarity conditions are 2' or better in most areas, and most of my favorite areas to fish are sitting in plenty of water.  The trout bite hasn't been a first light kind of bite and we'll usually see some action late morning to mid day.  The bass bite has been later in the day after the surface temps bump up a degree or two on the sunny days for the trollers.  If there has been any down sides for the trout trollers, its been the amount of wood debris we're seeing right now.  No really big trees or piles of debris, but if the lake continues to rise as it has this past week we'll see more trouble with that.  The rainbows are in pre spawn mode and many of the bigger rainbows and browns are up in the tributaries.  There are still some big rainbows around, but we're a few weeks away from seeing any consistent brown trout catches if history repeats itself again this year.  I start to get into my first big browns of the year in February generally speaking, but thats not carved in stone either.  We lost a pretty nice brown at the boat yesterday.  Trolling spoons is definitely my favorite way to catch trout this time of the year, but with an abundance of small Shad in the lake this year, scaling down the spoon sizes or running a dodger/spoon, dodger/hoochie, or dodger/minnow combo will get a lot of attention.  I'm finding my best bites in the top 20' of the water column, but there are some big marks on the sonar around the bait balls that are in 20'-50' deep.  Ramp access is still best at Jones Valley, Centimudi, and Bridge Bay.  I'll be running trips all winter and I expect the fishing to be pretty good most days.  Weather changes can affect the bite, but prolonged weather patterns either way will help keep that barometer from bouncing around too much and that helps keep the bite windows poppin up every day.  Day one of any big weather changes will most likely present its challenges on Shasta Lake.  To get more Information on the Shasta Lake fishing trips we offer or to book your winter,spring, or summer fishing trips, please give Jaynie a call at (530) 510-2925 monday -Saturday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Thank you!

Captain Jeff G.