Its been a slow start to the spring brown trout season on Shasta Lake, but we finally got a good bite yesterday and along with that came some really nice fish.  The rainbow bite has been fairly consistent, but this time of the year is all about the big browns.  We've seen the best season ever for small browns thanks to heavy plants in Shasta Lake by CDFW, but the really big browns have eluded us early on this season.  I know where they live and I know how to catch them, but obviously they have to bite before we'll get them.  The water is cold at 48 degrees and the bite windows are short for these bigger specimens.  Being on the water all day is a must with this fishery.  You can troll all day with only fair results and within a 15 minute period have two or more trophy browns folding your rods and burning line off your reels.  Just as fast as it starts sometimes, its over. Thats brown fishing on Shasta Lake sometimes.  Fortunately there are a lot of rainbows, some Kings, and Kokanee salmon in the mix as well so that keeps the day moving along most days.  As an example, we landed 27 trout yesterday.  Most were small rainbows and browns but the big browns made up for the smaller fish for sure.  We also lost a handful of big fish and some really hot rainbows that were a few pounds or more throughout the day.  Side planers with 2-3 oz snap weights were good, but 3 color lead core lines were the best again yesterday.  I like to troll spoons, but dont be afraid to roll some shad or anchovies for those bigger fish bites.  I still have a few dates in March for brown trout fishing, but May through mid July is when the bulk of our available Shasta Lake salmon and trout trips will be.  Thank you!

Captain Jeff Goodwin