Shasta Lake has cooled down into the low 60's which means the top water bite has begun.  There's still an enormous amount of baitfish throughout the system but the trout are making the shift to other food sources on the lake as well.  A fair amount of trout we've caught this past week are full of Midges with only some of the others showing signs of Shad feeding patterns.  The Shad are very small right now in the 1" range.  Small spoons have been the most effective presentations and seem to be seeing the most action when run behind our side planers.  Adding 2-3 oz snap weights has been seeing the most action on the side planer rods.  Downriggers are a part of the equation some days but I don't spend a lot of time chasing deep trout this time of the year.  There are some big trout lurking down deep but you'll see more bites fishing in the 5'-20' depths during the cold water season on Shasta Lake.  The lake water is very clear at present so these trout in the upper water column are indeed boat shy.  Thats why the side planers are playing such a major role on the water right now.  We're fishing Shasta year round now, and with no Sacramento river salmon seasons to look forward to, I don't see that changing the next few years.  In fact, I will be keeping Shasta as an available trip option all year now until I retire from guiding at some point in the distant future.  We will have some good fishing again this winter season but like always, I'm really looking forward to our Spring trout trips in February and March.  Generally speaking, we catch our biggest browns on Shasta every spring into early summer.  This makes March a month I fill up every year.  Mostly good weather and big hungry browns seems to be the attraction during the spring season.  In the meantime, we'll be focusing on the top water trout fishery and have lots of available dates for anyone interested in fishing Shasta Lake for trout this winter season.  Give Jaynie at our reservation desk a call or text for more information about our Shasta Lake fishing trips.  She can be reached at (530) 510-2925.  Thank you!

Captain Jeff Goodwin