Its oficially the winter season on Shasta Lake and the trout bite has been both hot and cold.  Changing weather patterns definitely affect the trout on Shasta and they can seemingly disappear over night.  In most lakes here in NorCal ts not a big deal but on a lake the size of Shasta it can make for a tough day if you can't pin them down.  Sometimes its just the bite though and it won't matter where they are.  I find most of the time its the latter but thats a personal conclusion I've drawn over the years.  

The lake is on a slow rise and water conditions are still very much the same weve seen since fall.  The water temps are hovering around the low 50's and clarity is very good.  Too good for my liking but its better than dirty water for sure.  Floating debris isn't an issue at all and most of our runs up and down the lake have been hazzard free.  I don't expect things to chance anytime soon unless the weather takes a turn to the wetter side.  All the rains we've seen of late have been barely noticeable as far as lake levels and water clarity.

I've been finding the most success trolling near shore with spoons and small stick baits.  Side planers are taking most of the fish rt now but the divers and riggers are seeing some action as well.  2.5-3.0 mph has been a good trolling speed most days I fish.  lure color has been importand so if you're not getting bit its likely the color that needs to change, not the spoon.  I did run some of the big Trinidad Optimizers last week but the Jr's are still taking most of the fish.  If you are looking for big fish bites, I'd recommend running the #3 or #4 Optimizers for a increased shot at a big trout or salmon.  

Before I close out this report I'd like to mention that most of the bites we're getting are from fish we're not marking on our Garmin's.  Sonar cones are narrow 5-15' below the boat and marking fish can be very difficult.  The first reason being the small sonar cone angle and second being that those trout sitting up near the surface will move away from the boat as you approach them.  This makes marking surface fish very difficult.  Where this gets tricky for most is that there are ton's of fish and bait marking deep at 100+ feet.  Many anglers are tempted to chase these marks and most of the time come up short on bites down that deep this time of the year.  I talk to fisherman all the time that express their frustrations when trying to get the deep fish to bite.  I'm not saying that you should never target these deep fish but I wouldn't recommend going all in unless the one rod you send deep gets some action.  Keep most of the lines up high, you'll catch more trout even if your sonar displays very few to no fish up top.

Its also important to know that this is the time of the year the shore anglers do well.  The trout are shallow and are near shore, especially at the boat launches.  Worms, bobber fly combo's, and live minnows are top presentations for shore anglers this time of the year for those of you who are interested in fishing from shore!  Happy New Year!

- Captain Jeff Goodwin