Shasta Lake Summer Trout Fishing!

Shasta Lake - Shasta Lake, CA (Shasta County)

A big Shasta Lake trout caught today on a gold Trinidad Tackle Optimizer Jr.
Photo Credit: JGGS Fishing Team.

by Jeff Goodwin
7-26-2020
Website

Its summer in Redding and its darn hot!  Guess that means its time to target big trout!  Shasta Lake has big rainbow and brown trout lurking in its dark green depths year round, but summer is special because the annual Shad spawn happens and creates a lot of small bait fish for these big trout to gorge themselves on.  We've seen a slow start to the Shad bite, but we're starting to catch some trout that are stuffing their guts with them now.  Thats a great sign and means a wide open bite is right around the corner.  We've already seen a vast improvement over a week ago.  The water surface temps are hovering around 82 degrees, but we're still catching trout 30' feet down early in the morning.  As the day wears on the trout are going deeper and we'll mark them at 100' daily now. Small spoon patterns are a good option, but if you want to catch big fish like the ones pictured in this report, get some Trinidad Tackle Optimizer JR's.  They are the real deal and are performing at the highest levels.  I get mine at Phils Propeller in Shasta Lake City, but I know they are in other tackle stores as well.  Our biggest trout today fell for a gold Optimizer JR trolled at 80' off a downrigger.  I just knew they would be a big hit on Shasta and many other bodies of water as well.  Pure genious for Trinidad Tackle to downsize one of the best big fish spoons I've ever used, and create a smaller version that will catch big fish when big spoons won't.  Stock up, Shasta will be producing big trout for the next two months before the lake starts to take on its fall changes in October.



Jeff Goodwin is a full time Northern California fishing guide.  He guides year round for salmon, trout, steelhead, Kokanee, and bass on Northern California rivers and lakes. He fishes many bodies of water in the Redding area, but also guides the Sacramento River and Feather River during certain times of the year. Jeff can also be found on the California coast chasing ocean fresh King salmon and steelhead each year. To learn more about the fishing trips Jeff has to offer, please visit Jeff Goodwin's Guide Service.  You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or please feel free to call him anytime at (707) 616-1905.




More Reports

Sac salmon season looking good!
Sacramento River - Red Bluff

7-24-2020
After a few days of rest, Captain Justin Thompson guided two clients for King salmon on the Sacramento River below...... Read More

Red Bluff King salmon!
Sacramento River

7-21-2020
More King salmon in our nets today on the Sacramento River.  A slower bite today didn't yield big numbers, but...... Read More