The winter bite on Shasta Lake is here!  Winter weather plays a major role on the bite at Shasta Lake in the winter months but with as much time as I spend on this great fishery, I'm usually able to pull off getting some big trout to bite even when its a tough bite.  Unsettled weather patterns affect Shasta's trout in a big way and the front end of low pressure changes can really make for a tough bite some days.  Throw in a big moon and it really gets to be a challenge out there.  Water temps are perfect at 54 degrees but the lake could use a little color.  The water is very clear right now and that can present some challenges some days.  I've been running side planers for the most action and that won't change anytime soon.  I'm running (2) on each side of the boat and sometimes (3)!  Six side planers towing 2 1/2 " spoons is my best set up, even after all these years of fishing Shasta.   To get the spoons down to the right depths, I use 1-3 oz snap weights positioned 50' in front of the spoons.  After attaching the snap weights, I let out a total of 80'-120' of line depending on the position of the side planer.  Using line counter reels makes this job really easy! Our Inside rods have the heavier weights and the shortest amounts of line out.  In contrast, my outside lines are the longest and have the lightest snap weights attached.  Staggering the lines like this keeps everything from tangling even with six lines out.  Now is a great time to learn how to fish with side planers and I'm willing to teach anyone who is interested in this technique.  Just give Jaynie a call or text at (530) 510-2925 to set up your trip with me.  If you are a single, let her know and we'll help pair you with another single seat angler when we can make it work.  With no salmon fishing in California likely for years to come, our lake fishing will see an increase in effort by many anglers in this state.  That transition can seem like a lot to some, but I'm here to help.  I've spent hundreds of hours writing about lake fishing on several report sites and have written many articles on my website.  Visit the reports section of my site and scroll through dozens of reports and articles specifically written about fishing our norcal lakes.  We also have several videos on YouTube's Pautzke Outdoors Channel that cover some of the techniques on Shasta and Whiskeytown lakes.  Its helped a lot of anglers already, I hope to help some of the readers here as well.  Thank you for your continued support!

Captain Jeff Goodwin