SaltyTherapy:
It's a hard body of water to fish from kayak, compared to other lakes and for a lot of reasons. It's kicked my butt plenty of times in 2020, and I'm finally dialing the fish's number this year in 2021. That isn't to say the drought conditions haven't had its challenges. Most of my fishing is concentrated on the chrome species: rainbows, browns, kings, and kokes. I occasionally bass fish, but my preference is trolling and covering water for salmonoids. That's especially important on such a big lake. Since this breakdown will cover a lot of information, I'm going to format it chronologically from the last season up until now with some geography, then techniques. Spoiler alert: The thermo fishing is HOT in the main body, and will be steady until end of september. Thermo bite is the easiest to score from a kayak, and requires the least amount of water to cover. It does, however, require the most amount of hardware.
Spring 2020: Spent a lot of my time covering water by the dam, learning how to roll bait and present lures deep. Spring and fall transition periods are notoriously difficult for finding fish consistently. With no thermocline established, the marks were all the way from the surface down to 80ft in April and May and surface temps varied in some areas. Probably skunked 3/4 trips out, deepening my resolve. I spent a lot of time experimenting with different downrigger alternatives, like Dispey/Deep six/Jet divers, dropper weights, and planars. The shad, the main forage that fuels the entire lake, were absent in a lot of areas and were definitely not well schooled up. The main body is where the turnover supposedly happens last in the spring, and the first in the fall. With that info, I was hoping a late turnover bite would produce fish mostly on top. I was wrong. Scattered all over the sonar, I had low expectations and results.
Summer 2020: The water level was nearly full, a huge contrast to this year's drought. With access at full capacity, the skiiers and pleasure boaters had a great summer, witnessed by the lack of overflow parking capacity on a regular basis. After nearly becoming a speedbump after a few close calls several trips in a row, I gave up fishing most of the thermocline season to chase higher altitude and better weather. Big mistake. Thermocline bite was hot last year on its regular tune, and I missed out. I'll cover the intricacies of thermo bite in the summer 2021 section.
Fall 2020: After discovering the hard way that turnover/transition bites make for a very tough chrome experience, especially in the main body, I shot up the arms. Hirz, Jones, and Antlers in search of bass. Jones was the money. Flooded stumps on the drop shot/jig, flooded coves that boater's can't get into due to sunken tree risks, Jones was the money for bass. Definitely the most amount of detailed structure within paddling distance of the launch. I had a little bit of luck with fresh planters rainbows in the 10-14 inch grade, some with parr marks. No good size holdovers to be seen, and marks were difficult especially at jones. Fall was when i started to notice we were in for a winter drawdown as the launches got longer and longer. But I had no idea it was about to get as bad as it currently is now. The dirt launches started opening up along the concrete ones at Centimudi and Jones, allowing for easy shore parking for bank fishermen and kayak launches. No more fighting lines and competing with boats for launch, but the low water launches weren't entirely in effect then.
Winter 2020/21: After thanksgiving, the surface temp started rapidly dropping into the 50's. Once the temp went under 60, I started thinking about topline trout fishing. My thoughts were kayak had the advantage with stealth factor, and with trolling floating line I would be able to work structure in a much more intimate way than any boat could. The main tactic I saw was planar board combos among boaters, and I experimented a little with in-line planar boards but never fell into favor. Winter was when I started donning my ocean wetsuit, as frost on launches and eventually snow in town forced me to seriously consider hypothermia. The nice thing about winter bite is the morning and evening bites don't usually produce, and the midday when temps are warmest (especially if surface <48F), and I'd sleep in and launch at 10AM, off by 3PM. Curiously, not many trollers out in the winter. Most fishermen I saw launching were bass boats gearing up for tournaments, not many targeting the chromes besides off-season guides. Most of my winter success came from the mouth of Squaw Creek arm down to Bridge Bay point, where I would sometimes launch. I've had conflicting pricing of kayak launching at bridge. Sometimes they charge my $5, sometimes $15, one time $7 (?). Sometimes I launch dirt under the I5 bridge when it's crowded, most of the times launch main when water level was still relatively up and traffic was light. I would tell them where I plan to launch, and I guess sometimes it affected the price...? It's a private marina not covered by the annual pass, but they do sell an off-season winter pass. All in all, winter was tough. Numb extremities, hydroflasks filled with hot beverage, occasional slipping on the launch, and chafed thighs from wetsuit under thermals under splash gear. I averaged some nicer holdovers in the 16-20 inch range, but overall slim pickings and 2/3 trips skunked on target species. The bonus was that I did notice bass boats giving me all the tips for their species while I'm struggling with mine. Up until about christmas, the bass guys were consistently coming back to launch with big smiles and stories. As the snow and winter doldrums set in, the temp dropped under 50 and in some places, under 45. I could not mark a fish to save my life, nor pull a bite. Frustrated, I gave up in january in search of easier bites. What I did discover was a bank fishing bite I wouldn't have expected. Fisherman's point by the dam has a year-round supply of planters that just hang around the launch cove between Centmudi, Fisherman's, and the orange buoys in front of the dam. Since Centmudi is one of the more popular destinations for planting historically, there are truckloads of marks feeding on surface forage in the dead of winter. As the rainbows gear up for spawn, it has been speculated that they return to the launch where they were imprinted upon planting in search of spawning water. All the find is fishermen's point and locals armed with the "Shasta Fly", a mini marshmallow tipped with crawler, powerbait, or roe.
Spring 2021: With my winter strategy refined, I hit the first days of spring like the early days of winter: toplining aggressive baits midday close to shore in search of big fish. When the surface temps went above 50, I started pulling big plugs and spoons faster and faster as the temps heated up. Once they got above 60 in the main body in march, I switched from bridge/packers area back to jones for the rumored plankton blooms. In short, I didn't find a damn one. The trollers I spoke to at jones said they're past arbuckle. Well, that's quite a hike from the jones launch. I searched for 2 months for the rumored Pit arm plankton blooms that attract mid-sized holdover trout, and mainly found bass on the troll. Some decent thickness 14-16inch pit river strain rainbows, but nothing to brag about. Same deal as every other season I've fished the lake before: cover miles of water. Occasionally I'd find a cluster with several fish but marks were highly scattered. Ego in check, I spent most of april making kayak modifications and dialing in gear for the summer bite. I was determined after a year of trials and tribulations to have one day where I'd put the whomper on the fish.
Summer 2021: May. Downrigger installed. Dipsey and Deep Six divers dialed in for the season. No more floating line or leadcore hybrids, just plain braid. Water level was already 100+ft. down, compared to almost full at this time the year before. I had spent the past year researching the nuances of thermocline bite, and was prepared to bring it, full send. Hirz, antlers, and now Packers closed. My options were Sugarloaf, Jones, Centimudi, and competing with boaters at the private marinas. Since Centmudi is 7mins away from my driveway, I figured I'd save on gas. Low launch in effect, making for an easy kayak shore launch away from boats. In May, the thermocline was starting to establish near the dam, but only in shallow coves with significant warming. Once the June 100F weather kicked in, the thermo really starts to establish. Already in May, I was seeing decent shad marks in the lower lake, but not in concentrated balls. Once June kicked in, the shad came en masse. But I was still not seeing consistent large marks underneath. The fish slowly started trickling in, and so did the upgrade in size. What I wasn't prepared for was losing 2 downrigger balls on my newly installed outfit on my first trip. Then another on my second trip. And another on my 3rd. Eventually I just uninstalled it, running solely divers. Interestingly, that's the same thing I'm noticing from PB's and guides on the lake. The meta in town right now is definitely Dipsey Divers. I had a few good fish every other trip in May, scored decent holdovers 3/4 trips in June, and limits in July. It wasn't until the 4th weekend that the bite really kicked off. No fireworks in this county, but there was underwater. It also coincided with the beginning of fire season up here, scaring most people off the water that hadn't been previously deterred by low water levels. "Smoke on the water" playing from skiiboats in the background of smoky water and orange sun. Since the 4th, it's been limits fishing for boats, and big fish on every kayak trip out. Limits style fishing has backed off a little in August as the fish are gorging up, and the parasites are starting to show on just about every fish. They seem to be a lot worse on the small planters.
Kokanee have started sporadically showing up in the lower lake, but with their spawn approaching I'm hesitant that they'll make their way down to the dam in significant numbers. Their size is excellent, easily the largest kokanee in California. Currently 17-19" now, and I've heard some rumors of 20" with a few landed in front of me from local boats that would push 20. Talking with guides at the launch, they almost exclusively get them from the I5 bridge up the mccloud arm to Hirz Bay and back, often mid morning when the trout and king bite die. They've been reportedly very consistent in the 35-55ft range all summer. Interestingly, the guides are not using corn. The combos are often small spoons like Dick Nite, behind a 3-6" dodger and some sort of gel scent. The alternative is hoochies, but are run much less frequently. I suspect my lake of success has partly been because of running snubbers and simply not seeing or missing late the kokanee bites. The King bite this year is very spread out. In years past, they have been concentrated from the dam to dry creek arm, my usual stomping grounds. Guides are getting them halfway up the Sac arm, to ski island, to squaw arm and mouth of mccloud. The amount of deep king marks is nowhere near as concentrated as my stomping grounds in Trinity Lake and much less shallow, and my King success (or lack) at shasta is indicative of the bite in that area now. I've only had 2 kings all year from Shasta, and will be switching from rolling shad to rolling anchovies as I desire lock-king flesh. The rainbows. Meat and potatoes fishing. In May, they were 25-45ft down, in June 35-55ft, July 40-65, and now 50-100ft down. Scoring every trip, and BIG fish. Broken several personal bests last month. Pics to follow. The fresh planters stay near the surface, even in hot weather and warm water, chasing surface activity. It's interesting to see parasite-ridden rainbows with parr marks eating flies in July at 10AM in 85F surface temp and 99F ambient air in 150+fow while their holdover brethren 3x their size are schooling shad 65ft below them. Browns typically show up later in the thermocline, and have their own spawning patterns in the Mccloud arm where the majority spawn. Spring toplining with aggressive plugs is what the guides swear by, and 10lbers are the target. A small minority of browns spawn in the Pit arm, and virtually none in the sac arm (info by hearsay). My luck hasn't been too good with them, and they will be my early spring target next year hopefully, along with the kokanee class of 2022 (assuming water levels will let us launch Hirz) Interestingly, I am catching bass on the troll in 30-50ft right now chasing shad. The trout are a bit below the bass, and I know I need to go deeper if 2-3lb spots are tugging at my presentation. There are days when I'll catch 2-3 spots for every rainbow on the troll.
Tactics: Toplining Pretty simple stuff. I experimented with in-line planar boards, and found that just paddling close to shore with floating line allowed for a much more controlled troll lane with much less drag and much more peace of mind. I would usually put my floating line closest to shore, and run my other rod with 1-2 colors of leadcore down on the deeper side. Hoochies and big blades, slow plugs like mag lip 2.0 and 5.0 flatfish, shad spoon imitations, and soft plastics behind blades. Occasionally ran a trolling fly. Pretty standard stuff. If you're targeting spring browns in the mccloud arm, then rapalas via the guides. Did that 3 or 4 times with no success. Plankton bloom fishing in April and May up the Pit arm can be productive toplining or down only 10-15ft. Didn't score this year or last, but I'd consider it if you're boat-in camping arbuckle or are way up the pit arm early morning.
Thermocline fishing Lost too much money in downrigger gear on shallow points that come up out of nowhere in these low levels. It's all dipsey divers for me. Typically the action is poised between the bottom of shad schools and the top of the 'cline. Higher up is easier action than lower down most of the time. What has been very interesting for me this summer is how I've fished Dipsey divers. I'll attach pictures of my rig below. On a slow turn, your sonar can mark how deep your dipsey diver is. I'll slowly send it down, making sure to not tangle my rig. I'll set it about 3ft above where I want to run it, put it in the rod holder, and the additional slack with make it go the last 3ft. I can mark my diver most of the time if it's shallower than 100ft and slower than 2mph. Typically won't run divers shallower than 35ft. It's super fun to see fish on the screen shoot up from the thermocline, 40+ ft vertically up to 55ft of water, check out my lure for a cool 15s, sometimes short strike, then shoot back down. I get to see the follows, the takedowns, the timid fish and short strikes on my screen just like video game fishing. Even with a narrower cone setting. It's awesome. 7/10 fish I catch i will see on the sonar right before or as they strike. But it's the ones that surprise you that are the most fun. My general rule for divers now is, I attach a snubber if I expect to catch >12-16" fish, and especially if they fight hard. I've broken a RAM mount on a feisty takedown and cost me a $250 combo (I leashed it to the base of the RAM mount, fml). Snubbers are absolutely necessary for these large and fast fish. Shasta trout have been known to blitz the shad and are said to be the fastest trout in CA from the guides, anyway. Leaders are now upgraded to 12-15lb. I've broken off way too many fish in June on 10lb for me to feel comfortable with anything less than 12. 30lb braid direct to diver, 3-5ft 15lb leader from diver to main attractor, then 12-18" leader to lure, 12lb fluoro. Even with 12lb sometimes, the leader will snap in the net 25% of the time when the big fish does their last dance. The observation from guides and myself has been the fish prefer a much slower presentation this year than in years past. under 2mph most of the time, and rolling bait at 1-1.5. That means big aggressive spoons and baits are out. I've mainly been running hoochie and tubes/blade tipped with chovy fillet, rolled bait, Brad's KCP with canned tuna sauce, Dick Nite, and chrome/bronze plugs. Occasionally will run needlefish, trolling flies in minnow patterns, and soft plastics. For guides, small spoons and varieties of Brad's KCP's are the money for clients, along with fire brined shad rolling. I had really good action in June on soft plastics, from grubs to mini paddle tails. The trouble was they would survive 1 bite, and the tail would be gone. I tried rigging them with stinger hooks behind, but was afraid that was killing the action. All in all, I gave up on soft plastics as it was costing me a fresh pack or more every day on the water. I've been going to Fishen Hole bait shop on the Dam blvd. for skinny grubs $0.10 a piece. Been shopping for the right grubs for over a year and finally found a pourer in town that does them just the way I like. However, they don't stand up to these big and toothy fish even if they produce at every other lake I go to. And I'm not too keen on polluting more plastic in the lake that provides my drinking water, so I've fully given up on the stuff here.
Centmudi route: I have a go-to morning route most morning outings at the Dam, especially if I'm feeling lazy or tired or not all that ambitious to make the trip to Dry Creek or Big Backbone. I have a route hugging the East shoreline to Digger Bay, working the south point of the bay where it's a deeper drop off and tightly schooled shad all summer long. I'll work the bay, then move to the (previously) submerged islands right outside the bay entrance jutting out to the middle of the lake. This is where I see the most gear lost. I'll weave the islands' channels, work the outside, and fish deeper water on my way back to the launch. Can do in about 3hrs, and produces at least 1-2 big trout every time. I like to work structure, even when fishing deep. For fear of losing downrigger balls, it's a path avoided by boats mostly. I also like that it stays in the shade until about 8:30AM, which is a huge advantage on persistent 100F+ days in Redding where it's swim time by 9AM (feels like 90F). Staying cool and avoiding burn have been the bane of my existence so far. Evening bite I'll follow the same route sometimes too, but without the shade advantage.
TLDR: Thermocline fishing at Shasta is intense, although not following traditional summer patterns. Hot bite will continue for another 1-2mo, hopefully with enough water to repeat next year.
SaltyTherapy:
Smaller fish, planter grade
Codzilla:
Wow that was one hell of a good breakdown !!! The King bite was crazy good about 10 years ago right off the ramp at the dam. back then you would see 20-30 boats and 2-3 of us kayakers. the boaters shocked when they saw our setup. we were all dropping anchovies. keep the post coming, hoping to get out soon but the heat kills me. see you on the water one of these days !! Jeff