Lake Shasta

Lake Shasta Trout, Chinook Salmon & Smallmouth Bass

Show#:	3004
Host:	Trey Carskadon Accommodations: Silverthorn Resort - (800) 332-3044 - Houseboat rentals and complete vacation goods and services
Guide:	Gary Miralles - Professional guide and owner of Shasta Tackle (a lure manufacturer.)
Phone:	(530) 275-2278
Location:	Lake Shasta is located just out of Redding in Northern California. It has over 350 miles of shoreline with little more than about 25% accessible by car.
Species:	Several Trout species, landlocked Chinook Salmon, Smallmouth Bass, Florida-strain Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass, and a variety of panfish and catfish.
Equipment:	South Bend 7' light action (4 to 8 lb) spinning and casting rod and reel combo's. Trilene 8 lb. Sensi Thin line. Lures: A variety of trolled lures that includes Shasta Tackle's Cripple Lure, Humdinger, and Koke-A-Nut/Sling Blade Combination. Berkley Powerbait scent.
Tips:	Lake Shasta is a sprawling complex lake that has an abundant food base, resulting in exceptional growth rates in its fish. An important food source is threadfin shad, along with protein-rich plankton that can be found in thick clouds throughout the lake. Our guide, Gary Miralles has spent most of his life fishing this lake and testing his trolling methods and lures. Gary favors an active, multilevel approach in trolling for the lake's Trout and Salmon. If you purchase a two-rod stamp, each angler can fish two rods at a time and as many as three hooks (or three lures with one hook each) per rod. If there's two anglers and four rods, Gary generally fishes two rods "on top", using a simple flatline trolling method. This means he attaches his main line to a high quality barrel swivel and a 30" leader with either a Cripple Lure or Humdinger attached as the lure. The other two rods are run to different depths on downriggers, i.e. one lure down to 40', and the other to 30'. In addition to the lures that are run off the downrigger ball, Gary generally runs a "slider" down the line with a Humdinger attached. This unique method incorporates a plug snap (a.k.a. plug clip) and 18" leader with the lure attached. The clip is attached to the line after the lower lure (off the downrigger ball) is set and slides about halfway down the line. This happens as a result of the bow in the line that occurs between the rod tip and the downrigger ball. The snap only travels midway down the line because of this bow. In using this method, Gary is able to fish two lures at 8' to 10', another at 15' (a slider), one at 20' (another slider), a fourth lure at 30', and the deepest one at 40'. This optimizes his coverage and allows him to fish most effectively as he covers the lake. The distance Gary runs his lures behind the boat are dictated by the depth he is running. The lures that are being flatlined (or fished "on top") are generally run about 150' behind the boat while the deeper trolled lures are often fished 40' or 50' behind the downrigger ball. He runs his boat at speeds of 1.25 mph to as fast as 2 mph while trolling, depending on what speed the fish seem to respond best. Gary believes that some kind of scent product is essential to his success and uses it liberally and often on his lures. Lake Shasta is a wonderful vacation getaway that is home to several Trout species, landlocked Chinook Salmon, Smallmouth Bass, Florida-strain Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass, a variety of Panfish and Catfish. The best time of the year is late spring and fall. While summer tends to be a little busy for most anglers tastes, fishing remains excellent year round.