Book Your Fishing Charter in Shasta Lake, CA

You can find Shasta Lake, a.k.a Central Valley, in Shasta County in California. Aside from sharing its name with the state’s largest reservoir, it is also the gateway to the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. Finding a place to fish in the city will pose no problems as the expansive Lake Shasta is within reach.

The city’s unique proximity to the wilderness and numerous waterways make it a Mecca for outdoor recreation. Whether you want to hike or bike along scenic trails or go wakeboarding, waterskiing, and boating at the lake, you’ll never run out of fun things to do. You can even experience your whole visit surrounded by water if you rent one of the many available houseboats in the area. Anglers will have plenty of chances to catch a wide variety of game, even trophy-sized fish, if they decide to spend their time in Shasta Lake.

Shasta Lake Fishing: Abundant Reservoir Fishing

Whether you want to fish from the shore or by boat, Shasta Lake offers multiple opportunities for either with a fantastic chance of success. You can be rest assured that looking for big fish won't be hard in this city.

Lake Shasta is the largest reservoir in California, which means you’ll find plenty of fish in it. Among all the fishing spots in the city, this is the one you should check out first. You can target both cold water and warm water species such as rainbow trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, chinook salmon, black crappie, bluegill, carp, riffle sculpin, black fish, white sturgeon, channel squawfish, threadfin shad, channel catfish, white catfish, brown bullhead, green sunfish, golden shiner, hardhead minnow, Sacramento sucker, and Sacramento squawfish in its waters. A few public and commercial boat ramps are available if you want to fish by boat. Shoreline fishing is also great, especially if you head around the Shasta Dam area. 

The reservoir has many river arms and small tributaries that see great fishing action. If you plan on targeting rainbow trout, brown trout, and chinook salmon, go to the McCloud River arm. Brown trout are common from Turntable Bay to Hirz Bay. The Sacramento River arm, Dry Fork, Little Squaw Creek, Big Backbone Creek, and Shasta Dam are fantastic areas for rainbow trout. If you’re keen on bass angling, you’ll have great luck catching spotted bass because it’s the most common species you’ll encounter. You can also book a fishing guide who can help you navigate these waters and share the best angling methods and spots.

Moccasin Creek, which can be found below Shasta Dam, also hosts similar species and northern pikeminnow, black bullhead, and skamania trout. Head to Keswick Reservoir to the southwest for terrific trout fishing. You might even be able to reel in trophy-sized trout.

Explore More of Shasta Lake

1. Explore the Lake Shasta Caverns

You can experience various guided tours of the 250-million-year-old National Natural Landmark. Pick between a cavern tour, dinner cruise, or group tour that takes you on a boat ride to explore the underground caverns just below Mount Shasta. 

2. Enjoy the Scenic Wilderness

Shasta Lake is close to many scenic hiking and biking trails, part of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area, and offers panoramic views of the lake, mountains, and forests. You can explore the Clikapudi Trail, the Dry Fork Creek Trail, and the Fisherman's Point Trail.