Shasta County lakes and reservoirs are as full of water as managing agencies will allow. Officials are saying Shasta Lake has filled too quickly and they must release water to maintain a safe level incase of additional significant storms bringing in more water before summer. All I know is, the abundance of water has certainly helped relieve some of the stress everyone has suffered as a result of the continuous drought we have experienced the past four years. The lakes are busy with boaters and fishermen and its just the beginning of a great year on the water.

Last week was pretty good on Shasta Lake, but I did find the bite to be a little off by weeks end. The creeks coming into the lake have settled down quite a bit with the dry weather, and the lake has remained a bit colored up as a residual of recent storms. Monday was lights out bass fishing, but by Friday, the bass had moved back out of the creeks and onto primary and secondary points. I had 3 anglers in the big boat on Monday and we absolutely crushed the bass throwing small Shasta Bass Baits swim baits on 1/4 oz. ball head jigs. Clear Halo flake 2.5" swim baits were a top producer. Friday was a bit different and we didn't find our fish until the last part of the day. Feeling frustrated, I tied on a 1/2 oz. Shasta Bass Baits under spin and finished it off with a 5" swim bait. First cast and I got hammered by a feisty bass and quickly broke off. Not sure what happened there, but I tied another one on and it was fish on! I gave my passenger, Monty Currier of DF&W, one to tie on and a short time later he was hooked up with a nice spotted bass. We worked a nice wall in the Sac arm for about a half an hour and had hooked over 15 bass.

The higher we traveled up the Sacramento arm on Friday, the more debris we ran into. I was in my bass boat so we called it quits after enjoying a flurry of catching a bunch of average sized bass. I talked to a few others who had fished on Friday and reported good fishing as well, but indicated that the bite had slowed down for them as well. Over all, I would say the fishing is still very good, and with the swim bait bite coming on, it should continue to be very good on into the summer months. Speaking of good fishing, don't neglect the Sac River for rainbow trout fishing, its fishing very well with the releases we're seeing from Keswick Dam. I've also witnessed recent catches of Kokanee salmon in Whiskeytown Lake in recent weeks as well. Captain Anthony Cox of AC Guide Service has been out testing the waters and he is starting to catch some really nice Koke's already. Thats all I have for this week, but I'll be on Shasta again this week and will share what I know to you all again in my next report.

Photos submitted by Jeff Goodwin- Brent Townsend of Quincy, Ca. (blue jacket) holds a great Shasta Lake spotted bass caught while fishing with Jeff Goodwin. Monty Currier of DF&W (brown shirt) holds up a Shasta Lake spotted bass he caught while using a Shasta Bass Baits 1/2 oz. under spin jig and swim bait. Monty was fishing with Jeff Goodwin.

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 primarily on the Sacramento River, but also spends many days of the year fishing on The Klamath/Trinity River systems. Jeff also guides on local lakes during certain periods of the year. To learn more about the fishing trips Jeff offers, please visit Jeff Goodwin's Guide Service at www.jeffgoodwinfishing.com Facebook, Instagram, or feel free to call him anytime at (707) 616-1905.