Shasta Lake is turning into a Kokanee salmon fishing hot spot!  I've seen a lot of fishing boats on Shasta Lake this summer season, probably more than I've seen daily in recent years.  I think a lot of the unusual boat traffic is the result of Shasta Lake's new Kokanee salmon fishery.  With Whiskeytown Lake yielding small Kokanee so far this season, fishing Shasta Lake this year for Kokanee seems like a better choice, and I agree.  The Kokanee in Shasta Lake have grown considerably since early spring and we're seeing consistently larger Kokanee on the big lake.  Shasta Kokanee have been measured over 18" already and we have a few more months of growth ahead which could easily push some of this years spawning class of Kokanee into the 20" range.  Most of the Kokanee in Shasta are being caught in the lower end of the lake by the dam and 40-60' feet deep seems to be a good target depth this past week.  We really haven't started to run traditional kokanee gear just yet and we're catching them on trout and King salmon gear.  The past few days we're catching more Kokanee than we are trout.  That brings even more value to your fishing experience on Shasta Lake this year.  Kokanee are sort of a by catch right now and thats ok with us and our clients.  Never in the last few decades have the Kokanee been available in Shasta Lake as either a target species or caught incidentally so having them in the lake is a big deal.  With the numbers of Kokanee we're seeing now on our guided Shasta Lake fishing trips, I think it's time to target them from here on into September for those that are requesting them specifically.  This success story is still unfolding so be sure to check back with us right here every week!  Thank you!

Captain Jeff Goodwin