Shasta Lake
Redding · near Redding · Shasta Cascade
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Bass spring–fall · trout/salmon trolling year-round
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) required. Shasta Lake — California's largest reservoir — has a maze of arms and 365 miles of shoreline. Bass, trout, and landlocked salmon all thrive. Houseboat-and-fish is a classic. Many launches.
What is here
- Features
- California's largest reservoir · Bass, trout & landlocked salmon · 365 miles of shoreline to explore · Classic houseboat fishery
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- lake
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Casting · Trolling · Bait
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Spotted & largemouth bass · Rainbow & brown trout · King salmon (landlocked) · Catfish & crappie
- Intl tip
- License required. Bass along the rocky banks (spring–fall); troll for trout and landlocked salmon year-round. Renting a houseboat and fishing from it is the classic Shasta trip. It's huge — pick an arm and work it. Combine with Lassen and Mount Shasta. Something bites in every season.
The guide
Shasta Lake, California's largest reservoir, sprawls across the foothills north of Redding in a great four-armed maze with 365 …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Shasta Lake — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 40.718, -122.342