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Shasta Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The keystone of California water: 30,000 acres of arms and coves with year-round bass and a famous two-story fishery.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Flow
7,950 cfs
Air / High
67 / 72 F
Wind
S 2 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 11370500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Shasta Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The river is running 7,950 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 2 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 78 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from SACRAMENTO R A KESWICK CA.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 11370500.

8,91310,72012,5277,950 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp67 F
High / Low72 / 51 F
WindS 2-5 mph
Pressure1013.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 3%
Sunrise / Sunset06:39 / 19:36
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Clear, 72/51 F, wind 8 mph, rain 3%

Fair or better. A 8 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Shasta Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Shasta Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Shasta Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 61 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 61 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

California license. Bass: 12-inch minimum. Trout/salmon limits per Shasta rules: confirm with CDFW.

Access

Packers Bay, Jones Valley, Centimudi and Antlers ramps: which ones float depends on the water year.

About this water

29,740 acres at full pool on the upper Sacramento, Shasta County, CA. USBR's Shasta Dam (1945), keystone of the Central Valley Project.

Fishing Shasta Lake: the full guide

Four rivers, one lake

Shasta gathers the Sacramento, McCloud, Pit and Squaw into California's largest reservoir: 365 miles of shoreline under Mount Shasta's shadow. It fishes two stories: spotted bass (the dominant player, with a former world record) on every rocky point, and trout plus landlocked king salmon trolling the cool depths.

The spotted bass program

Shasta spots love the classics: drop shots, ned rigs and small swimbaits on 45-degree banks, points and submerged timber, 10-40 ft depending on season. Spring pushes them shallow everywhere; summer stacks bait (and everything else) off the main points at dawn; winter fish suspend with the shad. Ten-fish days are the norm, and the average size has climbed for a decade.

The house-boat fishery

Shasta's three arms fish distinct: the Sacramento arm's spotted bass on steep banks, the McCloud's clearer water and rainbow trolling, the Pit's timber and crawdad-orange cranks. Spring finds spots wolfpacking points at every level of the 100-ft drawdown rings. The signature trip remains house-boat basecamp fishing: wake at anchor, fish four hours before the wakeboats stir, repeat for a week.

Common questions

How do drought years change Shasta?

The lake can drop over 100 ft, concentrating fish on the remaining structure and making ramp choice the day's first decision. The fishing often improves as the lake shrinks: check the level trend on this page.

When is the bass topwater bite on Shasta?

May-June and again in fall: spotted bass herd shad into the coves at first light. A walking bait over 30 ft of water off the points draws the wolfpacks up.

Is fishing good at Shasta Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Whiskeytown Lake14 miTrinity Lake22 miTrinity River (CA)31 miLake Almanor71 miEagle Lake85 miMad River90 mi
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