how do you fish at shasta?

[boomguy]

i dont really have a clue how to fish at shasta. i am leaving 7/26 - 8/2. how do you fish for bass, catfish, crappie. what jigs, cranks, spinners, baits. what colors. im really interested in getting into a couple big bass, but also want some big cats. will be just running around in a kayak by the house boat.

really, any info helps.

[flippinbaits]

i dont really have a clue how to fish at shasta. i am leaving 7/26 - 8/2. how do you fish for bass, catfish, crappie. what jigs, cranks, spinners, baits. what colors. im really interested in getting into a couple big bass, but also want some big cats. will be just running around in a kayak by the house boat.

really, any info helps.


running into big bass? it's getting harder these days at shasta. running into numbers, not so much of a problem. Shasta has some great points easily visible from shore. fish those rock points and you will find those spotted bass. Yes spotted! you will find that the majority are spotted, followed by SM then LM. if you want real simple, throw a night crawler on the bottom. then you can catch all the species you mentioned. if you want more fun with casting and working the lure yourself, try a darter head or shakey head on an oxblood or brwn/green roboworm. 4.5 inch works great. you can rig them texas rig, but the hook set is easy with the darter head as the agressive spots usually get hooked when they nail it. my favorite reaction bait there is either the rapala x rap or the black spinnerbait. both work well. and finally, during mornings and nights throw some topwater. an easy topwater is the popper. it will produce a couple fish a night, meaning the nice explosion out of the water. but if you skilled, walk the dog with a spook jr and you will do very well with low light conditions. like i said, lots of numbers, but might have to work hard for something 3+ lbs. if you get bored of the dinks, throw on a powerworm or a run some paddletail swimbaits. goodluck! my buddy just got back from over a week there and landed tons of spots, a few smallies, and one LM over 3 lbs. good luck!!! gives us a report when ur back

[Pelhament]

Heres my report from may:

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=199308

[flippinbaits]

great report to read, but also know that the water level has dropped a ton sense then and the water is warmer. but great pics and ideas in that previous post :applause:

[Thunnus]

Just troll crank baits near shore or early in the morning go into the narrow fingers or small coves and cast surface stuff like a jitterbug or crazy crawler. They love that. But it must be first light.:twocents::twocents:

[boomguy]

thank you for the bass tips! are there any good baits that work well for catfish. shad, night crawlers, chicken liver. is it any good at night?

[boomguy]

are there any crawdads worth throwing out traps for?:pray:

[Pelhament]

We saw remains of crawdads all over the place. We go every summer and throw every bait imaginable for catfish and never hooked up. The one that was caught in my thread above was on a 6" Shad-rap jerk bait that we were throwing at bait balls being busted near the banks. Never thought we would catch a catfish on a rapala.

[boomguy]

thank you for the tips so far!:meme:

[boomguy]

if you can catch the little shiner shad, do they work well for bass or catfish.

[elkstopper]

We just got back. A simple neon green worm on a jig worked for us. Early morning and evening.

One day we got into a cove(McCloud Arm) that had baitfish boiling on top. Pulled out some silver rooster tails and the fishing was on. The kids had a great time, some times it only took 1 cast other times 2, but they all caught multiple fish and often times we had doubles on. The kids probably caught and released 40 -50 fish, not bad for off the back of the houseboat. The next day the baitfish were gone and so were the majority of the bass.

[boomguy]

what kind of fish are the bait balls

[fishonthebrain]

sent pm

[SImudBogger]

dropshot

[boomguy]

do natural baits work for catfish, like crappie guts, crawdads, the shiner shads?

[jig n bobber]

I usually use a fishing pole....lol Just had to throw that out there, I've actually haven't fished there since I was a little kid, so I really don't have a good idea.