Shasta Lake Trout From The Bank

Trout anglers at Centimudi Ramp, Shasta Lake.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gary Heffley

by Gary Heffley
1-5-2020
Website

Many local bank anglers are currently finding great success using spinning gear with a casting bubble and wooly bugger fly combination for rainbow trout.  What the locals know is that schools of holdover trout, many in the three and four pound range, are returning to the areas where they were originally planted having imprinted to those waters at release looking to spawn.  

At launch ramps such as Centimudi and Jones Valley where trout are often released. it is common to see numerous trout swim within a couple of feet of the bank looking for a way to head upstream to spawn.  As all they find is a paved ramp, they continue to circle within the surrounding cove giving bank anglers a chance to intercept and entice a strike.  Normally these trout are present from November into February.

Some trout have also been caught with spoons and spinners but local knowledge shows that the bubble fly combo is the most productive method of catch.

Gary Heffley has been a valued contributor to MyOutdoorBuddy for over 10 years serving as manager, sales representative and reporter for much of Northern California. He is an avid outdoorsman and loves to fish and write about his adventures. He has a long history in the Sporting Goods field and uses that extensive experience to impart his wisdom in his writing.