Shasta Lake Fishing Report | September 22, 2025
The report at a glance
Depth
Past 100 feet, especially 100, 120 and 130 feet for kokanee
Presentation
For the deep kokanee bite, slow troll a dodger and squid or fly setup. Browns migrate up the rivers to spawn and rainbows follow to feed on eggs.
Lures and baits
Jeff did not call out specific lures. For the deep kokanee, a slow-troll dodger and fly presentation fits.
Weather
Cooling, with nighttime temps dropping.
Advice for this week
In the fall lull, hunt the whole water column instead of camping on one depth. Watch for browns pushing up to spawn with bigger rainbows trailing to feed on eggs.
What is changing
Water temperatures are cooling and nighttime temps are dropping, so a fall pattern is setting in.
Next week
The fall pattern should continue until winter. Most of the larger steelhead caught in the lower Klamath this summer are headed into the Trinity River system, so that fishery should build.
Shasta Lake is in its fall lull the week of September 22, 2025, with scattered fish and cooling water. Kokanee are the target down deep, best from 100 to 130 feet, though that window is fading. Rainbows and browns are the feature fish, with browns starting to migrate up the river systems to spawn and big rainbows following to feed on eggs. On the Trinity River, steelhead season has kicked off out of Weaverville.
What is biting at Shasta Lake right now?
Kokanee, rainbows, and browns, but Shasta is in its typical fall lull with scattered fish. Capt. Jeff Goodwin is chasing bites up and down the water column. Kokanee are still in the mix but likely will not hold up much longer as fall sets in.
What depth are the kokanee at Shasta Lake?
Deep. Best depths are past 100 feet, mainly 100, 120, and 130 feet for kokanee, though some fish are higher in the system. Jeff did pretty well on kokanee this week but does not expect that depth pattern to last much longer.
What are the feature fish at Shasta Lake this time of year?
Rainbows and browns. The browns are starting to migrate up the river systems for their fall spawn. Jeff expects to lose a lot of the bigger rainbows too, since they follow the browns up to feed on their eggs.
What are the conditions at Shasta Lake?
Water temperatures are cooling and nighttime temperatures are dropping, so the lake is settling into a fall pattern. Jeff expects that trend to continue until winter. Fish remain scattered through the column, so cover water and watch electronics.
What is happening on the Trinity River?
Steelhead season just kicked off. Catch America partner guide Justin Thompson started his season out of Weaverville with a couple of great trips, harvesting hatchery steelhead and catching wild fish on top. Larger steelhead seen in the Klamath are headed into the Trinity system.
Watch the full report
Shasta Lake September 2025 FAQ
Best from 100 to 130 feet, though some fish are higher in the water column.
Rainbows and browns are the feature fish, with kokanee still in the mix but fading.
Browns migrate up the river systems to spawn, and rainbows follow to feed on their eggs.
Cooling water and dropping nighttime temperatures, with the lake settling into a fall pattern.
Yes. Guide Justin Thompson started his season out of Weaverville, catching hatchery and wild steelhead.
Larger steelhead seen in the lower Klamath are headed into the Trinity River system.
Jeff does not expect it to hold up much longer as the fall pattern sets in.
