Shasta Lake, CA fishing times & weather

Spot type

A large reservoir on the Sacramento River behind Shasta Dam, about 12 miles north of Redding in Shasta County (OEHHA, 2017; CDEC — SHA). CDEC lists the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as the operator of its Shasta Dam station (CDEC — SHA). The Shasta-Trinity National Forest runs the lake's public boat ramps (USFS — Centimudi; USFS — Bailey Cove; USFS — Antlers). The water level changes a lot through the year, and the Forest Service lists which ramp lanes are available at different drawdowns.

Public access

• Boat ramps. The Forest Service lists lane availability by lake drawdown for its public ramps:
  • Centimudi, near Shasta Dam: four lanes with a courtesy dock at 0–75 ft of drawdown, three lanes at 76–95 ft, and two lanes up to 210 ft (USFS — Centimudi). As of 2026-10-16, the ramp page reports a large amount of driftwood at the ramp.
  • Bailey Cove, on the lower McCloud River arm: two lanes until the lake level drops 50 ft (USFS — Bailey Cove). As of 2026-10-16, Forest Order 14-25-11 closes Bailey Cove Road (Forest Road 34N40Y), which leads to the ramp, from September 4 through December 31, 2026 (USFS — Bailey Cove Road closure).
  • Antlers, on the upper Sacramento River arm: four lanes until drawdown reaches 75 ft. The ramp then closes and launching moves to the Sugarloaf low-water ramp, which is open from 75 to 160 ft of drawdown (USFS — Antlers). The Forest Service says Antlers may also close when the parking lot fills or debris makes launching hazardous.
• Before a trip. Check the Forest Service ramp pages above for current ramp status.

Commonly caught species

• The Forest Service lists rainbow and brown trout, landlocked Chinook salmon, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, channel and white catfish, crappie, bluegill, white sturgeon and brown bullhead (USFS — Shasta Lake).
• CDFW reported that Shasta Reservoir received inland Chinook and kokanee salmon plants in spring 2024 (CDFW news, Aug 2024).
• OEHHA's 2017 fish advisory covers black bass species, rainbow trout, Chinook (king) salmon, sunfish species, carp and channel catfish from the lake (OEHHA, 2017).

Local rules and authority

• Regulations. The Forest Service points anglers to the CDFW fishing regulations (USFS — Shasta Lake). Check current regulations with CDFW before fishing.
• Fish consumption. OEHHA has issued site-specific eating advice for Shasta Lake fish, based on mercury and PCB levels (OEHHA, 2017). Check OEHHA for current advice.
• Invasive mussels — self-certification. Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area asks boaters to complete an invasive mussel-free certification and display it through the windshield while at Whiskeytown, Shasta, Trinity and Lewiston lakes. Boats used in listed counties or waters must meet a drying period or be professionally decontaminated before launching; the form gives the details and says requirements may change (WSTNRA mussel-free certification). The Forest Service ramp pages ask boaters to clean, drain and dry (USFS — Centimudi).
• Forest Service mussel order. Shasta-Trinity National Forest Order 14-25-29 prohibits possessing or transporting golden, zebra or quagga mussels below the high-water mark of Shasta Lake, Trinity Lake, Lewiston Lake, Iron Canyon Reservoir and McCloud Reservoir, and on any boat ramp that serves them. It is in effect from December 4, 2025 through December 4, 2027 (USFS — Mussel Prohibition order).

Tide station

Not applicable — freshwater lake; no ocean tides. This site does not show Shasta Lake's water level. CDEC station SHA (Shasta Dam) publishes daily reservoir elevation and storage (CDEC — SHA).

Other spots nearby

• Whiskeytown Lake. In the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (NPS), with rainbow trout, kokanee salmon and bass (NPS — Whiskeytown fishing).
• Upper Sacramento River. The river above Shasta Lake, with rainbow and brown trout, and smallmouth bass at the lower end just above the reservoir. Special regulations apply; check CDFW (USFS — Upper Sacramento River).
• Lewiston Lake. Reached from Redding via Highway 299 West and Trinity Dam Boulevard. Rainbow, brown and brook trout (USFS — Lewiston Lake).
• Trinity Lake. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, rainbow and brown trout, kokanee and landlocked Chinook salmon, white catfish, brown bullhead and sunfish (USFS — Trinity Lake).

Note updates

• 2026-10-16: Checked against the sources listed below and approved, replacing the earlier draft shown on this page. Statements we couldn't confirm from those sources were taken out, and status lines now carry the date we checked them. Changes from the draft:
  • Removed a "full pool" elevation and a "feet below full" figure; CDEC doesn't publish them as such.
  • Added the Forest Service's Bailey Cove Road closure (Forest Order 14-25-11, September 4 – December 31, 2026).
  • Wording on who operates the dam and runs the boat ramps now matches the sources.
  • Removed estimated distances to nearby lakes.

Sources

1. OEHHA — Press release: Fish Advisory for Shasta County's Shasta Lake (Feb 27, 2017) (PDF) — https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/advisories/shastapress022717.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
2. CDEC — Station metadata: Shasta Dam (SHA) — https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=SHA — accessed 2026-10-16
3. USDA Forest Service — Shasta Lake (Shasta-Trinity NF) — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/shasta-lake — accessed 2026-10-16
4. USDA Forest Service — Centimudi Public Boat Ramp — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/centimudi-public-boat-ramp — accessed 2026-10-16
5. USDA Forest Service — Bailey Cove Public Boat Ramp — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/bailey-cove-public-boat-ramp — accessed 2026-10-16
6. USDA Forest Service — Antlers Public Boat Ramp — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/antlers-public-boat-ramp — accessed 2026-10-16
7. CDFW News — 1.53 million inland salmon released to enhance recreational fishing (Aug 2024) — https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/153-million-inland-salmon-released-to-enhance-recreational-fishing — accessed 2026-10-16
8. CDFW — Fishing and Hunting Regulations — https://wildlife.ca.gov/Regulations — accessed 2026-10-16
9. NPS / Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity NRA — Invasive Mussel-Free Certification (version 7/1/2026) (PDF) — https://www.nps.gov/whis/learn/nature/upload/WSTNRA-Mussel-Free-Self-Certification_version-7-1-2026.pdf — accessed 2026-10-16
10. NPS — Fishing at Whiskeytown NRA — https://www.nps.gov/whis/planyourvisit/fishing-at-whiskeytown-nra.htm — accessed 2026-10-16
11. USDA Forest Service — Upper Sacramento River (above Shasta Lake) — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/upper-sacramento-river-above-shasta-lake — accessed 2026-10-16
12. USDA Forest Service — Lewiston Lake — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/lewiston-lake — accessed 2026-10-16
13. USDA Forest Service — Trinity Lake — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/recreation/trinity-lake — accessed 2026-10-16
14. USDA Forest Service — Bailey Cove Road Closure Order (Forest Order 14-25-11) — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/alerts/bailey-cove-road-closure-order — accessed 2026-10-16
15. USDA Forest Service — Shasta-Trinity NF Order 14-25-29, Mussel Prohibition — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/shasta-trinity/alerts/mussel-prohibition — accessed 2026-10-16