Fall Fishing Excitement Aboard A Lake Shasta Houseboat   By: Cal Kellogg October 19, 2007 More Articles by Cal

Picture the scene. After sleeping the night away like the proverbial log, your eyes spring open a few minutes before the alarm is set to ring. Turning off the alarm, you head to the kitchen and start a pot of strong coffee.

As the coffee maker sputters to life you step outside to check the weather. The milky light of dawn is illuminating the rugged peaks to the east. For once the meteorologist is right. A weak front is beginning to move through the area. The sky is overcast and a light breeze is putting just the right amount of chop on the water. After throwing on a pair of jeans and your lucky fishing shirt, you slip on a fleece jacket to cut the chill and grab your raincoat just in case.

With a Thermos under your arm you head back outside, hop in the fishing boat and motor slowly out of the cove toward the open water of the expansive lake. As you steer the boat one question dominates your thoughts. "Should I go after trout or bass?"

Surely this is the stuff of daydreams, right? Well, this scenario was a long held fantasy of mine to be sure, but last week it became a reality when my wife Gena and I spent five glorious days house boating on Lake Shasta.

I'd started laying plans for the trip back in June when I first made contact with the folks at Houseboats.com. For the past two springs I'd stayed on one of their boats during the Kokanee Power Shasta Lake Spring Trout Derby. From those experiences I knew their boats were modern, well equipped and fastidiously clean. Gena's birthday falls on September 21, so I slated the trip for September 20 through the 24th.

Gena and I towed my Jetcraft up to Redding early on the morning of the 20th and after grabbing breakfast we proceeded to Jones Valley Resort to pick up our houseboat. Gena and I were scheduled to be in a 56 foot Escapade. Since the boat was rated to sleep 15 passengers, the two of us were looking forward to having plenty of elbowroom.

The Escapade boasts all the features you'd expect to find at a high priced hotel and more including a DVD player, Bose Surround Sound, Satellite T.V., gas fireplace, hot tub, air conditioning, a pair of BBQ's and a full size kitchen with a dishwasher and trash compactor.

After going over the operation of the houseboat with one of Houseboats.com's friendly and knowledgeable staff members, another staffer transported our gear down to the houseboat using an ATV equipped with a trailer. Before Gena and I knew it we found ourselves motoring down the Pit River Arm toward the I-5 Bridge with my Jetcraft in tow. Originally, we'd planned to beach the houseboat in a cove near Jones Valley, but every time we located a good spot, we kept on moving convinced that an even better location was right around the next bend.

After three hours of cruising that included a trip up the McCloud Arm, we finally settled on Bass Cove southwest of No Name Island. After beaching the houseboat and tethering it to the bank Gena and I spent the rest of the day enjoying the Escapade's hot tub and satellite television.

The next day was Gena's birthday, so rather than hitting the water early, we slept late and e whipped her up a hearty breakfast. My plan was to get serious about fishing the next morning, but that didn't stop us from taking an afternoon cruise on the Jetcraft to have a look around.

After motoring down into the main body, I rigged up a pair of rods. One sported a Hum Dinger behind a 6 inch Sling Blade and the other was armed with a shad pattern Excel rigged behind a 4 inch Sling Blade. With one rig working off a downrigger at 40 feet and the other doing its thing at 60 feet, I guided the boat along the buoys lining the face of the dam.

I didn't mark much out in front of the dam, but as we approach the mouth of Squaw Creek the sonar's screen lit up with balls of bait and larger fish. In short order we boated a 14 inch rainbow and a king salmon weighing about 1.5 pounds. Knowing that we'd found a productive area and with a stiff wind beginning to blow, we headed back to the houseboat to celebrate Gena's birthday with a steak and shrimp dinner.

On the morning of the 22nd I was greeted with overcast skies and breezy conditions just like those I described in the beginning of this story. Gena wanted to stay in bed, so I figured I'd head out and fish until about 10 a.m. and then return for a late breakfast. Conditions looked perfect for targeting bass with top water plugs, so I made a long run up into Squaw Creek.

When I reach the 5 mile per hour buoys, I stopped and let the boat drift as I knotted a River2Sea Rover on my favorite top water rod. Just as I finished rigging the rod, I looked up and caught a flash of movement. It was a mother black bear and two cubs walking up the bank toward the tree line about 200 yards ahead of me. What a great privilege it was to see them.

Once the woods swallowed up the bears, I turned my attention to working the Rover parallel to the shoreline as I maneuvered along with the Minn Kota. I'd only made a handful of casts when the first spotted bass of the day exploded on the plug. Minutes after releasing the first bass, a hard charging 3 pound largemouth slammed the lure.

From that point on the details of the morning get hazy as I nailed bass in quick succession. After landing about 20 fish, I figured it must have been around 9 o'clock, but when I checked the time it was actually 10:10 a.m. Not wanting to leave Gena hanging, I stowed the rod and hightailed it back to the houseboat. It had been an eventful morning!

After a simple yet tasty breakfast of biscuits and gravy, Gena and I loaded into the boat and headed up the McCloud in hopes of tempting a brown trout. Despite our best efforts, aided by the seemingly ideal overcast skies, we didn't encounter any browns, but we did tangle with a handful of rainbows and kings that couldn't resist our Yo-Zuri minnow plugs.

By 4 o'clock a steady rain had descended on the lake, sending Gena and I running for the comfort of our floating home. As soon as we got back Gena put a pork roast the oven and we settled in to spend the evening watching movies on DVD.

The next morning I awoke to crimson red dawn as the sun illuminated the remnants of the previous day's storm. After boarding my Jetcraft, I made a short run to Waters Gulch and thus started one of the most memorable mornings on the water I've had in a long time.

I started off working along the bank with the River2Sea Rover. The action came almost instantly and within the first 5 minutes I busted two quality spots. Moving down the bank, I couldn't help but think that I'd catch more fish if I mixed things up and switched back and forth between the surface lure and a crankbait.

It only took me a couple minutes to grab a light spinning rod and knot a shad pattern Yo-Zuri Flat Crankbait to the line. I fired a cast off a small rocky point and started the retrieve. I don't think the lure had moved a foot when a feisty 12 inch smallmouth intercepted it. Tossing the smallie back into the water, I pitched a cast to the far side of the point.

This time the lure was nearly halfway back to the boat when the strike came. While the fish hit hard, it fought differently than a bass, darting and diving with lightening speed. Several moments later I gingerly pumped the mystery fish up to the boat and was amazed to see that it was a 22 inch Pit River rainbow.

For the rest of the morning I had phenomenal action catching one fish after another. At 10:30 when I headed back to the houseboat my tally was 14 bass to 2.75 pounds and 4 awesome rainbows from 14 to 22 inches.

In the afternoon Gena and I wrapped up the fishing for the trip by banging several handsome kings and a pair of husky bass while trolling the bait balls outside the mouth of Squaw Creek.

As I steered the Escapade back to Jones Valley early Monday morning I couldn't get over what an awesome trip we'd had. The luxurious accommodations of the houseboat proved to be the perfect setting for celebrating Gena's birthday and the fishing superb, with bass, trout and salmon all biting with equal vigor!  

About Houseboats.com  

For the angler that enjoys first rate accommodations, house boating offers unparalleled comfort and of course hard charging gamefish are just outside the door!

The folks at Houseboats.com specialize in providing luxury rental houseboats that offer the best amenities in the business. Whether you are into swimming, fishing, hiking waterskiing, relaxing or spending quality time with family and friends while partaking in any number of the afore mentioned activities Houseboats.com will provide a memorable vacation experience.

Houseboats.com provides houseboats at Lake Shasta, New Melones Reservoir and Lake McClure. There is no doubt that house boating is the most satisfying way to explore the 500 plus miles of combined shoreline that these three massive Golden State impoundments boast.

The fleet of houseboats offered by Houseboats.com, ranging from the massive triple deck Titan to the traditionally styled Royal Star, provides every amenity possible to ensure their guests have a comfortable and smooth voyage. Houseboats.com's vessels have extra wide cabins that allow more interior space. The amenities include air conditions, entertainment systems with satellite TV, DVD and surround sound, microwave ovens, tinted windows, propane BBQs, full bathrooms, private staterooms, generator and waterslide.

While house boating is great all summer, it is hard to think of a better way for a group of anglers to get together for an extending fishing adventure during the spring or fall. At these times the fish are at their most active and crowds are light.

There is nothing finer than spending a long day out on the water and then returning to your houseboat for soak in the hot tub, a hot shower, a great meal and a relaxing evening with the knowledge that you'll do it all again the next day!

Camaraderie, solitude and great fishing.If this sounds like your kind of fun give the folks at Houseboats.com a call at (877) 468-7326 or visit them on the web at Houseboats.com.