Pit River Plankton Blooms Draw Big Shasta Trout   By: Dan Bacher June 6, 2005 More Articles by Dan

For many years, Gary Miralles of Shasta Tackle Company used to avoid the plankton blooms on the Pit River arm of Lake Shasta. The plankton concentrates around floating debris, making it difficult for anglers to troll or bait fish without getting hung up.

Then 10 years ago Miralles decided to give it a try in the Pit River, in spite of the floating logs, sticks and other debris that he had to troll through. "Every time I went through that stuff we'd get some debris on the downrigger cables," he said. "But it was worth it; we took two limits of rainbows averaging 2 pounds, topped by a 4 pound fish, while trolling Cripplures."

Gary has made the Pit arm a destination every spring since then to fish the rainbows as they gorge on the zooplankton. "The Pit River arm is the only place where I have found the plankton concentrated," said Miralles. "I think it's because the river runs through a lot of farm land that puts nutrients into the water."

Trolling through the plankton is an early morning venture. "The plankton is light sensitive and hangs around the floating debris early in the morning," advised Miralles. "As the sunlight shines down on the water, the plankton moves towards the bank into the shade. It's very tough to fish along the shore because of all of the trees and brush in the Pit Arm," said Miralles.

The plankton blooms appear first in late April and last through May. The blooms concentrate around where the water temperature changes from 63 degrees to 55 degrees. When the water temperature warms up, the plankton moves further up the river progressively all of the way to below Pit Power House #7.

"The plankton bite is over by June, when the surface water temperature rises into the sixties," said Miralles. "The plankton and the fish scatter before the thermocline begins to develop."

But while it is happening, fishing the plankton bite on the Pit River is one of the most exciting fishing experiences of the year. Richard Alves, Fish Sniffer Webmaster, and I trolled the Pit Arm with Miralles on the morning of the Kokanee Power Lake Shasta Derby on May 1.

After launching at Jones Valley, we headed up the Pit arm in Miralles' North River boat. Miralles kept cruising up the Pit until he found big clusters of debris surrounded by greenish clouds of zooplankton.

"We'll start trolling here," said Miralles as he began to put his lures out. "Hey Dan, steer the boat and watch out for debris."

Within 10 minutes, the first fish of the day hit the top line on the starboard side of the stern. "Grab it, Richard!" Miralles shouted.

After a short but spirited fight, Miralles netted the fish. It was a fat holdover rainbow of Pit River origin, as evidenced by the multitude of black spots on the belly and side.

For the next two hours, we caught one fish after another, keeping a total of seven fish over 2 pounds each. The fish hit red/gold and copper/orange Hum Dingers below copper/melon Sling Blades, as well as brass/orange, brass red and Glo firetiger Cripplures. All of the fish were from the surface to 10 feet.

We had to dodge sticks and rafts of debris, often having to pull in the rods and downriggers after they became bogged down with debris. The old maxim, "no pain, no gain," definitely applies to fishing the Pit in the spring when the plankton is in bloom.

However, the sun rose further in the sky and the bite dropped off. The plankton was moving into the shady areas along the bank when we left the area around 11:00 am.

From after the thermocline forms in July until the lake turns over in the fall, the most consistent fishery of the year can be found at Shasta, since the fish concentrate in water from 40 to 100 feet deep, according to Miralles. The trout can be found throughout the main body and the Sacramento, McCloud, Squaw Creek and Pit River arms feeding on shad, the lake's main forage fish.

The Department of Fish and Game stocks 31,000 pounds of catchable rainbows, 63,000 fish, every November. 43,000 of these fish are Pit River strain, while the other 20,000 are Eagle Lake strain rainbows. "We stock the Pit strain fish in Shasta because these fish are resistant to the whirling disease that is endemic to the Pit system," noted Larry Hanson, associate DFG fisheries biologist.

The Kokanee Power cage pen fish program also helps boost the fishery. Each of the pens, located at Sugar Loaf Cottages, Antler's Resort and Tsasdi's Resort, are filled with 750 rainbows. These fish grow from a half-pound to between 1-1/2 and 3 pounds between November and late April, when they are released, according to Hanson.

"There is a lot of natural reproduction of rainbow and brown trout in the Sacramento and McCloud rivers and other tributaries," observed Hanson. "The lake has a very viable trout fishery."

Brown trout, a self-sustaining fishery, typically offer the best fishing in Shasta from January through June. "After that, I have no idea where these fish go," noted Miralles.

Miralles likes to run large Rapalas and AC plugs in rainbow patterns for the browns, although he has also caught them while speed trolling (over 3 mph) with large Hum Dingers. Miralles has taken a lot of browns in the 5 to 8 pound range over the years, but his biggest ever went 12-1/2 pounds. The McCloud River provides the best brown habitat, but the Sacramento, Squaw and Pit arms also kick out quality browns every year.

In contrast to the wild brown population, the chinook salmon population is a "put-and-grow" fishery. The DFG stocks 50,000 chinook yearlings every fall in Shasta.

"These are fall run Klamath River stock from Iron Gate Fish Hatchery that are raised at Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery near Burney," said Hanson. "We stock the lake with Klamath fish, rather than Sacramento system chinooks, because they don't have the IHN disease that is found on the Sacramento."

Miralles said the lake's main body near the dam and the Dry Creek inlet produce the most consistent salmon fishing. Anglers troll with a variety of lures and mooch with anchovies and shad at anywhere from 40 to 150 feet deep, depending upon the time of year.

Why do some years produce larger salmon than others? Hanson speculates that this may due to the lifecycle of the Klamath fish. Most become mature and spawn as three-year-olds, but some years produce more four-year-old fish than others. "Certain year classes on the Klamath have a higher percentage of four year fish and these years probably yield the larger salmon," he noted.

The lake also features outstanding fishing for spotted bass. Other species include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, channel catfish, redear sunfish and bluegill. But for Miralles and many other anglers, the big lure of Shasta is its outstanding rainbow trout, brown trout and king salmon populations.

"This is still the best trout and salmon fishery in northern California," said Miralles. "You can catch quality rainbows, browns and kings here year round."

For guided trips on Lake Shasta, call Gary Miralles of Shasta Tackle and Sportfishing, (530) 275-2278; Kirk Portocarrero of Outdoor Adventures Sportfishing, (800) 670-4448; or Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing, (209) 599-2023.

Lake Shasta Facts

Location and Size: Shasta Lake, located in the Southern Cascade Mountains north of Redding, is the keystone of the Central Valley Project and the largest man-made reservoir in California. When full, its 365 mile shoreline exceeds that of San Francisco Bay. Shasta is the second largest and tallest concrete dam in the United States. It was constructed between 1935 and 1945, and the lake was filled in 1948.

Public boat ramps: The Shasta-Trinity National Forests maintain six launching facilities. Each has a paved ramp, a lighted parking area (except Hirz Bay), and restrooms. These ramps are: Antlers on the upper Sacramento River Arm adjacent to Antlers Campground; Bailey Cove on the lower McCloud River Arm in Bailey Cove Campground area; Centimudi near Shasta Dam, northwest of Shasta Lake City; Hirz Bay on the Upper McCloud River Arm adjacent to Hirz Bay Campground; Jones Valley on the Pit River Arm at its confluence with the Squaw Valley Creek Arm near the Jones Valley Campground; Packers Bay on the Lower Pit River Arm adjacent to the Packers Bay Marina and Sugarloaf on the Upper Sacramento River Arm in the Sugarloaf area of Lakehead. The Antlers, Centimudi and Packers Bay ramps have wheelchair accessible facilities. There is a daily fee for the use of the facilities. Check with the Forest Service at the Shasta Lake Information Center, (530) 275-1589, for current lake and boat ramp conditions

Cabins and Cottages: Lakeshore Inn & RV (530) 238-2003 or 1-888-238-2003l Sugarloaf Cottages Resort (530) 238-2448 or 1-800-953-4432, Tsasdi Resort (530) 238-2575 or 1-800-995-0291; Antlers Resort & Marina (530) 238-2553 or 1-800-238-3924, Silverthorn Resort (530) 275-1571 or 1-800-332-3044; Lakehead Campground & RV Park (530) 238-8450; Salt Creek Resort & RV Park (530) 238-2161; Cascade Cove Cabin Resort (530) 238-2701; Shasta Lake RV Resort & Campground (530) 238-2370 or 1-800-374-2782; Bear Mountain RV Resort (530) 275-4728 or 1-800-952-0551.

Fishing and Guide Service Information: Gary Miralles of Shasta Tackle and Sportfishing, (530) 275-2278; Kirk Portocarrero of Outdoor Adventures Sportfishing, (800) 670-4448; Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing, (209) 599-2023, the Basshole Bait and Tackle, (530) 238-2170; and Phil's Propellers (530) 275-4939.

General Information: Go to www.shastalake.com , an excellent website for everything you wanted to know about Lake Shasta.

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