I fished the derby with Al Fiske of Foresthill in his 19’ Duckworth Navigator. Lake Shasta was way down – approximately 154 feet from full. But Shasta is such a huge lake, it still had 190 miles of shoreline even at that elevation.

Friday evening Gary Miralles of the Shasta Tackle Company put on an informal seminar at the derby headquarters -- the Bass Hole Bar & Grill in Lakehead. Gary shared his expertise on fishing Lake Shasta with the enthusiastic crowd. It was great fun sharing tales with all the hopeful fishermen getting ready to win the big prize! We also enjoyed the excellent Prime Rib dinner special and liquid libations offered by the Bass Hole.

Saturday dawned bright and cool with a strong north wind blowing most of the day. We were all lucky that the wind had calmed down some since Thursday and Friday when it was blowing 40 miles per hour. We made the 30-minute run south from our houseboat at Antlers Resort on the Sacramento arm to the dam area.

We fished around Toupee Island and towards Big Backbone inlet. The water temperature was 64 degrees and all the trout were chasing shad on the surface. We saw several areas where shad were dimpling the surface and you could see the rainbows slashing through them as we trolled by!

Like most everyone in the derby, we caught lots of fish both days. Harold Jones of Sugarloaf resort said 91 per cent of the entrants weighed in fish on Saturday. That is an amazing statistic!

We caught fish on several different offerings, including Cripplures, Needlefish, Excel spoons, and small Rapalas – anything that looked like a small shad. On Saturday, one of my best combinations was a chrome Vance’s dodger followed by a Berkley Gulp 3” black and white minnow. I caught 6 rainbows on it Saturday. On Sunday, I trolled that combination for a couple of miles through the marauding rainbows – and never had a hit! Go figure!!

Saturday night the Derby dinner was hosted by the Lakehead Lions Club at their facility a block away from the Bass Hole. The dinner was delicious! Your choice of baked chicken or barbequed steak was served with excellent cheesy diced potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, green salad, rolls and a scrumptious light cake for dessert. There were lots of raffle prizes and a spirited crowd made it lots of fun.

Al and I weighed in 2 fish each both days, hoping to make the money, which they pay down to 25th place. I missed that mark by 17/100 of a pound! Oh well, it was a very fun time for everyone who participated. Here are the top ten winners:

1) Al Millan, Daily City, Ca. -- 9.82 Lbs.
2) Butch Jacobson, Livermore, Ca -- 9.77 Lbs.
3) David Stoffel, Redding, Ca. -- 9.30 Lbs.
4) Andrew Knorr, Folsom, Ca. -- 9.12 Lbs.
5) Richard Crispi, Sonoma, Ca. -- 8.97 Lbs.
6) Greg Higgins, Cottonwood, Ca -- 8.93 Lbs.
7) Greg Graham, Gold Hills, Or. -- 8.82 Lbs.
8) Ed Cavallero, Redding, Ca. -- 8.81 Lbs.
9) Heath Immer, Pine Grove, Ca. -- 8.65 Lbs.
10) Mike Trip Oroville, Ca. -- 8.58 Lbs

Many thanks go to the derby sponsors – the Shasta Lake Business Owners Association, North River Boats, Shasta Tackle Company, and The Fish Sniffer. A special thanks to Antlers Resort who provided the gorgeous 56-foot houseboat that we stayed on.

For information on next year’s derby, including the Spring Trout & Salmon derby co-sponsored by Kokanee Power, go to www.shastalaketroutderby.com or contact Sugarloaf Cottages at (800) 953-4432, www.shastacabins.com or Bass Hole Bar & Grill at 530-238-2170, www.bassholebarandgrill.com.