Bureau of Reclamation, California.
Shasta Dam and reservoir are features of the Central Valley Project - Shasta/Trinity Divisions. Recreation at the reservoir is managed by the U.S. Forest Service under agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, Northern California Area Office. Created by a dam across the Sacramento River, Shasta Reservoir is the largest reservoir in California with 370 miles of shoreline. Located 12 miles north of Redding, the reservoir provides excellent year-round bank or boat fishing. Reservoir holds 16 varieties of fish, including sturgeon. Trout species include rainbow, German brown, kamaloops, and kokanee salmon. Bass species include largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. Catfish species include channel cats, white cats, and brown bullheads. Smaller species include crappie and bluegill. During the early spring bank anglers can catch trout. During the summer the trout seek cooler temperatures with the most effective trolling at depths of 30 to 70 feet. Almost any rocky area on the lake may produce bass. Best catfish taking is in the spring and summer months at night. Although there are white sturgeon in the lake, few anglers fish for these giant bottom-feeders. Record sturgeon catch was in 1977, 190 pounds and 8 feet, 2 inches long. Reclamation is offering free public tours of Shasta Dam. Tours are offered daily at 9 and 11 a.m. and at 1 and 3 p.m. Guests should park at the Visitor Center and are asked to leave all belongings in their vehicles. No purses, cameras or bags of any kind or cell phones will be allowed on the tour. Guided tours will start at the second elevator tower on the dam and will require the visitor to pass through a metal detector. The tour, which takes about 45 minutes, will take visitors down in the elevator, out to the spillway area, and will include a view inside the power plant. Since Reclamation's priorities are to provide for the safety of visitors, employees, and our facilities, considerable security modifications and precautions have been put in place, while still offering the public an opportunity to tour the dam. The Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday 8:00 to 4:30 and on the weekends from 8:00 to 5:00.
Capell Cove boat launch is temporarily closed until further notice. For questions, please contact the Lake Berryessa Field Office at (707) 905-7896 or by email at BOR-berryessa@usbr.gov.
Off I-5 north from Redding, California.