To score some big fall salmon in Shasta, it’s imperative to troll lures with lots of action and bright colors that are visible in deep water.

Two areas are known to hold the 3- to 5-pound chinook: Dry Creek and the dam. In September, they return to these areas to spawn because it’s where they were stocked as juveniles, said Miralles.

You’ll find salmon in other areas of the main river channel and at the mouths where the rivers meet the main lake. But these will be younger fish, not the fully mature ones.

FOLSOM LAKE
Only recently has Folsom’s inland chinook fishery begun to shine. And as a side note, this will likely be the last year for anglers to find good fishing. Due to issues at hatcheries, kings haven’t been planted in Folsom for the last few years.

After this fall, there won’t be any more juvenile kings available to grow to adults. It’s unclear whether the program will continue in the future. The DFG is hinting at switching the stocking allotment to kokanee.

This could be the end of the line for great chinook action at Folsom. But anglers have a chance at catching 5-pound chinook right now!

“It’s extremely good this year,” said guide Fred Thomason of Last Cast Guide Service. “We haven’t seen Folsom this good in at least four years.”

The state planted chinook two years ago, and this year, Thomason said, they’re finally seeing those fish.

September can be a good time to target these chinook, but you’ll have to deal with boat traffic.

Fish from first light till roughly 9 a.m., particularly on the weekends when the lake can look like Interstate 5, except with boaters.

The California State Parks at Folsom State Recreation Area may implement a no-questions-asked 5 mph speed limit on the entire lake, in response to extremely low water levels that expose underwater hazards.

“That changes everything,” said Kyle Nesser of Crystal Basin Tackle and Guide Service. With the speed limit, it’s a fisherman’s lake, he said.

Folsom’s adult chinook are creatures of habit. You’ll find them off the face of the dam and up the South Fork Arm.

Anglers will need a depthfinder to locate the exact range they’ll be in, but expect them to be in roughly 50 to 150 feet of water.

“In the spring, they were running 22 to 24 inches, and I’d think they’d be much bigger in the fall,” said Nesser.

“By then, they could be close to 30 inches. If we are catching them at 2 to 3 pounds in the spring, they should be close to 5 pounds this fall.”

Jay Rowan, a California Department of Fish and Game biologist, said this will be the last year for a while that anglers will have an opportunity to catch the chinook.

Even if the DFG were to restock the lake in future, it would take at least two years for trophy fish to be again available.

“They’re going to be tougher to catch in the fall because there’s going to be fewer fish than there were in the spring,” said Rowan.

The ones in there now are getting towards the end of their lifespan. There’s going to be fewer available.”

But by September, they should be good-size fish he said.

Once you locate the kings, catching them won’t be a chore.

Trollers tend to drag shad-imitation spoons behind dodgers and stickbaits and roll shad and anchovies scented in garlic, krill or anise.