Shaver Lake??

[goodguy]

Hey,
Taking my wife, daughter, and dog out camping at Shaver lake in a month.. We're renting a boat, I will also be doing some shore fishing, as well as my float tube.
Any tips on the Trout, Salmon, or Smallmouth?
Thanks!

[SierraPeaks]

Shaver can be rough this time of year with all the water skiiers and personal watercrafters. Your best bet is to stay by the dam, or get back into North Fork cove, at either the Stevenson Creek or Azalea Creek inlets, or South Fork Cove, at the Stevenson Creek inlet.

[Trout-Tuna-For.Me]

goodguy,
Trout fishing is the best of all the species of fish in that lake, with kokanee second and small mouth bass third. There are also catfish and crappie there too but going into the sierras everyone goes for trout.
If you're renting a boat and are taking a leadcore setup, troll for kokanee. Any of the tackle stores in Shaver will let you know how deep and what they are hitting on. If you don't have a leadcore setup troll flashers with a crawler trailer, Needlefish, or Rapalas. Also since you'll have the boat, check out Stevensons Creek. It's a good place to just anchor and fish the moving water with lures, jigs, or bait.
The small mouth bass is another story. If you have electronics on the boat they will be easier to find since they like structure. I have caught smallies right up close to the dam from shore and they love live crickets! Brown trout too, and live crickets are available at Shaver Sports, the only tackle/sport store on the left side of the road as you go through town. A really nice guy and his son run the place.
A more float tube friendly lake about an hour+ away is Wishon Resavoir, Courtright Resavoir also.
I've been going to the west side of the Sierras for over 40 years and Wishon is my fav. I always stay at Wishon Village, a campground with RV and tent sites. The RV sites have full hookups, even a hookup for waste at each site. I've always tent camped and all of those sites have a level wood platform to set your tent on.....how cool is that ?
Fishing at Wishon is great also, with rainbows, browns, and some brookies there also.
I could go on and on about the lakes and streams around Shaver, but my first choice of a place to camp at is Wishon. Wishon Village has a site where you can see pics and make reservations...... www.wishonvillage.com
PM me if you want more info about the area.
HAVE A GREAT TIME !
TTFM

[goodguy]

Awesome! Thank you for the information! We are camping at camp edison on shaver lake so I'll be just hanging around that lake mostly. I haven't done a whole lot of trolling, so I'm not 100% familiar with the rigging etc. But I'm trying to learn before we go, I have a month so I'm doing my research now.

[Guest Who]

Trout-Tuna,

How do you think Wishon and the rest compare to the eastern sierras? I've only been on the west side once (to shaver). Couldn't catch any trout and ended up catching some dink smallmouth over rock-strewn structure. From what I read you have to know what your doing (and be in a boat) to catch any trout there.

[Trout-Tuna-For.Me]

Guess Who
First of all, the difference between the east side of the Sierras and the west side is the temps, scenery, and number of people that go there. I think of the east side of the Sierras as an extension of the upper desert where I live, and the west side is a little cooler which is an escape for me. The west side also looks prettier to me because of all the big sequoias, redwoods, granite boulders and mountains. Sure there is some of that on the east side, but with more people too......my 2 cents................................anyways...... ...........................
Having a boat is a plus in any lake in the Sierras. You can cover so many more places on the lake. I like fishing where the streams/creeks/rivers enter the lake because the trout are always hungry looking for food that washes into the lake and the highly aerated water makes the fish fight more, and bigger fish like to hang where it gets deeper and go for their meal of smaller fish.
Unfortunately all of the streams feeding Shaver are on the far side of the lake where a boat is necessary to get there.
I've fished off the rocks next to the dam at Shaver and have done quite well using inflated nightcrawlers or PB, lures, and even a fly/bubble setup. Most of the time I use the fly/bubble rig with a #12 size Zug Bug. That rig will catch trout in any of the lakes in that area.
If you're going to camp out for more than a couple days, I'd take half day trips to other lakes or streams. Huntington Lake, Edison Lake, Florence Lake, Portal Forebay, Wishon Res, and Courtright Res are all within a couple hour drive from Shaver. All of these lakes/Res are quieter than Shaver and don't have the skiers and PWC users, and in my opinion they have better trout fishing. My biggest fish on the West side of the Sierras is a 12lb brown caught at Huntington. Edison, Florence, Huntington, Wishon, and Courtright all have big brown trout in them and I haven't seen/heard of any caught out of Shaver.
Portal Forebay is my little secret place to catch 3 kinds of trout, which hardly anyone knows they are in there because the DFG stocks it with rainbows and the lake is so small. Boats are permitted there but with no motors of any kind. Float tube, canoe, kayak, or inflatables only.
If you're really looking to catch trout in this area of the Sierras, my advise is to go check out Wishon Res. A good place to shore fish or float tube is on the other side of the dam that you can drive across and park and make the short hike down to the water. There's a small creek that enters there and the place to fish is where it gets deep and you can't see the bottom anymore. PB, live crickets, inflated nightcrawlers, lures, or the fly/bubble rig all work. Or if you want to see some great scenery, rent a boat, once you leave the marina head east. Once you get past the hydro-electric plant keep going. Follow that back as far as you can go, that's where the Kings River enters the lake. XLNT fishing back there for hold-over or natural rainbows and brown trout. I've caught a limit of nice sized fish (1.25-2.0lbs) in a couple hours. Mostly rainbows but usually a couple browns mixed in. A morning there could be 20-30 fish. I do a lot of C&R and only keep a couple for dinner.
Again, I could go on and on about the lakes and streams in this area. The most important factor for me when I go up that way is to go either early or late in the season when there are that many less people taking vacations.
Most of all, ENJOY !
TTFM

[Guest Who]

Trout-Tuna, greatly appreciate the info.