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 IN THE SHADOW OF MOUNT SHASTA
Stillwater Fly Fishing
Redding is surrounded by nearby bass ponds and a bunch of both public and private foothill lakes that are filled with cold spring water
and a healthy population of rainbow trout.
 SHADOWED BY VOLCANOES to the north and east, and with only the steep Trinity Divide separating us from the venerable steelhead rivers to the west, it is easy to forget that the Redding elevation is less than 500 feet.
Our home town was a vibrant part of the California gold rush. In fact, the second discovery of gold that helped give birth to the famous California Gold Rush was found on Clear Creek, just a few miles from The Fly Shop® by Major Pearson B. Redding. While mining practices for over a century were tragic from an eco- logical standpoint, many of these open pit tailings, dredger ponds, and quarries have since become phe- nomenal habitat for largemouth bass and trout.
That mining boom began to slow in the early 1900’s, replaced by new logging and hydropower industries which resulted in the creation of a host of even more man-made impoundments ranging in size from massive Lake Shasta to hundreds of smaller, often private, anony- mous lakes and reservoirs. Most quickly became home to rainbow trout, brown trout, and even brook and golden trout in higher elevations.
Nearby Shasta andTrinity lakes both host a number of pro- fessional tournaments and have become world-renowned as largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fisheries.
While our nearby, but slightly higher elevation alpine reservoirs, like scenic Lake Manzanita in Lassen Volcanic National Park (which should be on every still- water anglers annual angling calendar) have become popular targets for trout fishermen, the plethora of Shasta and Tehama County’s quiet low-elevation bass ponds are on private property and have largely re- mained secret and undeveloped fisheries.
For the past decade The Fly Shop® has worked hard to arrange lease agreements to a handful of the best of these private bass ponds and small lakes. Some are one- day fisheries with a simple trespass fee. Others include optional lodging or access to cabins, while full-service lodges for anglers and their guests fills a third category. These private ranches range from remote private resi- dences with spectacular back yard fisheries, to rustic alpine cabins on forested mountain lakes, or Central Val- ley bass and trout lakes within city limits.
Knowledgeable locals, with a diverse group of private stillwater options to choose from, find there’s a great lake or pond to fish nearly every day of the year.
We’ve said it before,“Within minutes of our front door, we can be up to our waders in fish.”
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