Low lake level at Lake Shasta

[zany]

I have a houseboat trip planed for Aug 17 thru the 24 at Lake Shasta.
I just checked and the water level is down 62' and is droping about a foot a day. At this rate the lake is going to be down 100' by the time we get there.

I have not boated on Shasta when it been this low.
Any sugestion on were to go or even more important were not to go.
Thanks for the help.

[Razzman]

Just got back from a week at Shasta last Staurday. Yup a foot a day is about right. We launched early everyday for 8 days and you could visibly see the change day to day. Islands have popped up all over, the channels are narrower and the idiots are stupider! The worse part is each day the walk up the ramp is another foot longer!

We launched out of Antlers each day and i talked to Crusty the ramp host and he said Antlers will be out of the water at 75 feet. Almost there now. If you don't want the crowds then stay to the lower lake. Once past the Gooseneck on the Sacramento River arm it'll open up and there's a lot more room. There's a lot more room and water around Bridge Bay. I don't know where your staying but if Antlers is out then Sugarloaf will still be open down the road.

Word to the wise; watch the water! It's not uncommon right now to be in over 200' of water and your depth gauge suddenly goes to under 20' real quick, in some cases we went to 10' or less and we were 30-40'+ away from the shoreline. There's all kinds of peaks under there so watch carefully! We saw over half a dozen boats grounded or damaged due to stupidity. Just use your head and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, watch were the idiots go too!

Case in point; Here's Idiot #1. Towing a tube in a narrow cove, whipping the crap outta these two poor souls IN A BASS BOAT! Mind you i actually watched this moron go around the tube SIX times before shooting straight out and probably causing neck injury! What a dweeb! Notice water level ...

[ragboy]

If you are going to be out, in drought conditions, shasta is one of the best, because it is deep and can take it. Just not as pretty. Stay in dark green/blue water, stay away from light green, and brownish. At Shasta/Oroville the shallow areas are always noticeable by water color. Also, watch for tree stumps when in narrower coves and close to the shore. When you get where you are going, the "dude" at the marina should know of anything special you should watch out for. Other than that, use common sense, be safe, and you should be fine.

[WRKTOSKI]

I crew up going to Shasta and the best place to play in any condition is the Mccloud arm, go up as far as you can then beach the boat and play. Have fun. The sacramento arm is always a mad house the Pit has to many trees and the Sqaw is probably drying up.

[zany]

I crew up going to Shasta and the best place to play in any condition is the Mccloud arm, go up as far as you can then beach the boat and play. Have fun. The sacramento arm is always a mad house the Pit has to many trees and the Sqaw is probably drying up.

The last we went the pit had the best water but the lake was only down 30'.
We didn't try the Mccloud.