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Pit River

Guide Leslie Ajari with a colorful Pit River rainbow
Guided Fly Fishing Trips
Full Days: $650 for 1-2 Anglers, additional anglers $150 each
Half Days: $500 for 1-2 Anglers, additional anglers $150 each
  • Year-round
  • Walk/wade

The Pit River below Lake Britton dam has the highest catch rate and most consistent fishing of all the streams in northern California. One reason for the excellent fishing is the physical difficulty involved in fishing the Pit. Flows bottom out around 300cfs in the fall, which means the river flows very fast year round. Combine the swift current with slippery boulders and thick streamside vegetation and you have some truly difficult conditions. If we were to rate rivers on their level of wading difficulty, the Pit River would be an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10!

If you're up for the physical challenge, we would love to guide you on this great fishery. Once you get in place to fish a nice piece of water, it's rare to not find fish! When the Pit River is fishing at its best, anglers hook multiple fish in each small pocket.

Thirty miles of river provide endless opportunities to get away from other anglers. There are parts of the river right alongside a paved road as well as portions that require a strenuous hike to access. No matter where you choose to fish, you are likely to be rewarded with strong, wild rainbow trout pulling on the end of your line. The Pit fishes best from April through mid-July and again from mid-September through December. Mid-summer can be excellent, too, especially if the weather is not overly hot. Dry fly fishing is good mid-day early and late in the season and is excellent on summer evenings. Most of the time we fish with nymphs on the Pit. This river is an excellent place to learn various nymphing techniques, including indicator and indicatorless techniques.

Most of our Pit River trips originate from Burney, Fall River Mills, or Redding. Guides Brian Kohlman and Mike Wright do most of our Pit River guide trips.

Pit River Hatch Chart

Mayflies
Green Drakes
Baetis
PMD
Isonychia
Caddisflies
Rhyacophila
Glossosoma
Hydropsyche
October Caddis
Stoneflies
Golden Stones
Giant Stoneflies
Little Yellow Stones
Terrestrials
Grasshoppers
May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
 
                         
                         
                         
                         
 
                         
                         
                         
                         
 
                         
                         
                         
 
                         

Lodging Recommendations

The Pit River is close to the town of Burney, California. Please visit our Burney Info Page for ideas on lodging, logistics, and other activities in the area. Many of our guests also base their Pit River trip out of Fall River Mills, Mt Shasta City, or Redding.

Pit River Photo Gallery

Autumn on the Pit River
An angler hooked up on the Pit River
The Pit River can produce some very large trout
Guide Andrew Harris and guest with a nice Pit River rainbow
An angler hooked up in a fast-flowing section of the Pit River
Pocket water on the Pit River

 

Public Lands

Some of our Pit River fly fishing trips are conducted on public lands administered by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and/or Lassen National Forest.

Confluence Outfitters operates under permit from the Shasta/Trinity and Lassen National Forest on a non-discriminatory basis.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.

To file a complaint alleging discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html , or at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provided in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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