Pit Report

[Jeff F]

Eric (EO) and I hit the Pit over the weekend since our usual "opener" spot was not fishable. We've never fished the Pit on the trout season opener, and definitely won't do it again. Being long time "Pitters", we've never seen so many people on the river. And it seemed like many of which were first timers with no knowledge of the river, where to go, how to fish it, and most importantly how to wade it. It's very easy to identify Pit newbies.......they are the ones sans wading staff.

I'm not gonna go on a rant about what we encountered, but being low-holed by 5 guys.......yes 5 guys........ who obviously have zero etiquette and below zero knowledge of the river, I think says it all. But watching them in action, I suspect that such folks won't make any return trips to the Pit, which probably happens a lot, and is fine by me. Hat Creek is just a few miles away. :cool:

Anyhooo......as for the fishing.........

The water in Lake Briton is somewhat stained. So, the river in the #3 stretch is off-color. The Pit is never clear, but it was definitely more brown than blue. The flows were about 100cfs above normal on #3, and raging on #4 and #5. So we fished #3, with a quick jaunt to a spot on #4 that can fish at high flows. Crossing the river wasn't happening with the high flows, so all fishing was on the road side of the river. Eric and I landed about 15 fish each on Fri and about the same on Sat, with many other fish lost. Normal flows would've enabled crossing and therefore more fish. But all in all, we'll take it. Nothing real big size-wise this trip, but a handful of 16-17"er's in the mix.

As for bugs......there were plenty of caddis on the bushes; March Browns fluttering around; some PED's later in the day; a good number of salmonflies; and a pretty good Sallie hatch which was surprising for late April. Very little surface activity, per usual on the Pit. So it was all nymphing. Eric did good on black AP's, I did good on small stones, rubberlegs, and poxybacks.

All in all, a great trip as usual. Legs are sore, but worth every penny. Be back in June and October.

[Rossflyguy]

Clowning on someone who probably just started fly fishing and catching double digit numbers. The snobbery in this sport.

[Awood]

Agreed ... going to a blue ribbon stream opening day is a group sport. What a weekend ... just gorgeous.

[Rockman]

I am just curious, what is the distance that most flyfisherman believe is "their" water before someone else is considered a "low holer"? I will politely ask someone who was there first, how far down would he like me to fish without fishing his water. Some rivers I fish, I see lots of people lined up and everyone is getting along, other times one or more people want to fish a stretch of water that has someone fishing up high, its a long run, and they expect that nobody is allowed to fish it. Just because someone catches a fish below you, does not mean that that "low holer" robbed you of a fish. Most everyone is fishing different fly's at different depths, drag free indo. style, swinging, dry fly, etc. but it does not mean that the guy on top would have come down and caught the same fish.
What are peoples thoughts on this? Lets keep it pleasant, and informative.

[PV_Premier]

I am just curious, what is the distance that most flyfisherman believe is "their" water before someone else is considered a "low holer"?

In my opinion it really depends on the river, and specifically the relative ease of access to the areas I am fishing. In the case of a river that runs right along side the road or through the middle of town (ie., American) I have zero expectation for privacy or exclusivity. Ditto for the in-town portion of the T, or the upper lot section of the LT.

But if I have made a significant effort to get in there and I got there first, I expect a bit of space. On certain sections of the North Yuba that are hard to access and require a lot of hiking or agility to put yourself in position to catch fish, I expect to have a quarter mile of river between me and the next angler upstream of me. This is the same amount of space I'd afford to someone else in the same situation. Anytime I see a car along the side of a tough section of the NFYR, I drive at least a third or more mile upstream and then fish up, not down, from there. Fortunately, the number of people who will venture into these sections is limited, and simply by it being difficult to access, the probability of being low/high holed is decreased dramatically.

As in all things, it is a judgement call. I simply try to follow the idea of "do unto others as you would like them to do to you" when it comes to space.

[EricO]

It's not snobbery Rossflyguy, it's called being polite. I always ask which way a person is fishing, then
I go the opposite. Jeff heard them talking behind him, and they just proceeded below us. And I wouldn't
sweat one person...maybe not two. But five is rude, imho.

There was not that much water to fish below us, so the right thing would have been to go fish upstream
where there was plenty of water.

I agree with PV, do unto others.

EricO

[cdevine]

There is a balance right guys. Don't be a prick. Simple motto. If you run into jerks on the river most likely they are jerks off the river. Best advice I have is to move on. I'm just that dorky polite guy on the river but I also tend to avoid crowds. Also, I have a lot of respect for 99% of the guides who work hard to make a living so If I see one with a client I will let them have water before I take it. A couple years back I ran into "FRANK " the dean of fly fishing in truckee. He was with an older women and we were heading toward the same water. I said take it. Have fun. She didn't have the mobility I do. I honestly don't give a crap. For me its more about being out with nature and I enjoy the solitude. I've caught enough fish.

But 15 fish landed on the pit back to back sounds like a damn good trip to me. Opening day is a zoo. Fishing the Pit 3 at 400 CFS is tough. I'm hoping it gets down into the 300's later this summer.

[Jeff F]

"Clowning"? Nah. Just found it absolutely absurd that 5 guys would first of all even park at a place that already had cars there; then find out where they were fishing; not even have the courtesy to say "do you mind if we fish downstream of you"; and actually work their way upstream towards you! That's pretty clownish, I say.

Fishing with friends is cool. But IMHO, a large group of people should at least divide up and fish different areas, then compare notes at lunch or whatever. Do you all have to fish together and completely take over a specific stretch of river? Especially a river where high flows significantly reduce the amount of fishable water.

Maybe it's just me, but I really have a hard time understanding this mentality. Personally, if I'm looking for a place to fish on a river, if I see a car in a pullout, I'll go find somewhere else to fish. Maybe go back there later when the car is gone.

And you know what's really funny......after we got low-holed and started walking up the trail back to the car, there were two more guys coming down the trail to fish that small section. We told them there were 5 guys down there in basically the only fishable water in the entire access, and they kept right on going. Boggles the mind. But to each his own.....

No way is this snobbery. I was a newbie at one time too. But from day-one, I've always respected other people's desire to fish with some semblance of solitude, and expect the same from others. To me it's just a matter of respect. Yes, there are places where I really don't care if I'm fishing next to people. Pyramid Lk for example. But on a river like the Pit, with so much water to fish, and relatively easy access along a paved road, it's ridiculous to crowd others.

Definitely didn't ruin the trip or anything close to that. Just have to accept that some folks have different strokes I guess.....

[Awood]

Cool. Here's another protocol question:

I'm fishing a pressured stream in the downward direction so my lines not laying on top of the fish. At some point, I encounter another fishermen is heading upstream. First question is whether or not its bad form to fish downstream for trout? Second question is what the proper ettiequte is for either the upstream or downstream fishing angler? My personal approach is to be warm and polite; not rushing the water I'm fishing and acknowledging to the upstream fishing angler.

[Bob Loblaw]

Pit newbies are easy to spot. They are usually the ones floating past you grabbing at willows and gasping for air.

I usually give opening weekend a wide berth and gave it an especially wide berth this year with so few streams fishable. I'm not shocked the Pit was a combat zone this weekend.

[Jeff F]

Cool. Here's another protocol question:

I'm fishing a pressured stream in the downward direction so my lines not laying on top of the fish. At some point, I encounter another fishermen is heading upstream. First question is whether or not its bad form to fish downstream for trout? Second question is what the proper ettiequte is for either the upstream or downstream fishing angler? My personal approach is to be warm and polite; not rushing the water I'm fishing and acknowledging to the upstream fishing angler.

Look man, I'm not Miss Manners or Ann Landers, but I fish downstream 99% of the time, unless it's a very small stream where you have to cast up into little plunge pools, etc. I just park the car way downstream, then walk upstream on the road or trail, and then fish my way back to the car. And on the Pit, fishing upstream is freaking nuts. Fighting that current and that so-called "streambed", and the bushes is an exercise in futility.

But on other "normal" streams, I agree wholeheartedly with you. No problem whatsoever if I'm converging with an upstream fisherman. Sit and chat for a bit, compare notes, all fine and dandy. Sure, I'd prefer not to fish "dirty" water, but one guy isn't gonna bother me one bit. Plus I'm a very confident wader and I can usually hit water that the other guy didn't fish. And if the river is crossable, I'll cross and we'll all be happy campers. The other side of the river always seems better, right? :D

[cdevine]

Look man, I'm not Miss Manners or Ann Landers, but I fish downstream 99% of the time, unless it's a very small stream where you have to cast up into little plunge pools, etc. I just park the car way downstream, then walk upstream on the road or trail, and then fish my way back to the car. And on the Pit, fishing upstream is freaking nuts. Fighting that current and that so-called "streambed", and the bushes is an exercise in futility.

But on other "normal" streams, I agree wholeheartedly with you. No problem whatsoever if I'm converging with an upstream fisherman. Sit and chat for a bit, compare notes, all fine and dandy. Sure, I'd prefer not to fish "dirty" water, but one guy isn't gonna bother me one bit. Plus I'm a very confident wader and I can usually hit water that the other guy didn't fish. And if the river is crossable, I'll cross and we'll all be happy campers. The other side of the river always seems better, right? :D

Jeff F,

I get you. I would have gone back to my car and down the road if I saw all those cars parked there as well. That makes no sense. Only reason I wouldn't if I was walking a dog without a fly rod in hand and wanted to shoot the breeze.

Do you mainly "high stick" that pocket water on the Pit. Seems like that is the only way to really get your flies down and thru the runs at that sort of volume of water. I use this technique quite a bit on the Big T with success. Glad you had a good trip.

Also i think most people on here understand this but that area didn't see the sort of "fish kill" present in some of that states fisheries over the past couple years. (Mainly last summer). I would be wiling to bet the population of fish per mile is as healthy as its ever been up there.

[johnsquires]

Interesting topic, but I suspect one without a solution. There will always be that type, no matter the water.
I know I miss out on a lot of good fishing because of my aversion to crowded conditions and rude fishermen.
I can vividly picture in my mind's eye people positioned on the Fall River or the Bighorn River where they made it very
challenging to get by without disturbing "their" water and "their" fish and then they would get mad at you, a person who just wanted to get (safely) around them. Shad fishing on the American with folks casting right over your line. Granted, that is not exactly what transpired here, but it further confirmed for me why I like to fish wilderness areas - it's just my wiring.

[JasonB]

I think the observations about how much space to yield to another pretty much nails it. In the case of the Pitt and the North Umpqua, and a few other rivers I love to fish it's pretty much a car in the pull out means "occupied" and I'll move on. There is a lot of water to fish there, though not so much if it's a crowded weekend. One of THE main reasons I fish the Pitt is for some solitude, it's not really the kind of place I'd enjoy much at all if it included crowds.

I totally agree that having a group of 5 anglers crowd in on you is beyond rude, especially on a river like the Pitt. In my opinion a 5 person group fishing together on the Pitt is at least 3 folks too many! There are much better places to go party fishing. At least it sounds like you guys had a good time despite that, and certainly found plenty of fish.
JB

[Jeff F]

Jeff F,

I get you. I would have gone back to my car and down the road if I saw all those cars parked there as well. That makes no sense. Only reason I wouldn't if I was walking a dog without a fly rod in hand and wanted to shoot the breeze.

Do you mainly "high stick" that pocket water on the Pit. Seems like that is the only way to really get your flies down and thru the runs at that sort of volume of water. I use this technique quite a bit on the Big T with success. Glad you had a good trip.

Also i think most people on here understand this but that area didn't see the sort of "fish kill" present in some of that states fisheries over the past couple years. (Mainly last summer). I would be wiling to bet the population of fish per mile is as healthy as its ever been up there.

Yeah, mainly high sticking. But there are definitely places where I'll put on the indo. Especially with the higher flows. The thing about that river is the riverbed is so uneven that you just can't use an indo all the time. You have to keep switching up. Plus, there are tons of little side channels that always hold fish. For these you have to go down to one splitshot, no indo, and just shortline it through the run or bucket. The best way to fish the river, for Eric and I anyway, is to get out in the middle, where it's possible, and fish both sides. That way you cover the most amount of water. There are so many freaking fish in that river, it's just ridiculous. But it takes a few years to really get it dialed in. Monitoring the flows is a huge factor too. Once the flows get to a certain level on each reach of the river, it opens up a whole new world. Most people stick to #3, but #4 and #5 is where you can really find solitude and endless trout.

[TaylerW]

The pit is a gem! There's so much gnarly terrain that you can always find fresh water if your willing to lose some skin. Hooked a monster brown last year at the penisula with 10 cars parked at the dam and not another angler in sight

[DLJeff]

The Pit is also a great place to test your immunity or your reaction to poison oak, so learn to identify poison oak if you're planning to do some trail blazing there. AND... it's also one of the places I've seen the most Northern Pacific rattlesnakes - a particularly nasty little bite if you don't see it first.

[Randy Lee]

The Pit River would not be my 1st choice for peace and serenity on Opening Day!
Randy Lee