Construction on Pit river road

[JasonB]

Just a heads up for anyone heading up to the Pit; there were signs at Pit 5 dam stating that the road was "closed ahead". We continued upstream, and through some substantial grading work until we came upon the guy doing the grading. Not sure if we had inadvertently driven into the closed stretch of road we stopped to talk with him. He said it was fine to drive along the Pit 4 reach while he was grading, but that the road was closed "up past the powerhouse" (on Pit 3). Not clear exactly how far up it was open. As of 7/23 we were able to drive upriver as far as the "Talus Siren" access point on Pit 3.

Could be an issue coming from either direction if you were intending to fish a particular section, or possibly an issue reaching camping sites depending on where the closure is and which direction you came in from. On our way out we noticed that the electric sign was not on, but the road closed ahead sign was still posted by the side of the road. There was still substantial work being done on the road. There was indication of construction/closures lasting into september, but I can't seem to find any further details online. Worth double checking before heading up for sure.
JB

[TaylerW]

The construction is a major bummer if your coming from 89 Clark creek ect

[JasonB]

Taylor, just curious if you have any more details. If you came in from the east, how far until the road was closed? Was the closure a "hard closure" or was it somewhat flexible (i.e. open after hours or something)? Kind of curious, though it's looking dubious I'll be back up there till at least late september, more likely not till next spring.

(btw, sounds like you guys did better than just about everyone else I talked with up on the NU the other week. Lots of folks fishing long and hard for narry a bump.)
JB

[Awood]

Take Hwy 299 to Big Bend Rd. From the general store, you'll see the Forest Route to access the river: all of Pit 4 and most of Pit 3. There's a slide about half mile below Delucci Ridge.

[Scaughell]

Planning on being in Burney last weekend of Aug. and accessing Pit 3 from 89 and clark creek. Anybody have any update on the roadwork/grading? Sounds like I might need to rethink this trip…..which would be a major bummer.

Shaun

[GeoB]

Scouted the Pit today. The road is closed 2.5 miles downstream of Pit 3 Dam at the DeLucci Ridge access. A sign there says the road will be closed until 9/20. One can drive upstream from Big Bend almost all the way - the road is closed just upstream of the Rock Creek access.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I fished the Pit River for 40 years with my brother Dick and some of my dearest old friends.

It "was" my favorite wild trout stream.

The summer and fall flow then was about 120 cfs and it was warm in the fall and fun to wet wade/swim.

In mid-September we would hit the Isonychia mayfly emergence.

For real reasons unknown the powers to be have raised the flows to 380 to 550 cfs which has made it pretty much unfishable for most.

I have been told that very few guides are on the Pit River now that the flows are so high.

I am 70 now and tried it once last fall and it is over for me.

Sad to see that for some weird reason they have basically destroyed the river for fly fishing.

There are tons of fish but it is very hard to wade now.

They also run the water up to over 1000 cfs about once a month in the summer for rafters.

This will destroy the insect population.

What do you think?

..

[GeoB]

Bill,

Thanks for your insight. As one who calls the Truckee River his home waters I've been looking for alternatives this year - the Truckee looks so sad. I'm also only a couple of years younger than you and discovered that the Pit looks like much more work than fun to fish. I like to roam and explore a river and the Pit does not look like it's a river for that.

I'll take your reply as advice to keep looking.

George

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The lower McCloud River has very cold water and might be worth a look.

I also love the Upper Sacramento River but not till fall now.

[VinnySteel]

I had my first experience on the Pit yesterday and thought I'd share my take on the River. I had heard the stories about how difficult it is to get around and wade this river and I figured I just needed to get out there and see for myself how difficult it is. The road is still closed to Pit 3 so my brother and I came down Big Bend rd and fished Pit 4. We were on the water for about 3 hours and brought 11 fish to net. There are willing trout tucked in every little riffle and run you can find in the pit. If you can get a good drift, your gonna get a take. That being said, the Pit is probably the most challenging and frustrating stream I have ever experienced. If you are able to cover 50 yards of water in a day I would call that an accomplishment! Wading is tuff and a wading staff is a must with the boulders that line the bottom of the river., The biggest challenge for me wasn't so much slipping or getting my footing, it was watching out for drop offs in the stream bed where it goes from thigh deep to shoulder deep with one misstep. The wading was challenging and definitely not for the weak, but honestly the most challenging thing that I encounterd out there was the crazy amount of foliage, trees, vines, bushes, thorns and other crazy overgrowth that lines the river! You need a god damn machete to just reach the water and once you do reach the waters edge, there is no gradual decent into the water, you literally go from ground level to thigh high moving water in one step. And don't even think about a back cast of any kind! The trees that line the river reach out over the water and can make casting very challenging. You better have a good roll cast! I was actually surprised I didn't get hung up more than I did on the bottom, I actually got hung up in the trees more due to missed hook sets or spit hooks flying back into the trees. All in all it was a fun day. If you go to the Pit be prepared to get your ass kicked, but also be ready to catch fish cause they're everywhere in that place.