Burney area report

[PatrickM]

Went up to the Burney area last weekend to meet up with WillJ and his brother Cooper.
We fished Pit 3 the first afternoon right below the damn, and then went down to Rock Creek the next morning. Fishing was good to very good at times, with golden stones, dark lords, and pts being the hot bugs for us. Fish size was good, with most fish in the 12-16 inch range. Cooper won the big fish of the day prize on both days, landing a legit 18-incher each day. The big surprise on the Pit came on the first evening. There were a few salmon flies cruising around, so we tied on some big dries for fun and caught some fish on them. The surprise was that the fish weren't trout, but smallmouth bass. I didn't realize there were bass in there, or that bass would take a big dry. Fun way to finish a day.
The Pit was beginning to take a toll on our weary bodies, so the second evening we fished Burney Creek for a couple of hours. We did pretty well on small pts, and then switched over to big dries again near the end of the day. The fish weren't totally keying in on the big dries, but there were enough to keep things interesting.
Monday morning we fished Hat Creek for a couple of hours down towards the fish barrier. Fishing was pretty slow for us there. Will landed a couple on nymphs, but that was it. I tried swinging leaches and soft hackles, dry flies, dry and dropper, and nymphing, but nothing. We ended up going up to the PH2 riffle and got a couple on nymphs, but I'd have to say that Hat Creek won the battle on this day.
I should mention that we were planning on camping at Burney Falls campground, but it was sold out. We ended up finding a nice PG&E camp ground in Cassel that wasn't crowded at all.
Sorry, no pics as I dunked my second digital camera last month. Maybe Will can post a few.
Overall, a great trip with some great guys. Cant wait til the next one.

[Adam Grace]

PM, you should purchase the Pentax Optio W10 waterproof camera, you'd never had to worry about your camera taking a dunk again. I am very close to purchasing one for myself. They only cost $250-300 for a 6mp camera with a great movie mode....and did I mention that it's waterproof!

[Hairstacker]

Hey Patrick, sounds like you had a real fun trip. Pretty cool you caught some smallies in the Pit. Sounds like the Pit was the place to be. Sure hope Will posts some pics.

[David Lee]

The next time ya go , ya bugger .... fish Pit FOUR

Big , $hitty horrible fishes in that stretch , I'll tell ya !! My two best were 6 and 8 lbs. (est.) - both broke me off after torrid , epic battles

When's the wedding ????????????

David

[PatrickM]

Thanks, Adam. I'll check that camera out.
I tell you David, the fish in Pit 3 are pretty damn feisty too. A couple had me chase them downstream - not an easy thing to do on that river.
The wedding's in September, by the way. We're going to Northern Spain for the honeymoon. And yes, I'm taking a fishing rod with me, although the fiancee doesn't know it yet.

[fineandfar]

Better late than never.... few pics from a couple trips up that way this spring.









this last one is of Patrick in hot persuit of a fish down pit 3. Do not try this at home. Does Patrick seem like he always has a fish on?... it can seem that way..
A great trip with Patrick and my brother...

[PatrickM]

Nice pics, Will. Thanks for putting those up. Time to start planning the next trip.