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.
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.
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