Pit River Fishing Guides
A big, wading-intensive northeastern California trout river with heavy fish, slick basalt footing and a reputation for humbling anglers who arrive without studs.
Guides on the Pit River
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Pit River
The Pit is the largest river most California anglers have never fished, and it earns its reputation two ways. It grows very good rainbow trout, and it is genuinely difficult to wade. The river rises in the Warner Mountains and the Goose Lake basin in Modoc County, runs southwest through the high desert past Alturas and Canby, gathers the enormous spring flow of the Fall River and Hat Creek near Fall River Mills, and then drops through a series of powerhouse reaches on its way to Lake Shasta.
Upstream around Canby, where this gauge sits, the Pit is a meadow and canyon river with a mixed trout and warmwater population and far less pressure than the famous powerhouse sections downstream. It is water you fish for solitude as much as for size. Down below Fall River Mills the character changes completely: cold spring water, pocket-heavy canyon reaches and thick, deep-bodied rainbows that hold tight to basalt ledges. That lower water is what guides book, and it is fished with short heavy nymph rigs rather than long casts.
Wading is the thing to understand before booking a trip. The bed is coated with algae over rounded volcanic rock, the pockets are deep and close together, and the water is often too off-color to read footing by eye. Felt with studs and a wading staff are not optional, and a wading belt matters. The gauge near Canby reports discharge and stage but no water temperature, so it tells you whether the upper river is fishable and nothing about the bite. Flows on the lower canyon reaches are controlled by hydro operations and change independently of anything happening up here, so a good reading at Canby is no promise at all about the water at Big Bend.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Pit River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Highway 299 pull-offs between Alturas and Canby - the upper meadow water this gauge reads.
Canby bridge - the main public access point on the upper river.
Pit River Falls and Big Bend - canyon access on the lower river below Fall River Mills.
Pit 3 powerhouse reach near Big Bend - the classic guided pocket water.
Pit 4 and Pit 5 reaches - steep forest-road access with heavy footing.
Ash Creek Wildlife Area near Bieber - walk-in access on the middle river.
Lake Britton and the Highway 89 crossing - still water and the reach immediately below.
Seasons
Spring: high, off-color runoff on the upper river and unsafe wading in the canyons - wait it out.
Summer: the prime season, with the canyon reaches fishing well on nymphs and the upper river best early.
Fall: falling flows, good dry-fly windows and the most comfortable wading of the year.
Winter: cold, quiet and lightly fished, with limited road access into the canyon reaches.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Pit River?
As of Sep 17, 5:45 am, the USGS gauge PIT R NR CANBY CA reads 2 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Pit River?
Anglers target Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Sacramento Pikeminnow, Sacramento Sucker, Smallmouth Bass on the Pit River in California.
Are there fishing guides on the Pit River?
GuidedFloats lists 6 guides and outfitters on the Pit River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Pit River?
Highway 299 pull-offs between Alturas and Canby - the upper meadow water this gauge reads. Canby bridge - the main public access point on the upper river. Pit River Falls and Big Bend - canyon access on the lower river below Fall River Mills. Pit 3 powerhouse reach near Big Bend - the classic guided pocket water. Pit 4 and Pit 5 reaches - steep forest-road access with heavy footing. Ash Creek Wildlife Area near Bieber - walk-in access on the middle river. Lake Britton and the Highway 89 crossing - still water and the reach immediately below.
When is the best time to fish the Pit River?
Spring: high, off-color runoff on the upper river and unsafe wading in the canyons - wait it out. Summer: the prime season, with the canyon reaches fishing well on nymphs and the upper river best early. Fall: falling flows, good dry-fly windows and the most comfortable wading of the year. Winter: cold, quiet and lightly fished, with limited road access into the canyon reaches.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Pit River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the California agency site: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Regulations