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Pit River

Type
Tailwater, California (West)
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
3 name it
Shops
1 nearby

Today on the Pit River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Pit River is a tailwater in California.

More about the Pit River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow. 3 guides and 1 shop nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Redding & the Lower Sacramento.

Updated · Sources: USGS Water Data

Pit River Falls spilling into a green basalt canyon near Fall River Mills
Photo credit

Pit River Falls near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where it is

Pit River is a tailwater in California. Our destination hub Redding & the Lower Sacramento is 12 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow Pit River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

CDFW Fishing Guide map

Pit River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Pit River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Pit River with 1 USGS gauge.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Pit River

Restrooms near Pit River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Pit River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Pit River

  • The McCloud River below Middle Falls, running over boulders in a forested canyonWild Trout Water
    Photo credit

    The McCloud River just below Middle Falls. Photo: Sergey Yarmolyuk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    McCloud River

    California · about 31 mi

  • The upper Sacramento River running over boulders through riparian forest at Castle Crags State ParkFreestone river
    Photo credit

    The upper Sacramento River at Castle Crags State Park. Photo: Nathan Jongewaard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Upper Sacramento River

    California · about 47 mi

  • The Sacramento River flowing wide and green through Redding under a blue skySteelhead / salmon water
    Photo credit

    The Sacramento River in Redding, California. Photo: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Lower Sacramento River

    California · about 55 mi

    Rainbow trout, steelhead & chinook salmon

  • Lassen Peak reflected in upper Hat Creek, with autumn meadow grass and conifersWild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bear Creek
    Photo credit

    Upper Hat Creek below Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo: NPS / Lassen Volcanic National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bear Creek.

    Bear Creek

    California · about 45 mi

  • Aerial view of Eagle Lake beyond the dry bed of Horse LakeLake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Shasta Lake
    Photo credit

    Eagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Shasta Lake.

    Shasta Lake

    California · about 47 mi

  • The Trinity River winding through a forested canyon below Lewiston, seen from aboveWild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Spring Creek
    Photo credit

    The Trinity Wild and Scenic River below Lewiston, California (BLM). Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Spring Creek.

    Spring Creek

    California · about 56 mi

Sources CDFW Fishing Guide mapOverture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the USGS gauge PIT R BL PIT NO 1 PH NR FALL RIVER MILLS CA.

The map shows USGS gauges (tap one for its flow reading), and shops and guides within 40 miles that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
155.4 mi (149.1 in CA)
Drains
3,480 sq mi
Drop
2,341 ft · 15.1 ft/mi
Watershed
Upper Pit, Lower Pit

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

18.2 of 149.1 mi on public land

  • Shasta National ForestForest Service · 12.9 mi
  • Modoc National ForestForest Service · 3.2 mi
  • Modoc National Wildlife RefugeU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · 1.7 mi · restricted
  • Applegate Field OfficeBureau of Land Management · 0.5 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Pit River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

3 guides name it on their website

Guides

  • Ac Fly Fishing

    Redding, CA · 53 mi

    Wade trips · Spey & two-handed · Sacramento & McCloud

    • Unclaimed

    Names this water

  • MoJoBella Fly Fishing®

    Redding, CA · 53 mi

    Walk-and-wade · Drift boat · Sacramento & McCloud

    • Unclaimed

    Names this water

  • Cast & Drift Fly Fishing

    Cottonwood, CA · 56 mi

    Beginners & lessons · Lodge packages · Sacramento & Pit

    • Unclaimed
    • Veteran-owned

    Names this water

All California guides

1 shop nearby

All California shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The hatch and season chart for this water's region.

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: California
About this chart

12 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From California Fly Fisher (secondary sources: an angling organisation or magazine, not an agency).

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: 1 charted hatch
  5. May: 7 charted hatches
  6. June: 11 charted hatches
  7. July: 10 charted hatches
  8. August: 7 charted hatches
  9. September: 5 charted hatches
  10. October: 3 charted hatches
  11. November: 1 charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

American grannom (April to September) · Golden stonefly (May to July) · Green drake (May to July) · Pale morning dun (May to August) · Saddle-case caddis (May to September) · Salmonfly (May to June) · and 6 more on the chart

Redding & the Lower Sacramento

About this

Redding sits on the Sacramento River below Shasta and Keswick dams in far northern California, with the Trinity, Pit, McCloud and Upper Sacramento rivers and Hat Creek in the mountains around it.

Destination hub · 12 mi away in a straight line

Open the hubPlan a trip here

Gear checklist

About this

What to bring on a guided float fishing trip: rain gear, polarized sunglasses, sun protection, a dry bag and your license. Most guides supply rods and flies. Estimated prices and where to buy.

A woman rows a drift boat while a man stands in the bow and casts

Guided float trip

Usually supplied by the guide; a 9′ 5–6 weight if you bring your own · Trout on most western float rivers

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Pit River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 11 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge PIT R BL PIT NO 1 PH NR FALL RIVER MILLS CA. Water type is our own classification.