The Pit River now has a complete set of flow gauges; PG&E has finally got the Pit River 3 flows online. Now, instead of wondering how much pain and suffering you’re in for on the Pit River, you’ll know in advance:
Pit 3 Reach; Station Identification – P35
PG&E’s conducting flow gate tests on Pit 5 this Tuesday, which not only means high water that day, but likely unsettled fishing the next day or two.
From PG&E:
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 11 an increased flow test on the Pit River below the Pit 5 Diversion Dam. The test was originally scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3.
PG&E is conducting a regular test of dam flow gates, which is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The test is being done on a weekday in the fall when recreational use of the river is low and before winter rains increase river flows. Water levels will rise about half a foot an hour for about six to eight hours, starting before dawn so that the river stops rising before sunrise.
The increased flows will not be noticeable beyond the Pit 6 Dam. This portion of the Pit River is remote with no established recreational facilities.
The higher flows will not exceed those experienced in fall and winter.
The maximum flow of 1,800 cubic feet per second (cfs) will be held for about six to eight hours, then gradually reduced over a period of about six to eight hours until all gates are closed.The anticipated flow before and after testing will be 350 cfs.
See you anywhere but the Pit, Tom Chandler.
BURNEY, Calif. – Pit River Canyon Road will be closed to through traffic for up to a two hours on Tuesday, Aug. 9 while Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) contractor paves two short sections. Motorists may drive up to flaggers at the paving points from either end of the road during paving. Read more →
I’ve got celery in the refrigerator smart enough to know this was going to happen as soon as the weather warmed; the Pit River is about to start spilling (from PG&E):
PG&E is observing rapidly increasing inflows into Lake Britton and as a result anticipates that Pit 3 Dam will spill. PG&E has taken careful steps to manage the increasing inflow into Lake Britton by monitoring reservoir level, maintaining a low water surface elevation, and has increased water diversion through Pit 3 and Pit 4 powerhouses to maintain appropriate storage capacity.
The increased water diversion at Pit 3 and Pit 4 powerhouses will result in spill conditions today in the Pit 5 bypass reach. The current flow release from Pit 5 Dam is approximately 500 cfs, which will increase over the course of today to approximately 1000 cfs to 1500 cfs. As inflow to Lake Britton continues to increase over the coming days, PG&E will increase the instream flow release at Pit 3 Dam from about 300 cfs to 540 cfs.
Shortly after the instream flow in the Pit 3 reach is increased, Pit 4 dam will begin to spill approximately 50 to 150 cfs. Subsequent inflow increases into Lake Britton will spill over the Pit 3 Dam at a natural rate of increase, and will affect the downstream spill magnitude in the Pit 4 and Pit 5 reaches.
At this time PG&E is unable to accurately provide an estimate of the anticipated spill magnitude in the Pit 3 and Pit 4 reaches, as inflow to Lake Britton continues to increase daily and record snow pack remains in the Warner Mountain Rage.
Following the snow melt runoff period, which may extend for several weeks, PG&E will allow the spill flows to recede naturally to the license required seasonal minimum instream flow.
With our snowpack running hundreds of percent above normal for this time of year, don’t expect this to end anytime soon.
Frankly, the Pit River — which is under a new flow regime (though who can tell given the wild snowpack) — could use a gully washer, widening the channels a bit and moving back some of the encroaching riparian habitat.
See you going over Lake Britton Dam in a barrel, Tom Chandler.
The 2010 general trout season opener is fast approaching, and while I’m the first to admit it doesn’t have the cachet it used to (more and more of California’s trout waters are open to C&R fly fishing year-round), it’s still a point in time that demands a little recognition.
This year – due to an above-normal snowpack in California’s mountains and rainy/snowy spring weather, a lot of rivers will likely be high.
You Are Now Free To Move About Our Rivers
(Note I said “high” and not “unfishably high.” The last time I pronounced the Upper Sac “blown out and unfishable,” someone wrote to say they’d had their best day ever on the river.)
What follows is a loose assemblage of rumors, half-truths, guide promotion and outright lies.
At no time should any of my readers actually believe anything they read in this forecast (I’m a fly fisherman after all), nor change their carefully laid plans based on this information.
Void where prohibited by law.
It’s high. And with all the low-level snow still piled up in the hills, it’s likely going to stay high.
As of this writing, the Upper Sacramento is running around 3000 cfs at the Delta station (the bottom of the river), which means you’ll find fishable spots, but the midsummer program – wandering up and down the riverbank fishing every likely spot – is a non starter.
That said, local guide Craig Nielsen has reported some monster fish hookups, though I’d suggest some local knowledge of the best high-water holes is needed before you’re going to get your net slimy. Read more →
Those who fly fish the Pit River regularly will no doubt find this road closure information interesting (forwarded to us via Curtis Knight of CalTrout):
I suspect many of you have been hearing rumors about Pit River road closures and other activities in the Pit 3,4,5 area. I placed a call to PG&E to get some information. Here is what I know starting with a little background.
The Pit 3,4,5 project when through relicensing and a new license was issued in July 2007.  A new flow regime was negotiated—new summer baseflows beginning in no later than July 2010 will be—Pit 3: 300 cfs, Pit 4: 375 cfs, and Pit 5: 400 cfs.   I heard Pit 5 would be the first to get these new flows in November or December 2009, the other two reaches in 2010 by July 2nd.
Current construction work on the dams is to retrofit the outlets to meet new flow standards. PG&E is also applying to FERC to put new turbines at Pit 3 and Pit 4 outlets to generate power off of the increased flows from the dam outlets—though this is just getting started.
I attached the Pit 3,4,5 license from FERC. It is a bit dense but it has the entire flow schedule and additional terms and conditions.
In regards to the road closure my understanding is that car traffic over Pit 3 dam will be closed from July 6- December 1. From Pit 3 dam to Pit 4 dam at least one lane will be open at all times. But the road will be closed at Pit 4 dam, so if you want to fish Pit 4 or 5 reach you have to access from Big Bend up.   Road closures are in place while road improvements are done—my recollection is the Forest Service wanted more turnouts for safety.
According to the Forest Service, campground improvements are not scheduled until next year. I don’t recall the extent of those but I recall there were not major. One issue CalTrout and TU made clear during the relicensing negotiations is that our constituents generally liked the rugged flavor of the Pit River and drastic improvements to campgrounds, trails, and access points were not necessary. Still, I think the agencies are identifying this once in 40-year opportunity to have PG&E to pay for some long-needed upgrades. But it needs to be done in way that doesn’t ruin the Pit River experience.
Pit River flows have caused some friction between fly fishermen and whitewater enthusiasts, yet the current stalemate may be ending – and not in the favor of the whitewater folks.
From the Redding Record Searchlight:
Concern over an endangered crawfish’s dwindling numbers on the Pit River could end summer white water that has become a popular ride for rafters and kayakers.
“What those flows do is bring warmer water from upstream down to that area,” said Al Donner, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento. “The crawfish need cool water.”
The agency is asking the state Water Resources Control Board and the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) to end the increased flows immediately.
But white water enthusiasts say they don’t think Fish and Wildlife has data to support its call for the end of the increased flows that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. turns on one weekend a month in June, July and August.
Fly fishermen and guides have contended the abrupt flushing flows are hard on insect life, though we’re only talking about one weekend per month during the summer.
It’s an interesting time to be a coldwater fisherman in Northern California.
There’s more to come from the mountains of Northern California. I’m sure of it.
Even though I’m too deadlined to leave my office and go fly fishing (the beautiful spring weather is clearly designed to taunt me personally), I’m cursed blessed with friends eager to relate their fly fishing news.
Sure, friends like that could drive a lesser blogger to drink to excess (and don’t think I haven’t considered it), and with that in mind, I’m taking those lemons and turning them into hard lemon cider (hic).
Here’s the Underground’s Local Fly Fishing Forecast & Report (hic).
On the Underground’s Ancestral Waters, the flows barely bumped up during the recent hot spell and the visible snow is going fast, so there will be no big runoff event this year. Right now the Upper Sac’s running 1300 and falling, and while the river’s far from comletely wadeable, it is plenty fishable in places – and it will get better every day.
This weekend might be OK; next week will certainly be better, and while the Harmonic Convergence of Work won’t clear for me until the end of next week, expect an evening or two worth of reports between now and then.
Hawkins Creek flows are diminishing fast, and as a result, the McCloud’s fast becoming fishable, though it’s the most fishable (by far) between the McCloud Reservoir dam and Hawkins.
Someone in my Online Marketing Boot Camp class said he saw/photographed/worked rising fish two evenings ago, and that plenty of salmonflies were in evidence. (I think I don’t like him very much now either.)
UPDATE: A little birdy tells me the McCloud’s fishing was hot the last couple days. (We report, you cast.)
Local guide Craig Neilsen hit what he described as an “epic” hatch on the Pit, and while guides do have a vested interested in getting you hyped about the fly fishing, Neilsen’s not really in that category.
Want to catch fish? the Pit’s your best bet right now.
UPDATE: A little birdy tells me the Pit’s fishing even hotter than the McCloud. (We report, you salivate.)
Dave Roberts reports the Rogue is running high (4800 cfs), an amount he considers borderline unfishable. The salmonflies aren’t really showing yet. Before they kicked up the flows, the Holy Water looked interesting, but now it’s awfully high too.
A lot of the smaller streams in the area are rounding nicely into shape, though don’t think for a second I’m going to point you directly at any of them.
Let’s face reality here: I believe all the small streams in the area are mine to rule as I see fit, and the fact that others get to fish them is simply an unfortunate reality based on my inability to cheat the laws of physics and be in two places at one time. (Tomorrow’s post: Living With Megalomania in the Age of Blogging.)
Still, if you’ve had your eye on a small stream, consider giving it a shot earlier rather than later; the third year of low snowpack means a lot of the small streams will be running thin and hot come summer, and while “thin and hot” is an admirable description for a girlfriend/boyfriend, it isn’t a prescription for fly fishing success.
At this point, you leave the house without a fair number of stonefly patterns (both the salmonfly and the golden stones) at your own peril, though it is a little early for most rivers.
You might expect to see some caddis in places, and the Pink Alberts were already starting to pop on the Upper Sacramento.
Ants.
And not the tiny little ones, but the decent-sized carpenter and flying ants. I’m looking at one right now on the outside of my office window (the teasing bastard). They work, and they work well. Don’t leave home without ‘em.
Bob Grace at the Ted Fay Fly Shop reports seeing most of his ant patterns go otu the door, though more are due tomorrow (now today).
See you in my office (you dirtbags), Tom [I'm not Bitter] Chandler.
Deep Trout — the Underground’s undercover political operative at the California State Capitol — forwarded some good news for those of us who don’t want Lake Shasta flooding miles of the Upper Sac, McCloud, and Pit Rivers.
The California State Assembly passed Joint Resolution 39 (46 to 29), which recognizes the Wintu Tribe (who deserve it):
Assembly Joint Resolution 39, Huffman
Recalls the history of relations between the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and the federal government, which includes the relocation of exhumed remains of tribal members and of the Tribe’s community in order for the federal government to create Shasta Lake with Shasta Dam on the Tribe’s aboriginal lands. Effectively codifies the state’s recognition of the Tribe, and encourages federal officials to recognize this tribe.
What’s this got to do with raising Shasta Dam?
Plenty.
Formal state recognition of the Winnemem Wintu tribe means state funding to raise Shasta Dam is far less likely to appear than before (and it’s unlikely the Feds will foot the whole bill).
And that means the Wastelands Westlands Irrigations District — the folks who happily drained the Trinity River all those years, and the same people who want to flood miles of the Upper Sacramento, McCloud, and Pit Rivers so they can sell subsidized water to cities — finally took one in the shorts.
This doesn’t end the dam-raising issue by any means, but it’s one more roadblock in the way of a bad idea.
And yes, Undergrounders, rumor has it the legislator who introduced the bill is a fly fisherman.
See you on the river, Tom Chandler.
Recent comments