Ditches!

[MOKE]

There is some great literature in this sport...to be sure. RAW, I'm not trying to take away from your posting at all. Haig- Brown is the greatest!

I have spent a lot of time fishing OLD pioneer (?) ditches in this state. Some of them are real old..some new. The farmers in this state draw a lot of water from rivers into thier irrigation schemes. This creates quite a few artificial fisheries.

I was wondering if anyone else on this forum has spent any time exploring this odd side of the sport? Seriously...no joking on this one.

As a kid I remember when they started diverting water at the bottom of Beaver Cyn. This diversion ditch had year round flows and eventually developed into a decent fishery. This diversion also dewaters a serious stretch of river that used to be great fishing. There are also diversions that flow through town from the cemetary...right through town. It was an odd experience to be fishing under someones driveway culvert.

I also used to fish 2 great diversions in Orvo town (Orem & Provo combined).
One of these flows was diverted at the north end of Carterville Rd. behind the Press. It flowed under University to the east side and then paralleled University on down to a point south of Riverside C.C.
I used to draw some odd looks on my knees casting at what would have appeared to have been horses only!
This was a great diversion with spring creek like qualities. It has since been relocated to flow past Starbucks at Center St. near the river.

I used to also fish a good one that eventually flows out onto Riverside CC.
I never found the head of that one as it ended up in the thickest nastiest thorn patch you could imagine! Long stories on this one!

My most recent favorite ( May '01) is on the Middle Provo downstream from the Hwy. 220 bridge access. You have to walk downstream about a half mile + to where you get to the first diversion dam. This diversion sends (sent) water down a short water way of less than 200 yds.

I'm not sure what this diversion was, but it seemd like a fish ladder now that I think about it. I've never seen more than a trickle in it since. I'm really not sure about this one.
I was fishing w/ Greg M and Keith. Keith is a total rookie at fly fishing. I sent him up the bottom end of this diversion with a nymph rig. He immediately startd hooking Quality fish. I proceeded to give Keith a quick nymphing lesson and he tore it up. All quality fish of 14" or better.
He then turned the water the water back over to me in this nasty willow thicket. I caught 7 BIG brown in 9 cast without taking a step. These fish ranged from 14"-> 20". It was amazing, and from a ditch.

I know with the reconstruction effort that these things are going to disappear. And that is a good thing. But they are fun while they exist.

I could go on forever about this topic.....Has anyone else played ths game?

OUT....MOKE
(edit)
I am completely serious in this posting..all joking aside. I cant be the only person to have fished these ditches! Anyone else?

[MOKE]

I'm just trying to get this rag away from truly classic literature. (re: Rivers! Haig-Brown thread)
Sorry RAW.

MOKE

EDIT~
I'm going to further qualify this otherwise absurd notion with this. I actually found 2 great ditches on the May '01 trip, one on either side of the Middle Provo. Both were on private land, but access was no problem with a simple request...I think they also thought I was a nut case. I fished across their front lawn!
Confirmation of year round flow is as easy as a seine sample and rock inspection.
I was caught in a nasty hail storm and took shelter next to one of these ditches. I took this time to sample the stream bottom, and was blown away with what I found.... BIG Golden Stones, Skwala Stone, Green Drake, Baetis!,tons of caddis, aquatic worms.....Everything! This little ditch had a far more complex food base for trout than many western rivers, that I have been in!
This thing was a flowing 'fridge. Full of oxygen rich sensitive species....This thing hadn't quit flowing in years. We were able to catch some decent fish in this ditch as well.
These ditches are the reason that the "Mid" Provo didn't fish well as a year round fishery, prior to Jordanelle, they drew down the river too far and warmed the water.
A part of me is sorry to think that they will be gone (?). But a giant part of me says REWATER THE RIVER!
Now I'm rambling again.
I think I might have redicovered some uncrowded Utah waters?
MOKE

[RAW]

Thanks for killing the mood I was in Moke! :) I've been known to follow a few ditches and catch a few fish, but they are usually ones that got sucked down during irrigation. Some were stranded when the irrigation water was turned off. At one time I remember someone put out a video titled something like, "Culvert Fishing." The guys in the video were catching monsters out of culverts. I guess the older I get the actual catching (don't get me wrong I still want to catch) is not as important as it once was and the aesthetics are balancing things out.

[MOKE]

Do you still love me? :) :) :)
It sounded good when I posted, but the warmer and fuzzier you guys got, the worse I felt. So I tried to distance our posts.
I'll fish in an algae infested trash can if I think there is a fish in it.
So you can get back to your mellow mood now.

It must be the full moon or something.

Moke

[IdahoFishBoy]

Can't talk about fishing in Idaho without talking about catching fish in ditches. My Dad is the self professed "fisher of all waters" in our home town, and when I say "all waters" that means ditches, culverts, canals and any other spot that collects water that fish may be in. I once bumped into a fellow fishing a spot on our home river and he found out I was my Dad's son and he said "Your Dad could catch a fish in the the back of a pick up truck full of water", this is true.
Although he is not a true "fly fisherman" yet we are working on him and he is gradually seeing the light.
I have many memories of Dad driving through a farmer's field to find the "secret" canal or the out of the way diversion. One of the biggest fish he ever caught (a 5 pound 24 inch rainbow) came out of an irrigation diversion, I see that fish every time I go home staring at me from the wall.

[pathaws]

I was about 10 and my cousin and I caught a huge brown, probably 22" anyway, out form under an 18" culvert taking irrigation water to a pasture in Logan.

[MOKE]

Thanks guys....I was really beginning to wonder about myself there for a while.
I used to fish a great ditch in Montana on the Madison as well. It was one of those giant wing dams that just sort of show up. This thing had been there for years. To get to the river you had to cross an old plank bridge. Well one day while the older guys were trying to figure out if the bridge would hold the weight of the truck, they spooked a big fish back up this ditch.
The Madison sucked that day according to the old guys. I caught the crap out of fish that may not have ever been fished for! It was a blast!

OUT...MOKE

IFB...Back to the Wapello connection again. My moms uncle owned a good spread there, and said he never had to go farther than the lower 40 to catch a 'Bow for dinner! Maybe your dad and my 'uncle exchanged fishing secrets?

[Ed Kent]

Grew up in Twin Falls....

All I fished...well not exactly....were irrigation ditches there...was caught once sneaking in and fishing the private fishing ponds at the Blue Lakes Country Club....was worth the punishment I received!!!!!

[MOKE]

Crimedog....Are you out there?
A long while back, the DWR would stock a ditch that flowed through Beaver, Ut. This thing was classic as it flowed in front of every house down the road to the canyon. People would be mowing thier lawns, gardening....and you'd be fishing right there in the middle of town.

Crimedog had caught a far above average fish one day, and happened on a photographer for the Beaver Press....Next day...front center page, our ditch fishing hero...Crimedog to the rescue! Big picture.

Best secret spots on this ditch...driveway culverts. SHHH!

Crimedog....if you're out there, please fill us in on the details.

Ed Kent...and all who have shared comment here....I have a doozy of a ditch fishing story, I could share privately if you would like. This might get me banned from the state and laughed off the forum. Drop me an email. First 5 takers only.

OUT...MOKE

OOPS...my mistake...no legends here. I have a small community of cousins and sisters and brothers around my clan. Inserted wrong name.

Credit for the legend goes to "Beadie Boy".

[Ed Kent]

Fire away.......Moke.....I'm waiting to hear this fish story....shoot me an email...

[IdahoFishBoy]

Moke I gotta hear this one....Email away.

[Greg M]

MOKE,

If you can call a 7 year old kid a legend then I guess so, but the real legend of the Beaver ditches was "Spanky" or "Beadie Boy".

I can remembe spend the summers at Grandpa's in Beaver fishing the ditches that ran infront of the houses. We used to catch trout all day long on....worms...

Loads of fun.

[Greg M]

Some of the ditches that MOKE spoke about in Provo still exist. The ones in question are on Riverside C.C. property. I have received permission from the club pro to cross the golf course to fish the Provo, but have been given strong warnings against doing any fishing in the ditches that cover the course.

MOKE will be able to attest to this, as we have seen some MONSTER fish in these litttle streams.

Maybe one night under a full moon, when no one is around....

[Greg M]

MOKE,

This "doozy" of a story that you are referring into, it wouldn't have anything else to do with the lower part of Beaver would it?

If so I think I know were you're going and agree that such stories are best kept private.

BTW, how long is the statute of limitations in Utah?

[Crosby]

There are still ditches in Cache Valley that put out some suprisingly big fish-------- and you are right- the driveway culvert is the hot spot.

[MOKE]

Greg M
I was tormented by BIG fish on that stream, and I caught them!
I usually spent forever sneaking up on the water only to spook 'em.

In todays world you would end up in jail..DON'T TRY THIS! I had an exceptionally long streak of good luck without being arrested...somehow!

The authorities don't mess around anymore...that fly rod may be a spy radio antennae or something. You just never know...

Speaking of cops and FBI and stuff. What was it like to fish during the Olympics? I understand the Mid' Provo might have been effected?

OUT....MOKE

[steeliesonafly]

I can't remember the times that I spent fishing those culverts. Many times I had come home with some nice fish that went into them. Used to restock some of the small irragation ponds around where I lived with them. No ponds anymore like there used to be. Urban sprawl has taken away most of them. But still there are a lot of good sites to fish on these ditches. One up by Pineview is really good too!

[Greg M]

MOKE,

Have you been reading your conspiracy theory magazines again?