I took a quick trip to Sixth Water this afternoon and really enjoyed it. Saw some new territory, fished new water and caught lots of nice browns. Good times.
Sixth Water is becoming my favorite stream close to the Wasatch Front. It is beautiful, medium-sized, and usually has clear, cold water. It is relatively unknown and sees only a handful of fishermen. I often have great success there.
We arrived about 5 pm. I zipped open my fly rod tube and, surprise, no rod. Apparently I did not return the rod to its protective tube after my Memorial Day trip. In my haste today I just grabbed the tube.
Oh well, I had a spinning rod in the truck and so I fished lures. Now I want to get back up there and see if I can catch as many with a fly.
For the first hour action was only fair. We caught a fish now and then, mostly small rainbows. But as the evening progressed the fishing turned on. About sundown we were catching a fish or two out of every hole we tried.
Sixth Water is an interesting stream. It is the major tributary to Diamond Fork River, up Spanish Fork Canyon. Water from Strawberry Reservoir is diverted through a tunnel in the mountain and the water then flows down Sixth Water and is channeled to the Wasatch Front as part of the massive Central Utah water project. I enjoy fishing Diamond Fork and it occasionally yields nice sized fish. But I like Sixth Water better.
Sixth Water comes into the Diamond Fork River at Three Forks, which is the trailhead for the famous Hot Pots hot springs on Fifth Water. From the trailhead, a good trail follows the river for about a mile up to a bridge and a fork in the stream. Sixth Water comes out of the canyon to the left, when you are facing upstream, and Fifth Water comes from the one on the right. Fifth Water is small and it does not contain many fish.
Incidentally, the Hot Pots are very nice for soaking in naturally hot mineral water. The hot springs attract old hippies and collage kids and are often crowded. Beware, some folks there apparently can't afford swim suites.
Adjacent to the trail, the stream offers many big, deep holes that shelter nice fish. Above the bridge, Sixth Water flows out of a narrow, rugged, steep-walled canyon. It is very difficult to hike the canyon and so few people fish up there.
Higher up, the Rays Valley Road crosses Sixth Water. Above that bridge the stream again comes out of a rugged, narrow canyon system where access is difficult. Miles and miles of stream are not accessible by road and hiking conditions are rough. Those are some of the reasons the stream offers many large fish.
The stream is mostly fast pocket water in these higher areas, with an occasional nice hole. In one of those nice holes, just as the sun was setting, I had five strikes on five consecutive casts. I landed two of the fish.I landed another in the next hole upstream, and another in the very next hole. All nice browns.
Kevin, fishing with me, caught a big cuttbow. We also caught several rainbows.
Where, exactly, did we fish? I'm not going to tell you on this public forum. If you really want to know, send me a message to convince me you are a responsible fisherperson and then I may reveal the location of my new, favorite secret spot.
- Dave Webb
