Burgess Canal

[Bardic]

Does anyone know when the Burgess Canal gets shut off? Is it a set time or do I need my friends to watch it and let me know?
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[jbaldwinblkft]

As the IDWR river-rider for the reach a little downstream from the Burgess, I'll chime in here. As a general rule canals shut down at the end of the irrigation season on a date that is decided by the canal manager and the board of directors. Lots of variables go into the decision, the biggest being the weather and the completion of the harvest and fall farm work. Other factors are the amount of natural flow remaining in the river weighed against the diversion rights and priority dates of individual canals. Usually by this time of year storage use begins to be watched carefully as irrigation demand eases, and ditch-riders look to next season storage needs. My observation has been over the last ten years or so that most of the big canals with junior water rights begin shutting down the first week in October. This usually bumps diversion priorities for the rest of the canals above Blackfoot, which sometimes prompts them to continue diverting for a couple more weeks, again depending on the weather. With all that being said, have your friends watch closely and give you a call. []
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[BigAl85]

I know the New York Canal shuts down on Oct 13th. I called the irrigation district and asked.
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[Bardic]

Sounds great. My cousin keeps telling me stories about how the only cover the fish have is the grass along the bank as it gets shallow. 20"+ fish with their heads under the bank and the rest of their bodies hanging out.

One guy told his son he could just reach under slowly and grab the fish by the gill flap and sure enough, a few minutes later the son pulled out a fish almost as tall as he was.
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