Brigham City residents enjoy holiday fishing at Mayor’s Pond before dredging project begins
Dec 22, 2023, 6:04 PM | Updated: 6:55 pm
BRIGHAM CITY — As much as Jarom Rasmussen loves fishing, he might love teaching his young cousins how to fish even more.
“Let go for a second and put your hand there,” he said to his cousin. “Swing out, and there you go!”
Amazingly, the weather at Mayor’s Pond in Brigham City was perfect for fishing just three days before Christmas.
“Being out here and experiencing nature, and just the thrill of catching a fish and reeling it in and releasing it, is really what I live for,” said Rasmussen.
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The fishing limit here was increased from two fish to eight in an emergency move by Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources because of a dredging project Brigham City is just beginning.
“It is a pretty big undertaking. Quite a bit of silt and sedimentation that’s come down from Mantua,” said Tyler Pugsley, who is Brigham City’s Public Works Director.
As beautiful as Mayor’s Pond is, there is a lot of dirt, sand, and rocks in the pond that shouldn’t be there. It all came down last spring during the heavy water runoff.
“It was a very high-water year,” Pugsley said. “It was probably, in the last 20 years, as high as I remember. Maybe 2005 was close.”
There is nearly 12 feet of dirt and rocks in some spots. All of it has to go because the water in this pond is critical to Brigham City.
“We use this pond for secondary irrigation for our community and if we allow the pond to fill up full of sedimentation, it takes away the capacity of the water in the pond. It can also clog the irrigation system if we don’t remove it,” Pugsley said.
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The work is being done at no cost to Brigham City taxpayers.
Staker Parson, a company near the pond that also used the water for its operations, is doing the dredging as part of its contract with Brigham City.
“It would probably cost us nearly $60,000 to hire someone to do this,” Pugsley said.
The work should be finished by the end of January.
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The dredging project is also why the DWR is allowing more fish to be caught here, and encouraging people to go. Biologists stocked the pond a few months ago and chances are the fish wouldn’t survive the dredging.
“This increased fish limit will allow anglers to harvest more fish before the project takes place, so those fish can be used instead of being wasted,” said DWR Northern Region Aquatics Manager Chris Penne.
That’s good news for people who love to fish, like Rasmussen.
Not only does it give him more chances to catch a fish, but it also means he can teach his cousins as long as he wants.
“It is good to see the community coming out and helping and getting this put together better,” Rasmussen said. “This is a beautiful place and hopefully, it means it will be a good spot to fish for a long time.”
