# I wanna fish the hot ditch



## BrokenRod (Sep 6, 2004)

Looking for a new place to wet a line. Would like to try the hot ditch out on Thursday. Any hints, warnings, tips or company would be cool.Any body about to wet a line or two? 


Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!!
Take Someone Fishin


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## ccc6588 (Jun 20, 2003)

What is the Hot Ditch and where is it?


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## reelrebel18 (Oct 13, 2004)

it is a channel, in the intercoastal water way in chesapeake near the power plant
it gets its name because the water is always warmer there because of the power plant


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## Axon (Sep 8, 2002)

I may be wrong, but isn't the ditch good for winter fishing? I would think it would be to hot right now.


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

*there*

ain't no fish in the Hot Ditch


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## BrokenRod (Sep 6, 2004)

There must be two hot ditches cause the one i'm talking about is on this side of the water. And according to some of the past reports it's loaded with fish.

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!!
Take Someone Fishin


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

BrokenRod said:


> There must be two hot ditches cause the one i'm talking about is on this side of the water. And according to some of the past reports it's loaded with fish.
> 
> Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!!
> Take Someone Fishin


You must be talking about the Yorktown Power plant. Had heard that it was loaded with mullet and puppy's. I haven't made it down but my buddy has fished it about a half dozen times with only 1 15" pup. When the puppy's are there it was not uncommon to catch and release 10-15 in an hr. I haven't seen it like that sice Izzy.


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## BrokenRod (Sep 6, 2004)

Yeah now thats the ditch I want. Any other fish caught in that ditch? Cats, Croakers, Spots, Trouts, Rocks?

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!!
Take Someone Fishin


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

Which one the one with mullett and pups or the one with no fish?


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## ShoreFisherman (Oct 18, 2003)

*directions*

Can i get directions to the yorktown power plant? looks like it might be easier for me when I don't have a large amount of time to fish. and may be someplace close to take my son.


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## Digger (Jan 4, 2000)

Ok to get to Yorktown take RT17 to Wolftrap and hang a right. Follow it untill it Tee's thae a right and the first left the power plant will be on your right. Drive until you have to turn right go over the first bridge and at the second bridge you can fish if you have a pass. To get the pass you have to go into the compound. IE take a right and a left after you bear left off Wolftrap, they will have you sign papers(from 7:00am to 3:00pm) thenb you can fish.
I hope this helps!


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## Hookem20 (Feb 16, 2004)

I have fished the yorktown power plant before and have caught a few small pups out of it. However, last year you had to obtain a permission form from the plant in order to fish there. But when i went a few weeks ago and asked for a permission form they said that they were not giving them and nobody could fish there. I dont know if this guy was just messin with me and people still fish there or if they enforce it. Just somethin you might want to check up on
hookem


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## big catch (Oct 21, 2004)

I've been run out of the Hot Ditch a few times over the years. I always seem to fish long enough to get a few specks though. I have a buddy that fishes the Hot Ditch for Specks and got a phone call from Claude Bain himself (Tournament Director?) wondering why he kept registering so many citation Speckle Trout. He registered over 7 one year each progressively bigger and the call from Mr Bain came. What are you doing with these fish? Have you considered releasing them? RELEASE? No Sir, I eat them fish!

I am not sure how straight my facts are or if this is a true story but this is pretty much how it was told to me. I thought it was funny at the time.

See my NEW site for posting ...

Tight Lines Guys


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## big catch (Oct 21, 2004)

*Hot Ditch*

By the way I saw someone posted "there aren't any fish in the Hot Ditch"

WRONG!
If we are talking the true Hot Ditch next to where the power plant releases their steam and hotwater into the creek along I-64 then Heck Yea their are a ton of Speckles in there. They get B, I, G , BIG too. And yes it is a place where many guys go to fish in the winter as the water remains high into the 70's while it is 40 degrees outside. You can travel 200 or 300 yards out of that specific branch and the water temp dips to 40 degrees in the winter. I wouldn't suggest it but you could take a nice hot sauna in the dead of winter if you get close enough to those stream or hot water outlets.

The reason the fish get big is even in the summer the water is much warmer than the surrounding water and the fish are basically trapped in there ESPECIALLY in the winter. Once the water hits 60 or so it is like a wall to fish. They swim through it and die. Just like the Gulf Stream, it is just like a wall to certain fish i.e. dolphin, they have a hard time swimming through a major temperature break.

Go get em friend, you will catch Specks in the Ditch and you may get a citation. They ARE in there.

Take Care and Good Luck!

When you catch that citation trout come over to our new board and let us know.

Tight Lines!


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## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

big catch said:


> By the way I saw someone posted "there aren't any fish in the Hot Ditch"
> 
> WRONG!


You missed the sarcasm in that post.

A bit of history on the Hot Ditch and this board - this post on the Hot Ditch comes up every fall about the time when the leaves start changing. And the topic is always - is it the Hot Ditch on the E. River or the York River. And someone (JayB, NS4D, and the rest of us in the peanut gallery) always throw in some post like that in the thread.


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Big C there is 2 "hot" ditches and they were talking about the other one not the Elizabeth river one that was nearly fished-out a few years ago by the paper-hunters. If your friend ate all those fish you were talking about then more power to him. I'll have to take back some of the bad things I've said about the folks that fished that ditch for citations and threw away the fish after they were weighed because they were worried about the river being polluted. 

If the story about Claude Bain calling him and asking about those fish was true then I'd guess it was one of the things that lead to a very smart decision he made. That would be the recent creation of the 24" release citation for Specks in the tourny so that people could still get that valuable piece of paper when they catch quality fish and not have to kill them and not eat them and still get the paper.

Oh yeah, welcome aboard and get ready for the typical controversy from the folks that take offence to someone like you promoting a different forum on this one. Don't worry though, I don't think the owner will mind the "competition".


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

big catch said:


> By the way I saw someone posted "there aren't any fish in the Hot Ditch"



WELCOME ABOARD!But lets not advertise,that there are " fish in the Hot Ditch"when it is like 20 degree's and no one want's ta fish cause the water temps are like in the teens....you know and I know....there's no fishin in the Hot Ditch....who would want to?when it's impossible fer fish to thrive in such harsh conditions?I know I would rather be cuddled up with my honey,under some warm blanket,sippin hot co-co,instead of feeshin the Hot Ditch

So...I stick ta my claim....there ain't no feesh in the Hot Ditch


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Hey, I just told you they were fished out years ago. Whazamatta, you don't believe a fisherman??!!


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## big catch (Oct 21, 2004)

*The Cold Ditch!!*



> Oh yeah, welcome aboard and get ready for the typical controversy from the folks that take offence to someone like you promoting a different forum on this one. Don't worry though, I don't think the owner will mind the "competition".


Thanks for the welcome JAY B !!  

I posted my site because I just was looking to get a few guys to the board to liven it up a little. That is why I ONLY posted the board address in the Virginia forum. I was just lookin for some local guys that I've probably even talked too at the ramps before, who knows. I'm not looking to take anybody's posters, just to get some new fishing reports for the few 80 or so guys we have over there. 

And if the ditch is fished out then it's fished out. I haven't been there in at least 2 winters. So to the NSEARCH4DRUm fella, I aint tryin to ruffle NO feathers! 
Take Care and Tight lines guys! Joe D


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

It'd just be nice if you'd ever contributed one single thing here. One report, one piece of information.

But as it is you've just showed up and told people to go elsewhere.

When the owner of another site showed up and promoted his board, it was obviously a labor of love from someone who liked to fish Sandbridge Pier. Your site is a business venture. Poor form.


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

i agree mr. flea...just doesn't sit right with me.


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## HighCap56 (Oct 21, 2003)

sand flea said:


> Your site is a business venture. Poor form.


Agreed.


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## BrokenRod (Sep 6, 2004)

Well did not get to the ditch but did fish the train station in down town newport news. There had to be a million dink rocks in there. Lots and lots of bait fish and no blues.  

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!!
Take Someone Fishin


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## big catch (Oct 21, 2004)

> Your site is a business venture. Poor form.


Sand Flea, you wouldn't know a labor of love if it hit you in the face like a cold fish.
Labor of love? Hows this for a labor of Love?

8 months of your life at a computer from 8am until sometimes 2am the following morning. ALL by your self. Time away from the one thing that you love most--fishing-- so you can bring together a place for other fishermen to get any and all the free information they needed. Now do this at a cost of less than 500 bucks because you are just an average guy that wasn't working that much at the time. Sit at the computer while your family calls you crazy for doing something you love.

It may look like a biz venture to you but what is the very site you are on? Who's gonna pay for the site to stay up and running, certainly not you! You think there is money in this stuff? You better stick to what you know,, Criticizing others!

Talk about BAD form


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Yes, this site is a business venture. And I don't promote it on other people's boards in violation of their rules.

And I _did_ pay for this site out of my own pocket for a long time. It took three years to become profitable and still struggles to pay for constantly growing bandwidth consumption.

So what's your response? Spamming twice in your snotty reply. I doubt this approach has won you many fans around here.


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

*ya got my vote,*

sf.... ta axe this thread.............


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

BC, I tried to warn ya about the controversy.  

There's an old Indian (OPPS...native American...don't want to P!$$ anyone off  ) saying that says if you're hunting in someone elses woods then you should either first get permission or tread real quietly. Good luck.


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## HighCap56 (Oct 21, 2003)

I seldom advocate banning any user, however this gentleman truly has no clue.

His labor of love seems an effort for cash.

Both as a competitor, and as a repeat spammer, with no credible worth as a contributor here, I encourage you to hit the delete key on him and this thread.

If it really took him 8 months, then he either needs to brush up on his HTML or hire a developer so he won't miss any more fishing.


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## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

Here's my .02

I go to a couple of fishing sites depending on what I'm looking for - if I'm fishing here in Va Beach area, then I look on Flea's site, if I'm heading south, I'll check out DD's or RDT's. If I'm boating it, I'm on TF.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having more resources. Big Catch's site is actually nicely laid out. Easy to navigate and not too many graphics to make the site annoying. As a fellow techie, I know how much time and effort it takes to create sites. Some can be 10 minutes while others take months. (C'mon HighCap - we don't all have your techo skills  ). But I do agree - 8 months?

The problem was the delivery. You can't come to someone else's site and 'spam'. Maybe if you did it more discretely or if you were a long time contributor and supporter of the site, then that would be different. Maybe if you put your link on your signature without 'adverstising it', then this whole incident could have been avoided.

I understand you want to get fellow outdoorsman and women on your site and make it successful, but that doesn't come overnight. Take Flea for example, he's got roots down here in VB and up in MD. Just by word of mouth over the years, his site has gone from a few dozen folks to over thousands. 

End of my .02


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Yeah, I'm locking this thing down.

And he's been bounced. I no longer ban a user from posting; I simply block them from seeing the entire site at the root level.

chest2head hits on something very important. It's all about how you approach things and your attitude. (and I, too, wonder how in the world it took him 8 months to install a phpboard)

If he'd been a long time contributor who'd built up some cred around here and would have had a good attitude, I wouldn't have cared. I send people to other sites all the time, but if you walk into my place and flip me the bird, well...


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