Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]Last week it was reported that Huntington (Mammoth) was snowbound and freezing fast. I had wanted to get in one or two prefreeze tubing sessions but it seemed I had missed out this year.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Howsomever, I was guessing that with the warm spell of the past few days that maybe I could hit it with my tube and not need an auger. I guessed right...for a change. I made my final decision last night to give it a go today. Glad I did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temp at 8 AM was a balmy 34...the same as the day before at Pineview. Actually warmed to 57 by the time I got off the water about 3. In fact, by the time I was ready to launch a bit before 9 it had warmed to over 40 degrees...and with no wind. I did not have to put my gloves on all day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water temp was 40 at launch and warmed to just over 42 before I left. Warmer than it was last year at this time. But Huntington can go south (Antarctica) fast when Mama Nature gets huffy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The water level is a bit lower than last year at this time too. Already a few feet below the end of the ramp. Can still launch small boats but would not recommend launching with a large boat and trailer. Looked like someone tried that and had some problems getting back up the ramp. Black tire tread and other evidence. Don't those fools know that is a float tube ramp?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fishing picked up where it left off last year. I started working along the dam with a jig and fly combo...watching the sonar. Found some marks in 28 to 30 feet a ways out from the dam...and DAMN...WHAM. First of many footlong tiger troutskis of the day. Hit one of my "Copper Pat" jigs that some of the guys use a lot down in the Boulders. 1/16 oz. head with copper head and body, and root beer hackle and tail. It worked well today. But so did just about everything else I tried.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I couldn't find any real concentration of fish out in front of the dam as I have in years past. Just singles, doubles and the occasional small group of fish. Some on the bottom and some suspended at various depths. After the sun hit the water there were quite a few small fish rising next to the shore around the lake...and a few in the middle. Didn't see evidence of any larger ones on the surface. But caught a few footlongs and teeninchers on bubble and fly rig when I tried that later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Worked along the south shore of the lake...in and out...shallow (15') to deep (35'). Got most of my hits in 26 to 32 feet...with most fish caught at about 28 feet. But, did catch fish as shallow as 13' and as deep as 33'. Also caught quite a few at mid depth by throwing out the jig and fly combo, letting it sink to the bottom and then "creatively" retrieving it up through the water column. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally reached the far western end of the lake, where there was a big flat that ranged from 25' to 29'. No big crowds of fish there but plenty of individuals roaming around and willing to swat jigs or flies. I had several doubles over a half hour period. What a circus. Actually had a couple of fish jump up over my second rod and create some "interesting" situations. Also had a couple jump right in my lap with me. Silly fishies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About noon I took a couple of pictures of the glassy surface of the lake and started back toward the dam. Figured I would fish my way back and then look harder for a concentration of fish in that area. I knew they had to be there somewhere.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kept catching fish pretty regularly all the way back to the other end of the lake. Mostly "footlongs", with some 14, 15 and 16 inchers. They all hit like freight trains and fought much bigger than they were. Fun fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Still couldn't find any numbers of fish back by the dam. But, I did find some that were fairly shallow and close to the rocks. I caught several in less than 15 feet of water by casting and bouncing the jigs back over the bottom. Caught my last one as I was bringing in the rods to hit the ramp.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Besides being small, most of the fish were the "grey phase" tigers. Only a few had much color. The brightest was a feisty footlong. I did lose one big ol' purty dude. Guessed him to be over 18 inches. But after slamming my jig, stripping off line, jumping a couple of times and trying to ram my tube he just decided he really didn't want that jig after all and let me have it back. How thoughty.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most folks would consider my day a fantastic trip. But, as with other lakes, I remember the "good old days" when the sonar was dark with fish and the average was bigger than the biggest fish I caught today. I probably caught well over 50 fish, but I would have really liked to have been able to release a few more bigguns. I only kept a couple of 14 inchers for the table.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure what my findings mean for ice fishing. My guess is that it is going to be even worse than last year. Not much besides the small fish. I doubt I will put Huntington on my hard deck list this year. I hope everybody else proves me wrong and that it turns out gangbusters. [/#0000ff]
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Again, another nice report, thanks for sharing. That country looks great in the fall. Probably not much going on up there since most of the hunts are over.
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Thanks for the report. What do you think happened to the larger fish?
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[quote FishFingers]Thanks for the report. What do you think happened to the larger fish?[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Basic biology. To develop larger fish you need:[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]1. Lots of food[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]2. Selective harvest[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Huntington has long been managed as a "put and take" water. It has limited food resources. Used to have a lot of minnows but they are getting scarcer. Doesn't have a lot of weed beds to produce scuds or other aquatic edibles. A lot of the tiger chow comes from summer bug life and a few mud dwelling invertebrates. But what they do eat produces beautiful orange flesh...good eating.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This is a small lake. And it is popular with a lot of anglers...summer and winter. Thanks to Doug Miller and Reece Stein, who both ran winter ice fishing promos on Huntington...it has become a circus every year when it first ices over. Two years ago it iced up early and the weather held up nicely for several weeks before burying the lake in several feet of snow. Huntington got hammered.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Taking an occasional limit of tigers from Huntington should not destroy it. But, when all the fish in the limit...by hundreds of anglers...are the larger fish and the big colorful ones...it does tip the balance. Also, during the times when the fish were abundant and active, a lot of the fish being dropped back down the hole were ripped and bleeding. Some groups were having contests to see who could catch the most...the fastest...and they were not being too gentle with the fish. Had a report from a guy with an aqua view camera that said there were lots of dead fish both right under the ice and on the bottom. There is always some mortality even with carefully released fish. Slamming them on the ice, gripping them too firmly with gloved hands and then ripping out hooks definitely increases the loss factor.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Lots more fishing activity during the summer too. Since they added the boat ramp about 3 years ago there are far more larger boats on the lake. Bank tanglers have always harvested a fair number of tigers but more boats and more anglers afloat have likely contributed to the decline in numbers of fish.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]DWR continues to stock good numbers of tigers but they just don't have a chance to get bigger. Less food and more harvest keeps the average size smaller and results in fewer truly big ones.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Here's a pic of one fish I caught on a day about 4 years ago...when the average size was over 16 inches...with about half of the fish being the colorful ones.[/#0000ff]

[inline "DADDY TIGER.JPG"]

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What a beautiful day at a splendid location. Nice that you got plenty of action.

Too bad it's the same ol' story as so many other potentially great or "has been" great fisheries.[:/]
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Great report, Pat.

Too bad that many of the smaller lakes like that one, end up being 'not up to potential' for the reasons you just described. And being advertised on television probably takes the cake (or in this case, the fish).

Great pics.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. Glad ya liked it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those of us who have been around for awhile can all remember the "before and after" of several waters that were "discovered" by one of our local TV sports personalities. One week you almost have a spot all to yourself. Then, the week after the show airs you have to bring your own rock to stand on...while listening to everybody talk about how great it was on the show.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We can also thank the tackle outlets in the area too. Understandably, it is their job to educate their customers and to help them catch more fish...and buy more tackle. But sometimes a couple of wild-eyed salesmen in those stores get a bit too amped up about a certain water and before you know it they have been responsible for a whole lot more pressure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sadly, BFT gets blamed for "hot spotting" and sending too many people to places that cannot stand much more pressure. I suppose with my report on Huntington I deserve a few stones. But the tone of my report was that Huntington doesn't need more harvesting and has declined. That is different than a TV program that proclaims "If you really wanna catch a lot of big fish you need to go to (hotspot) right now. But before you do, be sure to stop by our sponsor's shop and spend lots of money."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I post a lot of reports but they are usually on waters that can withstand plenty more pressure...and on species that are not going to be decimated by a few more anglers catching them. I try to fish popular places and to develop new tactics and techniques I can pass along to the "average" angler who wants to do better or to get his kids into some fish. I am always a softie for getting kids involved in fishing and making sure their experiences are positive.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have made a little game of going up to people at different places and asking them..."How did you hear about this place." Of course a lot of them were told by a friend. But there are plenty that were sent by tackle shops and more than a few that "saw it on TV". I know it happens but I have never encountered anybody who admitted to having discovered a new spot by visiting BFT. Yeah, we do have a lot of members and lurkers, but a vast majority of the anglers in Utah are not computer whizzes. They can barely manage to take a whiz beside the road between passing cars.[/#0000ff]
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Ahhh, the "Copper Pat". What a brookie buster! You can thank me for the little nickname. By the way, I need to make me way over and get a dozen or so along with some black "Black Widows".
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Thanks for the information--your posts are very good.
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[cool][#0000ff]PM me with the sizes, colors and quantities you want. I let my stock run down toward the end of the summer and might need to wrap a few more of some models. Got plenty of painted heads and materials...but low on finished jigs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]"Black widows"? I like that. I been calling them "Blackjacks". Not sure if you got any of the models with the black nickle hooks in them but they seem to work very well.[/#0000ff]
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Nice report n pics [cool] you really seem to be packing in the trips before the ice hits. until then take care[fishin]
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[cool]Thanks for your report, Pat. Great pics and words as usual.

I am troubled to see the low numbers of "upper teen" fish being caught. That one where you labled it as "not many this size" or whatnot used to be the average fish caught on the ice there with several a 2-3 inches bigger. That lake has been declining in quality of fish size for the past 3 years now and it's . I don't know if it's from not enough Tigers stocked in comparison with previous years or that it now gets too much pressure/harvest to keep up with the demand. I am guessing that the latter definitely is to blame and maybe the former as well. It's now a very popular ice fishing lake in the month of December.

I may just skip it this year and head strait to Scofield or Cleveland for early season ice fishing. I guess it depends on which freezes first, but my expectations for that lake have been lowered...
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[cool][#0000ff]As I stated in a previous post, the decline in size of fish can be the result of two things...lack of food and heavy harvest of the larger fish. The lake has always had a pretty good food base and it has proven in the past that it CAN produce larger fish. But because more people are fishing it...and keeping all the big fish...there aren't as many as there used to be. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I blame two things: [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. A lot more ice fishing...with many people harvesting limits and killing a lot of fish they release through careless handling.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. The boat ramp. Even though gas motors are prohibited on the lake there are more boats hitting it and using only trolling motors. This has put more boaters on the water and given them access to fish that are unavailable to bank tanglers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Huntington is a small lake and even though it gets well stocked by DWR it cannot sustain the heavier pressure it has received the past few years without showing the negative effects...smaller fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am sure there are still plenty of bigguns in the lake. They don't get big by being easy to catch and have probably experienced hooks before. Also, the big fish aren't much attracted to the little jigs used by most ice anglers. They eat meat. I saw some pics last winter of a 24" tiger caught on a huge tube and slab of chub meat. When filleted it had an 8 inch trout in it's stomach.[/#0000ff]
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lol the food base in huntington is strong and plentafull.. lot's of suckers and shiners in there for them to eat..

the fishing at huntington has changed over the last 3 or so years but lot's of fish in there and lot's of over 20 inch fish in there as well..

i know of 5 fish over 24 inchs out of there this year.. 2 in my boat.. seen a 6 lbs 26 inch fish out of there this spring.. in one outing this summer we caught 10 tigers that were 20 inch or better and around 3 lbs.. so the fish are in there and doing good..

they just dont seem to like the jig's like they did 3 years ago.. but zipfish, pop gear, and drifting minnows seems to be doing the best the last while..

BTW you can have a motor on your boat there just can use one that is over 10 horse.. [:p]
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