I fished Huntington North Reservoir today from my kick boat. The ice came off the end of last week. I fished with fly tackle using a fast sinking line and various size 6-8 leeches and soft hackle flies in olive and tan. I fished from 10:00 until 3:00 and caught four fish, all rainbows from 11" - 16" long. I caught all of the fish before noon, afternoon it just shut down. The water temperature was 42-43 degrees and the visibility in the water was about 10'. The reservoir is almost full. Slow fishing but a nice day to be on the water.[fishin]
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Nice report. Do you know if the wipers they planted there have been showing up?
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Thanks.
The DWR started stocking them in 2010 and have been stocking about 10,000 finglerlings each year since. I started catching wipers in 2013 that were in the 2 1/2 - 3 pound range. That is a pretty good growth rate from 2" in 2010 to 18" and 3 pounds in 2013. Last year I didn't get any that big but picked up several 13" - 17" wipers. They seem to be doing pretty well with the variety of food in there for them. Chubs, green sunfish, bluegill, largemouth bass, channel catfish, and of course more chubs.
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Nice, I will have to go give it a try again this year. Last time I went I came back smellin like skunk.
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Huntington used to be a great largemouth fishery. I caught some hogs out of there quite a while back. Do you think the LMB population has changed since the introduction of the wiper? I thought with the extra competition, the LMB population would definately suffer. I haven't been out there in years.
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The largemouth bass fishery at Huntington North was impacted for years by water management in the reservoir. Following the implementation of a pressurized irrigation system, water levels remained higher and permitted better reproduction than previously.
However, the largemouth fishery was still struggling a bit, probably because of high predation on young of the year bass by the large number by green sunfish. Since the introduction of wipers the largemouth have apparently recruited annually and the number of green sunfish and bluegill have decreased but their size is larger. Overall, the fishery is really starting to become one of the better small fisheries in the state producing quality largemouth, bluegill, wipers, and rainbow trout.
Paul Birdsey
Coldwater Sportfish Coordinator
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
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Thanks for the detailed info. Sounds like I need to make the trip this spring.
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Thanks for the info. Last time I was there I liked the size of the reservoir. I think another trip is due to learn it a little more.
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I have debated fishing this reservoir for some time, as it is fairly close to some of my favorite trout lakes. Out of curiosity, if I were to target bass or wipers, what works in that lake? Crankbaits? Soft plastics?
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I checked my fishing log and it's been since 2009 that I caught any largemouth out of HN. I caught three that year that were 16" - 17" long. I just fly fish it so I'm not really a good source of information on the LMB population. Even with the introduction of the wipers there are still a lot of chubs. The other thing is I don't fish it in the summer because of the power squadron so I'm sure I miss the best time to fish for the bass.
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I would suspect the usual bass baits should work. Since I am still learning the lake I don't have a clear repertoire as of yet.
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Thanks for chimming in, Paul.
I'm not much of a warm water fisherman so usually the warm water species that I catch are by accident.[
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Huntington North is still one of my favorite places to fish. The power boaters can be a bit overwhelming, but daylight to about 9:30 am seems to work.
I have caught bass there on topwater, crankbaits, and plastics.
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When I was in my teenage years the stocked the first largemouth in there. Along with this stocking they droped a couple tire piles (tires tied together to protect the young bass. Due to a lack of protective structure, I would be curious if the tire piles have become silt filled or have been removed. If so , would placing some artificial structure be a helpful assist again. I know locating and fishing those piles back in the 70's and early 80's produced some hog bass (4-6 lbs)
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I have spent many hours on Huntington North and am not familiar with those structures. I can only assume that they have either silted in or broke loose and have since been picked up on the shoreline. We installed some structures in the north end of the reservoir when I worked in the Southeast Region, but they had to be subsequently removed because they did not comply with Bureau of Reclamation Standards.
The DWR has worked with the Bureau for several years now and identified a few structures that can be used for fish habitat. I know that Huntington North was identified as a location to install some, but I don't know that it has happened yet due to higher priorities elsewhere.
I hope this helps
Paul Birdsey
Coldwater Sportfish Coordinator
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
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The tire thing I am talking about was when the introduced bass in there. What I don't recall is if it was a temporary thing to give the fingerling bass a chance to get started. ( the story was in the sun advocate back then.) I have always assumed they would remove tires, But I have wondered if any old trees ect were put in for protective structure. I know the first few years were great for bass. Would be good to see that lake get a little help, food seamed to be plentiful
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I would like to get a map of the lakegiving me a little added detail.
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