Huntington Creek

[Kim-n-Kota]

We ended up taking the long way home from Price, and fished the "flies only" section from 11-1 yesterday. Wow. What a great little stream.

Caught all browns, most around 8-10 inches. Didn't count how many. There sure were some fat little guys! Colors were awesome too.

They could not be pursuaded to take anything off the top. But a #14 Hares Ear seemed to be on the menu for pretty much everybody.












One particularly deep little hole yielded half a dozen fish, just one right after the other. Including this monster (considering his habitat) at 16":





We did stop at Thistle Creek too, per ya'lls suggestions. I probably didn't pick the best spot though. I was pretty satisfied with my day already and perhaps was being a little lazy. The water was really muddy. All I got was this little Chub...



...But also this excellect picture of Kota, with a Thistle on the Thistle!

[flygoddess]

Nice! Way to go. My dog would have ate the fish if I put it in his face...LOL
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Fantastic fly report. That chub looks like the perfect bait size.[]
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[joshomaru]

Is that a chub?? Kind of looks like another minnow species.
Body seems a wee bit long and scales too small.....

Dig the tail on that monster brown!
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[Kim-n-Kota]

See, that's what I thought when I caught it too. You guys would probably know better than me, but this looks like a pretty close match:
[url "http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=gilacope"]http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=gilacope[/url]

"The skin has a leathery texture with very small scales (75-85 in the lateral line) and the anal and dorsal fins have 8 fin rays, which distinguish this species from other Utah minnows."

I zoomed in on the full size pic, and sure enough there are exactly 8 rays on both fins.

Good thing I released the little guy unharmed. Apparently they are listed as "sensitive" species along with a lot of other native minnows. It was perfect bait size though
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[gstott]

Nice! That creek is another old favorite. Looks like you cleaned up there. Perhaps I'll need to make a central Utah trip someday and visit some old favorites.
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[HopperLover]

Wow! That is great. I thought HC was all damaged by the fire. Could you report on that?
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[Kim-n-Kota]

Yes, there were significant portions where the hillsides were totally charred as far as you could see. It was . Several spots you could tell had flooded very badly. But they had most of the debris pretty much cleared away and the road seemed fine to me, despite all the signs warning of road damage.

The lower stretches were very, very muddy. Whether that's still a direct result of the fire/flooding or because of the scattered thunderstorms the day before (or both?), I'm not sure.

I do know that the "flies only" water was crystal clear, and the fish happy and hungry.
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[tkidder]

From what I saw earlier in the year Huntington Creek from the fire down is in dire straights. My question is does anyone have an idea of when it could rebound? I was just starting to hit that stream regularly...
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[ColdWaterCoord]

Huntington Creek from about one mile below Electric Lake downstream has been significantly impacted by the fire. The bad news is that impacts will continue to be felt until the hillsides stabilize, reducing the inflow of ash and debris. The good news is that the channel form itself still seems to be pretty much intact so we do not need to reconstruct that.

Re-seeding either has occurred or will soon. Recovery time pretty much depends on Mother Nature and how quickly the vegetation returns. The DWR will begin restocking the stream as soon as conditions allow.

Paul Birdsey
Coldwater Sportfish Coordinator
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
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[cpierce]

I was in Huntington Canyon today. I will echo what has been said on the damage. Although I was impressed that they save a lot of the trees and structures along the stream itself. But the hillsides that run off into the stream are toast, and they are bringing down tons of silt and debris into the stream. They did have crews up there working hard to stablize things, but it will be quite awhile before it quits flooding mud.

The lower section was very muddy. The lower middle looked pretty good with only slightly discolored water. Just above that in the fire section, and just below it, there was a LOT of damage. The water color is okay, but the stream bed itself is filled with tons of silt and mud. The mud goes up into the willows in flats that are 2 to 3 ft deep. The stream bed rocks and insects are all covered with mud. I saw very few fish in this section. Not much to eat in a mud bowl.

Further up, ... a little ways above Engineer's Canyon, it starts to get better. There is still some mud, but the damage is less. There are more rocks and gravels showing on the stream bed. (The browns are making redds in the few places possible so step carefully!)

If it rains the flooding will again be over the top with flash floods. I would say stay out of the canyon, if there is any thunderstorm activity in the area. The spring run off may be really nasty next year. Heartbreaking to see!
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