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Huntington North today from the tube. Fished from 8:30 until 1:30 using fly tackle and caught four, 7"-9" bluegill, two wipers, 17" & 18", and eight chubs from 12" to 14" long. No trout or largemouth in the catch today. I had one other wiper up to the tube and a few other hits but it was still pretty slow. I used a fast sinking (#7) line with size 6 bead head soft hackle patterns in tan/brown and tan/green/pearl colors. The fish were deep in 25' to 30' of water. The water temperature was 67-70 degrees and the visibility in the water was good at about 6'. The reservoir is 84% full and dropping slowly. There are not a lot of anglers here and the weekends are not good for fishing because of the recreational boaters. Fishing should pick up as the water starts to cool a bit.
The interesting thing about this reservoir is there is a chance of picking up some large wipers and when the water cools, some decent trout.[inline P1040900(1).JPG][inline P1040901(1).JPG][inline P1040905(1).JPG][inline P1040904(1).JPG]Fished
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Your Bluegill looks to be a Green sunfish. Thought you might be interested. RJ
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They kind of look like green/bluegill hybrids to me. Cool markings though.
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[quote gstott]They kind of look like green/bluegill hybrids to me. Cool markings though.[/quote]
I'd be with more of that scenario myself.
Anyway what a great report! Nice pics, I really enjoy reading about places I have never been to.
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[#0000FF]Hey Tom, nice report. Glad you did better than last time.
The two sunfish in the pictures you posted are definitely not pure bluegills. The white edges on the fins are the first clue. But, they are also not pure green sunfish. In fact, I think they look more like "pumpkinseeds"...or a sunfish hybrid of some kind. Their mouths are too small for greenies.
However, one of the pics you sent me by email is definitely a pure bluegill. I'll post it here and I'm sure others will agree.
There are many species of sunfish and it is sometimes difficult to make positive identification via photograph. They have different colorations at different times of year and the water chemistry, temperature and clarity can all affect the colors too.
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Thanks for posting your report, we sure don't get many from that lake but it sounds like it is fishing good. What is your largest wiper for that lake? I think the day will come that you won't be catching as many chubs, as the wiper thin them out.
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Thanks, Pat.
You are far better at identifying warmwater fish than I am. I have a hard enough time identifying the fish that I normally catch. I never thought to post the one good bluegill picture that I took. Thanks for doing that for me.
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[#0000FF]Happy to chip in. The bluegill pic was so good, too.
A lot of folks just don't understand the complexity of the sunfish clan. There are several varieties in Utah but they seldom hybridize naturally. More likely in a hatchery and it has been many years since Utah bought sunfish to plant...from other states.
Because most sunfish are close genetically, it is not difficult to fertilize the eggs of one species with the milt of another. But that seldom happens in the wild. As with most wild critters, sunfish are programmed to seek out there own species...and to respond only to the right colors, the right "rituals" and the right "perfume" (pheromones). The males of one species don't just go cruising for females of another species. But...if both species are nesting in the same areas at the same time it is possible for male "particles" to float over into the nests of a different species and create a hybrid. Rare but it does happen.
While I lived in Arizona I spent some time with state fisheries biologists and COs and got to observe their planning and management. Also got to know several different species of sunfish...up close and personal. Love 'em all. Couldn't ask for better candidates for fly flingers.
I have caught bluegills and green sunfish for many years in Utah. But it was only after moving back to Utah about 10 years ago that I found out about both pumpinseeds and redear sunfish being in a select few waters. As I understand it, they were not planted deliberately but "hitchhiked" in with batches of bluegill fry from out of state hatcheries.
They really should adopt an aggressive planting program for the redears (shell crackers). They love quagga mussels.
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Huntington North ? Where is that? Close enough to the Ogden area for a day trip? Would like to catch some Chubs to keep for Catfish bait.
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Huntington North Reservoir is next to the town of Huntington. It is a State Park with a nice campground with showers and other nice amenities.
If you want to load up on chubs and you live in the Ogden area, head for Scofield it would be closer. If you go up in the shallow south end of the reservoir you can harvest a boat load for bait.
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Thanks, will have to check both of those out on the state park web site
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