Was it a Northern pike?

[Boatloadakids]

So... got up early this a.m. and went to UL to try for some bwb for catfish bait. The wb are about 4 inches long now and they will do their best to try to bite small spinners. Everybody was getting into the act - grebes - terns - pelicans , all working the shoreline everywhere. The wb must have had a banner year for reproduction because there are millions of them working the midge hatches every morning.

I was fishing the Mulberry access point in Goshen Bay. All was well and I was picking up a wb for every ten or so bumps on my spinner. Finally caught one that did not fit. It was about 9 inches long, thin bodied, with a trout-like skin. My first thought was that it was a june sucker so I quickly removed the hook and chucked it back in the water. Then the rusty synapses in my brain started clicking and I realized that, as far as I know, june suckers don't bite spinners?? It did not have the bottom-mounted pig-snout common to most suckers and it did not have scales.

Hmmm.... went home and broke out my Utah Fishing Guide book and perused the pics of Utah fish species. The fish I caught did not look like a junnie... it looked more like a northern pike?? I wish I would have taken a little closer look at the fish. I did not want to be caught standing there with a junnie in my possession, hence the quick release. It was not a perch or a trout that I am familiar with so I think it was a northern... a young northern... bad news for efforts to remove the northerns from the lake.

Cat fishin' has been slow. I have caught a few and they are all fat and healthy. I have not unzipped one to see what they are dining on but for sure, they are feasting on bwb and carplettes. As long as they are living in a Chuck-a Rama they will probably continue to ignore anything but the abundant young of the year hatchlings.

Some cool weather would help. Hopefully October will bring about renewed interest in bait as the cats beef up for the winter. If there is not a 30 inch catfish caught by the south team this year I'm giving up cattin' and taking up golf.

BLK
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[Anglinarcher]

One easy way to determine if it was a pike was teeth. Even small pike have sharp, razor, will cut the finger to the bone teeth.

What did you see when you unhooked it?

Junnies, no teeth. Trout, very small teeth. Catfish, more like sandpaper then teeth.

[Boatloadakids]

Regretably, I did not take the time to check his dental work. He was hooked with one hook from the treble and I did not need to work the hook out. I could see that it was not a wb, perch, trout, carp, or catfish so it was not something I could use for bait and it could have been a junnie. I just wanted to get him back in the water and get on with my fishin'. I wish I would have taken a closer look, or better still, grabbed my camera from the truck for a picture.

What it was has been buggin' me all day... guess I'll never know. I know of at least two notherns that were caught at Lincoln off the rocks at the first spring. They were smallish -- 15 to 20 inchers. It is possible that there is a breeding population somewhere around Lincoln and it is possible a wayward baby could have found his way into Goshen Bay.

Again, I wish I would have been a little more attentive. It will remain a mystery fish.
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[Anglinarcher]

Ya, it probably will be unsolved.

With the "muddy" water, the coloration would not be like a normal pike. The shape would be all that is left to compare.

As for reproducing pike, once they are started, they are impossible to remove completely. They may actually help to keep the carp in check, and the white bass as well, but ..... the Junnies would seriously suffer.

Look at Yuba and you may be looking at the future of UL.

Best to remove the Pike from UL but I assure you I am not going to take time to deliver it to the authorities.

[Outfishing13]

This is my theory about what will happen with the Northerns in Utah lake. As the lake begins to recover and clear up the Northerns will become more prolific and successful. They are visual predators and will do better as the water clears. They are very adaptable and can do well in many temperatures of water.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
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