Mantua catfish

[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Looks like the the catfish in Mantua have spawned successfully but I'm not sure if they're the right kind. This morning I saw several schools of pure black catfish minnows in the shallow water of the northeast bay. They sure look like the black bullhead minnows you see in Cutler Marsh this time of year however I am hoping there's a chance that these are offspring from the big brood stock channel cats they planted last year.
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[Fritzfishin]

100% theyre definitely channels!
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I'd say they are channels too. But I forwarded a copy of your pic to DWR biologists for the area and should get a reply soon. Will post it up when I get it.
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[AlexB]

I caught one by hand and was going to post a picture. I saw a bunch of them but not in a group like that. I was also wondering what type they are.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I sent a copy of your picture and and inquiry to Chris Penne of DWR. This is his response.[/#0000FF]

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Hard to say for sure, but my bet would be on them being bullheads. Channel cats are known to school up when young, but I've never really observed them schooling up in the shallows near the surface like that - that's a behavior that seems to be more associated with bullheads.

Chris
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[BagABigOne]

Now the question becomes if they are bullheads is that good or bad.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]A matter of perspective. I addressed the same question to Chris. I was completely unaware that there were bullheads in Mantua. But with the stupid fish tricks perpetrated by the bucket bozos in this state it is possible. After all, it happened in Deer Creek.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]In truth, when I first saw the picture my first guess WAS bullheads. I have seen them do this many times around the country...and especially at Utah Lake. But there is usually a protective adult male bullhead guarding them. As Chris says, young channels will group together for a while after hatching but seldom form the tight balls such as that seen in the picture.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Here are a couple of pics of baby bullheads for comparison.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF][inline "BULLHEAD YOUNG.jpg"]
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[#0000FF][inline "BABY BULLHEADS.jpg"]
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[Kent]

[quote BagABigOne]

Now the question becomes if they are bullheads is that good or bad.

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IMNSHO bad.
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[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Thanks TubeDude for providing the response from Chris and the additional information about these fish.
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[Ahi1953]

wounder I bullheads were mixed in with some of the channels that were planted last year.

Since were are on the subject of Catfish species. I had a long debate with a fellow angler about there being Blue Cats in the Bear River, he clams to have caught several blues . I explained that blue or pale gray color are mature channel cats. He insist that they were blues. But he also clams to have caught a Sturgeon back around the duck club years ago. Cloud I be wrong? Are there or ever been blues in the bear?
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[gmwahl]

I here are no blues in there, and his BS sturgeon story should reaffirm that he is full of it...haha.

Mike
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[packfish]

Looks exactly like the pods of channel catfish I used to see when I grew up on Lake Eire. Most of the time being protected by mom.
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[Piscophilic]

My first thought was bullheads also, because the tail lobes are of equal length and clearly more rounded than channels. However, the smallest channel I've ever seen was about 4" long. The newly hatched ones may have more rounded tails that become more pointed as they grow.
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[Fin-S-Fish]

Bullheads for sure, never saw channel babies school like that. Most of the big channels are dead from winter kill, they washed up all over in may when I was fishing bass and gills, stunk like hell all rotten and all.
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[MrShane]

The big perch we catch at Cascade puke up baby bullheads on the ice. I’m hoping this turns out to be a good thing.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]Young bullheads are a good food source for many species...wherever they occur. That is why black plastics and marabous are often so effective. The bigger walleyes in Utah Lake used to really chow down on them. After the spawns and before the water temps got too warm in July, the walleyes would school up at the outlet of the Jordan River, just above the pump house. As the water speeded up before going through the narrow slot the walleyes would ambush the baby bullheads and young white bass being sucked downstream. They would clobber big black marabou goodies.
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[#0000ff]It was not hard to catch a limit of 6 walleyes over 5#...when there were no size restrictions...with large black marabou jigs and flies. On some days I probably released twice as many more...even some larger ones. Ah, the good old days. I have tried it a few times since and with fewer big walleyes and small bullheads it just ain't the same. Whimper.
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[lavaman]

Awesome pic, Tubedude!

One of these days I'll catch my first Walleye!
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[AlexB]

I've seen a couple of floating bullhead(I assume) catfish over the last few years. They are certainly not new to Mantua.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I had asked a followup question to Chris Penne, of DWR, about the existence of bullheads in Mantua. He got back in his office and this is his response.[/#0000FF]

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Seems like bullheads have been in Mantua since 2017.. I'm not sure how they got in as each potential scenario seems about as likely as the other. Here are some potential routes:
[ul][li] Illegal introduction - this is still kind of a head scratcher as I don't know who would want bullheads as their choice of illegal introduction. That said, I'm sure there's someone out there that does.[/li][/ul]
[ul][li]Natural migration into the reservoir. There's a couple ways this could have happened:[/li]
[ul][li]1st way: Mantua used to have bullheads in it prior to the last rotentone treatment to remove Utah Chub. During the treatment, they/we tried to kill the "Knoll Pond" on the east side of the reservoir but were unsuccessful due to heavy inflow from underground springs. It could be they've been in the Knoll Pond all this time and recently made their way into the reservoir after the heavy snowpack in 2017. It may also be that someone caught some out of the Knoll Pond and just walked them over to the reservoir.[/li][li]2nd way: Bullheads are present in Pioneer Park Pond in Brigham City. The pond in Brigham City is connected to Mantua Reservoir by Box Elder Creek. It's possible bullheads moved up the creek one year or over multiple years and then made their way into the reservoir. It's only a 600-foot climb in elevation from Brigham City to Mantua, so it's not as steep of a climb as one would think. Interestingly, I scouted the potential path and they wouldn't have had to make their way through the dam. If they take the right route, they can get into Maple Creek on the south side of the reservoir without hitting any major obstructions. [/li][/ul][/ul]
It's a bummer, but at this point we consider them part of the fish community. The present conditions in Mantua don't seem too conducive to bullheads really taking over the place, so we're not too concerned at the moment. That said, if conditions change things could tip in their favor. For now though, I'm thinking it will be more like Pineview where they will be play a more minor role in the fish community.

Chris
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