Pineview Reservoir is the place to catch six different sportfish

Huntsville — Anglers who want a variety of great early summer fishing opportunities can find them at Pineview Reservoir!

DWR biologists found lots of healthy smallmouth bass in Pineview Reservoir during a recent gillnet survey.

Photo by Phil Douglass

Located in Huntsville in northern Utah, the reservoir contains six different sportfish: Tiger muskie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch and black bullhead catfish.

Biologists refer to Pineview as a multi-layered fishery, meaning it offers fishing for many different levels of angler skills and interest. These levels range from the very specialized skill of pursuing tiger muskies to the very general "worm and bobber" approach for perch, bullheads and crappie.

Chris Penne is the Division of Wildlife Resources biologist in charge of managing reservoir and lake fisheries in northern Utah. He says Pineview's tiger muskie and panfish get lots of attention from anglers. But the lesser known fish in the reservoir can be just as exciting and fun to catch.

"The reservoir's smallmouth bass are often overshadowed by its tiger muskie and panfish," Penne says. "But fishing for smallmouth bass can be just as much fun."

Angler Hal Lee from Ogden agrees. "I love fishing for smallmouth bass at Pineview," says Lee, who has caught numerous smallmouth bass in the three- to five-pound class.

A crew of DWR biologists lead by Penne recently completed a survey of Pineview's smallmouth bass population. "We saw a good distribution of age classes," Penne says.

More information

You can stay updated on fishing at Pineview by reading the DWR's weekly fishing reports. The reports are available at wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots.

If you have questions about fishing at Pineview, call the DWR's Northern Region office at 801-476-2740.