Threw my canoe on Scofield Friday. Despite being blown all over the lake, I caught 4 between 15 and 17.5 inches in about 2 hours. Two tigers on my fly rod with a white streamer, then a cutty and a rainbow on my spin casting gear.
Ice has gathered in the shallows, but the lake was 90% open water.
Thanks for posting your report Galex. All we have heard lately about Scofield is doom an gloom, it is good to read a positive report.
WH2
Well your report gives me hope for the up coming ice season fishing. Hopefully that is not too far off now!
Thanks for the report. I have a 16 foot aluminum would i be able to launch at schofield?
Certainly.
wont be long till ICE 
Yeah - I thought that lake was deemed “dead” and was full of nothing but chubs. Hmm - maybe there’s a different story to be shared!
Thanks for the report Galex!
Perhaps you missed the state record tiger trout that came out of there a few weeks ago…Would have shattered the state record by nearly 2 pounds.
Scofield has been red hot as of late. Tons of fish being caught, but if you are a powerbait or worm drowner…don’t bother. The problem many people have up at Scofield is they are fishing using a method that would be a great method to target chubs.
The chubs do seem to be under control. The biggest problem the lake has had is excessive algae that dies in the winter and uses up all the dissolved oxygen as it rots. The algea buildup is of course caused by nutrients that come from cow pies/urine and stream bank erosion. The low oxygen water is great habitat for carp (not trout) and the primary reason the US EPA declared Scofield an “impaired” water body in 2004 –
http://oaspub.epa.gov/tmdl/attains_waterbody.control?p_list_id=UT-L104&p_cycle=&p_report_type=T .
The UT Division of Water Quality has done some stream bank work that is helping. And the excess water we had this year dilutes the nutrients and reduced algea growth a lot. I think the fishing will be strong there until we have our next low water year.
Anyone else have a theory?
The chubs are in no ways under control. 4 fish in 2 hours does not prove anything. Are people so naive on here?!
The chubs are out of control like crazy. Every where we went this past September there were balls of thousands of chubs all over the lake. Looked like the balls of carp at Yuba and Powell.
There are going to be some amazingly huge fish at Scofield because of the chubs but it will be near impossible to get them to bite with the buffet in front of them.
I can confidently say that few people have fished Scofield year around as much as I have in the past 6-7 years. I fished it hard pre-tigers, was extremely excited at the addition of the tigers, got pissed at the 8 fish limit, and was very very pleased with the removal of the 8 fish limit and the addition of the slot.
I had never caught or personally seen a chub there till this year. I have been at the lake during two gill nets in the past year.
My conclusion is Scofield is turning into Joes Valley. There are no doubt 100’s of splake and maybe even tiger trout in Joes that are over 10 lbs. But they are very rarely caught. I am hoping that the Muskie in Joes will help but I am doubtful.
I would bet money on the fact that Scofield is past the point of repair if things continue as they have the past few years. The 8 fish limit allowed the chubs to thrive and the slot came way too late. The lake could really use muskie or wiper or some other open water fish to help control the chub.
I will be up ice fishing Scofield the first week of ice and hope that I can entice a nice tiger to bite. But I firmly believe Scofiled is dying a death like Joes!
The chubs are in no ways under control.
I will be up ice fishing Scofield the first week of ice and hope that I can entice a nice tiger to bite. But I firmly believe Scofiled is dying a death like Joes!
+1
Break out the rotenone.
Perhaps you missed the state record tiger trout that came out of there a few weeks ago…Would have shattered the state record by nearly 2 pounds. . . or worm drowner…don’t bother.
Yeah - I think I did miss that. Got a link?
Not clear here - “state record” vs “would have” - was it not validated or recorded ‘officially’ or some such?
FWIW: I’ve been known to drown a few worms, but I chose “spinner” in my username for a reason. I pull plenty of fish on the “nighty nights” - but I prefer pitching something more interactive. Even dabbled with making a few of my own.
Wonder if the Tigers would like roe-sacs, or if the chubs would chomp em down quicker?
I will say - wouldn’t mind pitching a cast net into those balls of chubs Jacksonman describes!
It was “caught” in a gill net. No hook, no line, no sinker.
Here’s a link to the story in the Tribune. You’ll notice that the second sentence in the second paragraph says they netted “numerous” chubs. They aren’t being controlled by predators. Time for a restart. Break out the rotenone. And castrate the first bozo that moves another live chub.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/outdoors/52653474-117/scofield-trout-chub-fish.html.csp?page=1
Another article that deserves a bump.
OK, guess I stand corrected on the chubs.
But I’ll stand by my assertion that, in the long run the water quality issue (nutrient loading) will have the most devestating effect on the fish.
Trout can do quite well in water that is worse than Scofield. The UDoWQ report is critical because Scofield is used as a culinary water supply. Wanna see water that is too full of nutrients ( cow poop ) to drink that trout thrive in, you oughta see Minersville reservoir. Just get rid of the chubs. Break out the rotenone.
Did anyone notice the bucket full of chubs in the background of the picture of the two big tigers?
No thanks. I prefer fishing in water where I don’t have to worry about fecal coliform everytime I take a fish off the hook…