Scofield Reservoir Fishing
Scofield is one of Utah's most popular and productive trout fisheries. It offers consistently good fishing, summer and winter, for large fish in a beautiful mountain setting. It is classified as one of Utah's Blue Ribbon Fisheries.
Primary Species
Cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, tiger trout
Special Regulations
The trout limit at Scofield Reservoir is four fish (a combined total).
- No more than two may be cutthroat or tiger trout under 15 inches, and no more than one may be a cutthroat or tiger trout over 22 inches.
- All cutthroat and tiger trout from 15 to 22 inches must be immediately released.
- Trout may not be filleted, and the heads or tails may not be removed in the field or in transit.
- Any trout with cutthroat markings is considered to be a cutthroat trout.
The reservoir is open to fishing year-round. Tributaries close to fishing on January 1 and reopen on the second Saturday of July to protect spawning cutthroat. Upper Fish Creek, a major tributary, is one of Utah’s best wild cutthroat streams.
Seasonal Factors
Perhaps the best fishing of the year at Scofield occurs during the first weeks after ice off, usually late April or early May. Fall fishing can also be very good. Fishing may slow a little during summer, compared to the spring and fall, but action often stays good right through the hot season.
Scofield is usually our first major water to freeze and it often offers safe ice fishing by Thanksgiving Day. Many people consider Scofield our premier ice fishing water for trout. Winter fishing is usually good to excellent and enough big fish are caught to keep make the action exciting.
Lures and Techniques
Cutthroat and tiger trout are highly predacious and readily hit small lures that are being trolled or cast. All standard trout lures work well here, and minnow-imitators like Rapalas are particularly productive. Fly anglers have success with dark and olive wooly buggers as well as other streamer patterns. Standard baits also work year-round. Tube jigs tipped with a piece of night crawler or sucker meat work well year-round.
Fishing with dead minnows can be very productive at Scofield. All trout species in the reservoir will take minnows; they are a particularly good bait for tiger trout. It is illegal to fish with live minnows in Utah. Scofield supports a large population of red shiner minnows. Serious anglers use a minnow trip to catch minnows fresh as they begin their fishing trip to the reservoir. Put a little bread in the minnow trap and it will only take a few minutes to catch a bunch. Put them on ice and they will stay firm through the trip. Then fish them on a long leader under a bobber, or on the bottom.
Bait fishing from shore is also productive, even during the heat of summer. In many reservoirs fish move deep during summer and are hard to reach from shore. Scofield's high altitude and cool water allows fish to roam freely and so they stay within reach of shore fishers.
Pop gear and a worm, the old summer trolling standby, works well here.
Ice fishers do well fishing standard jigs, lures and ice flies tipped with bait.