08-03-2018, 07:41 AM
The naysayers aren't interested in trophy fishing opportunities - if they were, they wouldn't be for poisoning a lake with a huge supply of food in it (for predatory fish).
They want the status quo. They want a lake where you can go and catch a cooler full of 2-4lb healthy rainbow trout in a few hours and call it a day. That kind of fishing appeals to a lot of people. I get it. But there are other places in Utah where you can load up on "eater" trout, lots of them if you look.
Not very many places in Utah or any state that produce trophy fish on a regular basis. If managed correctly and promoted correctly, Scofield offers a rare chance at that, and plenty of people will go there for that opportunity.
In the end, it will either work out or it won't. They are trying to make it work. If in 5-10 years they can't take advantage of the chubs... the answer will clearly be to poison it and start over. They will have learned a thing or two by trying all of the things they are trying now though and just the data from experimenting at Scofield will be helpful at other fisheries in Utah in the future. But don't expect the naysayers to ever say this current plan should stay, regardless of the outcome. They won't be happy unless it is poisoned and turned into a status quo trout lake.
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They want the status quo. They want a lake where you can go and catch a cooler full of 2-4lb healthy rainbow trout in a few hours and call it a day. That kind of fishing appeals to a lot of people. I get it. But there are other places in Utah where you can load up on "eater" trout, lots of them if you look.
Not very many places in Utah or any state that produce trophy fish on a regular basis. If managed correctly and promoted correctly, Scofield offers a rare chance at that, and plenty of people will go there for that opportunity.
In the end, it will either work out or it won't. They are trying to make it work. If in 5-10 years they can't take advantage of the chubs... the answer will clearly be to poison it and start over. They will have learned a thing or two by trying all of the things they are trying now though and just the data from experimenting at Scofield will be helpful at other fisheries in Utah in the future. But don't expect the naysayers to ever say this current plan should stay, regardless of the outcome. They won't be happy unless it is poisoned and turned into a status quo trout lake.
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