01-08-2014, 12:18 AM
I'm new here so I don't want to start beef with anyone but I would like to defend Scofield Reservoir a little bit. Recently as I have read through the forum I have seen quite a few negative posts dogging on Scofield and what a poor fishery it has become. I have lived in Price, UT for about 20 years now and Scofield like many lakes has had good years and bad years. The one unique thing about the lake is it can turn on and off overnight. I have spent many weekends camping there and have killed them on a Saturday and then spent an entire Sunday motoring all over the lake without a bite. I agree the chubs are a pain and are getting worse, but they do make nice bait. The big change in the lake was when the crawfish were eliminated a few years ago, I saw a decrease in fish size and numbers of big fish. But in 2012 the DWR planted 76,000 fish and in 2013 they planted 82,000 fish - so you should be able to catch one.
So there's my 2 cents
] The trick to finding fish this time of year is move. Don't just drill a new hole 20 feet away, I mean pack up your stuff and drag it clear across the lake or load it up and drive around the lake. The lake is shallow and the fish move around a lot! The fish tend to travel in schools so if someone in your party gets a bite everyone needs to pay attention to their pole and start jigging, and if you land one, get that rig back in the water fast. If you miss the school bus you need to wait for the next one to come by.
During the holidays I had the pleasure of hitting the lake 3 times and did fairly well. The first day on the 23rd I took the kids to the dam arm (because it was supposed to be hot), we sat for 3 hours and landed a chub. Packed it up and moved to Madsen and started to get into them.
During the fishing derby I took my daughter and a friend (I'm the bearded guy) we landed quite few but nothing for the judges. We started at Madsen and was not landing enough so we packed it up and went across from the state park which was a bad idea! Landed nothing but 6" bows and chubs. We only had about an hour and a half to fish so we headed back towards Madsen and stopped at a few abandoned holes that payed off well. We actually missed the weigh-in because the action was so hot. We figured we didn't have a winner so why not keep fishing!
And the last trip was New Years Eve with the old man and the boy. We decided to hit Madsen again and guess what - no fish! We moved to the state park, to the east highway, and back to Madsen. As we were leaving I decided to take the auger up against the rocks by Madsen boat ramp in about 8' of water and finally found them! We had only about an hour to fish before it got dark and cold but we landed enough for dinner.
I also attached a picture of my fish-finder, it rents for about $25 an hour! Happy fishing!
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So there's my 2 cents![
] The trick to finding fish this time of year is move. Don't just drill a new hole 20 feet away, I mean pack up your stuff and drag it clear across the lake or load it up and drive around the lake. The lake is shallow and the fish move around a lot! The fish tend to travel in schools so if someone in your party gets a bite everyone needs to pay attention to their pole and start jigging, and if you land one, get that rig back in the water fast. If you miss the school bus you need to wait for the next one to come by.During the holidays I had the pleasure of hitting the lake 3 times and did fairly well. The first day on the 23rd I took the kids to the dam arm (because it was supposed to be hot), we sat for 3 hours and landed a chub. Packed it up and moved to Madsen and started to get into them.
During the fishing derby I took my daughter and a friend (I'm the bearded guy) we landed quite few but nothing for the judges. We started at Madsen and was not landing enough so we packed it up and went across from the state park which was a bad idea! Landed nothing but 6" bows and chubs. We only had about an hour and a half to fish so we headed back towards Madsen and stopped at a few abandoned holes that payed off well. We actually missed the weigh-in because the action was so hot. We figured we didn't have a winner so why not keep fishing!
And the last trip was New Years Eve with the old man and the boy. We decided to hit Madsen again and guess what - no fish! We moved to the state park, to the east highway, and back to Madsen. As we were leaving I decided to take the auger up against the rocks by Madsen boat ramp in about 8' of water and finally found them! We had only about an hour to fish before it got dark and cold but we landed enough for dinner.
I also attached a picture of my fish-finder, it rents for about $25 an hour! Happy fishing!
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