Conditions Right Now
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Tackle + Bait Slots
Winter loadout: auger, ice cleats, short jig rod, insulated bibs.
Why Fish Here
Scofield sits at 7,618 feet on the Price River, covers roughly 2,815 acres and averages only about 25 feet deep. The slot limit is not arbitrary. DWR started stocking tiger trout in 2005 after Utah chub came back, and protected cutthroat and tiger trout between 15 and 22 inches so enough predators survive to eat chub. You can keep four trout total, and trout cannot be filleted in the field.
How To Fish It
Best rigs: Casting spoons from shore; chironomids under indicator from a tube; jigs+wax worm through ice
Bait and lures: Jake's lures, Kastmasters, crawlers
Best time: Early morning & evening. Season: All year - premier ice fishery
Local tip: Tigers & cutts have a protected slot - check the sign. Madsen Bay in the evenings when the midges pop.
Species Playbook
Tiger Trout
Rig: Casting spoons or worm on slip-sinker
Bait: Jake's Spin-a-lure, Kastmaster, nightcrawlers
When: Early morning; excellent through the ice
Brown × brook hybrid - mean, striped, and hard-fighting.
Cutthroat Trout
Rig: Strawberry: white tube jig 15-30 ft; Bear Lake: troll minnow-profile lures
Bait: Tube jigs, dead minnows (where legal), dry flies in creeks
When: Morning bite is king; ice-off is legendary
The Bonneville cutthroat is Utah's state fish. Strawberry slot: release cutts 15-22 in.
Rainbow Trout
Rig: Slip-bobber or sliding sinker rig, 4 lb mono line, size 8-10 baitholder
Bait: PowerBait (rainbow/garlic), nightcrawler, small spinners (Panther Martin, Jake's)
When: Early morning & last 2 hours before dark
Utah's #1 fish. If a pond got stocked this week, cast anything shiny. Perfect first fish for kids.
Getting There + Nearby
Nearby adventures: Scofield State Park (State Park, 1 mi) · Lower Fish Creek (Fishing, 4 mi) · Electric Lake (Fishing, 13 mi) · Huntington Reservoir (Mammoth) (Fishing, 22 mi)
Quick Answers
- What fish are in Scofield Reservoir?
- Tiger Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout.
- What is the best bait at Scofield Reservoir?
- Jake's lures, Kastmasters, crawlers
- When is the best time to fish Scofield Reservoir?
- Early morning & evening. Season: All year - premier ice fishery.
- Why fish Scofield Reservoir?
- Because it is one of Utah's most consistent ice fisheries and the tiger trout there fight above their weight. The 15 to 22 inch slot on tiger and cutthroat trout exists to keep enough predators in the lake to hold Utah chub down, so mid-size fish go back. Four trout total per day.