# Scofield Open Water



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

My buddy and I thought we'd check out the ice-off action at Scofield, rather than busting the gas tank this week. It had been awhile since either of us had fished it, but we knew what to expect: lots of tiny fish.

Well we wouldn't be disappointed in that respect. We arrived early and stayed until about 6:00pm, catching a large number of tiny fish, as expected.





































We each probably caught over 40 fish, but they were all pretty small. They bit a wide variety of our offerings from spinners, spoons, jigs, worms, and minnows. Unfortunately, the minnows didn't yield any trophies, but I was able to catch my biggest fish of the day twice with them!










About an hour later, I caught the same one, again hooked in the mouth and released!










It wasn't until I got home and reviewed the day's photos that I realized I had caught the same fish twice. Kind of neat, I thought, since that doesn't happen very often.

Here's Holdsworth's catch of the day:










Once we'd had enough, we checked out the river below the dam and I caught one small rainbow. We didn't stay long. The river is nice and clear at the dam and the flow is modest.



















Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Pretty fish LOAH. Man, you've been getting out a bunch lately. So much, that you're getting blisters on your fish handling hand, eh?  

Is the ice completly gone?


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

No, the lake is still mostly capped. The Madsen Bay area has an open edge that I assume is getting bigger by the day, although that's really up to the wind.

And that blister was actually a puncture from a bush. The mud got a little bit slippery going up and down the hill to my truck. 

'Tis but a flesh wound!


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## Bhilly81 (Oct 18, 2009)

nice fishing i told the wife just the other day that we should go up there again soon. Last year i got her into her first fish on mothers day and then the lake was all ice free at this time last year 

we saw you come off highway 6 getting on the freeway the other day (cant miss your license plate) and i told my wife that there was going to be a good fishing report coming soon 

thanks for the good report


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## flydaddy834 (Sep 11, 2007)

hey loah good report. sure wish i lived in utah county so i could get down to some of those places. i have a question for you and anyone else who would like to share... how do you fish your spinners, do you let them sink a little or just start the retrieve as soon as it hits almost. i mainly throw and use the same stuff as you and i am always letting it sink 20 seconds or more and other times i will start reel in right away. same question with jakes and stuff also should i let it sit and drop down deeper i know as soon as i start reeling its going to come up anyway just curious on this and you sure seem like the one to ask. hey next report please sport your hat you wear that thing is off the hook cool.


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## bucksandducks (Sep 11, 2007)

Did you catch any minnows at the dam? If so what was the bait of choice?


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

bucksandducks-

Not a thing! Didn't see a single minnow. I had a trap out the whole time with some crackers in it.

flydaddy-

It's all relative to where the fish are; how I fish any lure. If I'm next to deep water (dams, cliffs, etc), I'll usually let it sink a bit and try different depths before sticking with anything. When I reel, I'll only go as fast as it takes to get the blade to "bite" the water. I can usually feel the sweet spot with my rod hand. Once I find the cranking speed, then my reel hand needs to keep it steady. Point the tip of the rod at the water at an angle that will allow me to set the hook quickly.

In shallow water it's a quick retrieve, cranking it immediately when the lure lands. I'll usually crank it a little faster than usual, but only enough to keep it out of the weeds.

Kastmasters are my favorite spoon type lures. They flutter well on a smoothly-reeled retrieve, but if that's not working, I'll give it some extra action with the rod tip.

Jake's Lures are kind of a mystery to me. Sometimes they work really well and other times I can't catch water with them. I usually use a jerky retrieve on these.

I'm down with the hat, but I'll need some real sun first!


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## bucksandducks (Sep 11, 2007)

Dang that sucks about the minnows. I need some fresh ones. The only ones I have left in my freezer are from elake last year.


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## brfisherman17 (Jan 21, 2011)

You can't beat the color on those tigers!


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## Bhilly81 (Oct 18, 2009)

flydaddy834 said:


> hey loah good report. sure wish i lived in utah county so i could get down to some of those places. i have a question for you and anyone else who would like to share... *how do you fish your spinners, do you let them sink a little or just start the retrieve as soon as it hits almost. i mainly throw and use the same stuff as you and i am always letting it sink 20 seconds or more and other times i will start reel in right away.* same question with jakes and stuff also should i let it sit and drop down deeper i know as soon as i start reeling its going to come up anyway just curious on this and you sure seem like the one to ask. hey next report please sport your hat you wear that thing is off the hook cool.


i normally just retrieve them barely fast enough to keep them off the bottom i am not to big into spinners but i really love throwing spoons like the jakes, kastmasters and just about anyother color


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It sounds like you had a great time thanks for the awesome photos as always. 8)


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## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

Any close, cheap, campsites around there? Wanna go there friday night.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Got your pm, check yours.


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