# Scofield



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Some of the fastest fishing I've ever had has come from Scofield in the fall. After hearing good reports from several sources, I was inspired to pay a visit to this place, which I've basically neglected this year.

It's usually hard for me to drive past the flowing waters along the way to Scofield, so this time I pulled over to check on the cutthroat in Soldier Creek. This is the little creek that flows next to HWY 6, east of the HWY 89 junction and up to the summit.

In the past, I've typically just fished the immediate area surrounding the old rest stop. This is where an even smaller stream that flows next to Skyline Drive converges with Soldier Creek. Both streams hold pretty little cutthroat that don't receive a lot of pressure.

With the major construction project underway in my usual spot on the creek, I decided to try the stretch that lies just upstream, near the big new bridge. The brush along the banks was pretty thick, but a few gaps provided access to some fishy looking pools.



















Ah, just the way I remember them. Not big and not especially colorful, but they have a bit of a different look than a lot of the cutts I'm used to, plus there's a decent chance that I'm the first human they've ever met.

This one may have met a bird at one point, however:










Nice gouge.










It was a quick stop and I didn't cover much ground before setting off again. When I reached Soldier Summit, my map-hounding curiosity compelled me to, once again, take a quick detour and check out some water that looked interesting:










This pond is just south of the summit. Sadly, it looked a lot better from the map than it did in person. The weeds were terribly thick all over, except one small window in the middle where there seemed to be a hole. If there were any fish in this pond, they'd likely be there. After casting for a short while, all I reeled in was pond slime.  Time to get back on track.

At Scofield, the howling wind made me realize that the day's efforts would have to be made from shore. After setting out the minnow trap from the dam, I started casting my Blue Fox.

It didn't take long and my hand repeatedly filled itself with carbon copies of this:










Moving around a bit proved to be the key to finding anything else. In the past, Scofield's cutthroat population seemed to elude me, having only caught a few small ones, myself. After weeding through some dinky tigers, I was glad to finally feel the fight of a cutthroat, and then another.



















Neither was out of the slot, but the second one was right at 20". Still fun to catch.

The tiger fest continued for awhile, occasionally breaking the monotony with some that went 14 or 15 inches. The odd rainbow of about 10 inches would also provide some variety for a moment before being released.










A couple of hours passed and a couple more decent cutthroat came to hand before I finally got into a big tiger. It was in the slot, but it was a worthy battle and still made me smile. 20 inches and chunky.










The fishing was pretty fast as long as I kept moving. From the dam, I hiked both shorelines quite far before I called it quits. Had I kept track, my fish totals probably would've been in the 40's or so.

Some of the tigers are really starting to glow with color right now:



















It was tempting to keep that one (just under the slot), but I decided to hold out for either a big one or a decent rainbow. Just after the colorful tiger, I caught my second Scofield brown! It's always neat for me to catch a species that isn't too common for the water I'm fishing.










By this point, all fish had been released and I was wondering if I'd get one worth tossing in the oven. Casting from the dam while contemplating my exit, my rod finally bent to the fury of an angry rainbow with some weight to it.










The day was chilly and windy, but the fishing remained exciting as I pulled off a Scofield Grand Slam and enjoyed every moment.

Happy Fishing, Humans.


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## Tigru (Oct 15, 2007)

Good report. Sounded like a fruitful trip! Not sure if you read my recent post from the Scof, but you didn't happen to catch a pretty good size Tiger with a LC hanging from its mouth did you? :wink:


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I wish. I think I'd have to take a week off from fishing to afford another Lucky. :lol:

Nah, I'd return it. :wink: I didn't see it. A floating Rapala did alright until it broke. My best results came from a rainbow Kastmaster until I lost it and went back to the BF.


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

LOAH said:


> I wish. I think I'd have to take a week off from fishing to afford another Lucky. :lol:
> 
> Nah, I'd return it. :wink: I didn't see it. A floating Rapala did alright until it broke. My best results came from a rainbow Kastmaster until I lost it and went back to the BF.


LOAH - what is your method of retrieve with the Kastmaster?
BTW - another great outing for you - congrats.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

The Naturalist said:


> LOAH - what is your method of retrieve with the Kastmaster?


It's a heavy lure and can be fished a number of ways. Usually, I'll throw it out over deep water and reel it in with a slow, smooth crank on the reel while pointing the rod tip at the water. I only crank fast enough to feel the lure bite the water. After the cast, I'll try letting it sink to different depths before reeling in until I find the zone.

Sometimes the fish don't want a smooth retrieve and will only strike if I thrash the rod tip around, jerking back violently and quickly taking up the slack on the recoil (if that makes sense). Most of the time, the smooth retrieve is all I try.

Yesterday, the action came from slow retrieves near the surface.

I've picked up a few fish through an ice hole when I'd given up on other methods. Just drop it down the hole until it hits the bottom, give it a crank, and slowly raise and lower it, trying to keep the slack line to a minimum.

Rainbow and Gold are my most productive (chrome/orange for ice). The largest size of lure that still comes with a split ring is what I always buy.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Good to see my ice fishing hole producing in the fall. The next couple ice seasons there could be nice!


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice report LOAH. Im hoping to make it up there once before the ice hits, but not so sure thats gonna happen. Looks like a awesome day of coming home with fishy hands!!! :mrgreen:


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Great report! Another super adventure and quality writing and pics as always.

I had a few hours free today and went up there for a bit. It wasn't as fast today, but was still pretty decent. Caught mostly tigers, (most were nice slot fish, only a couple of small ones) plus 2 cutts, ( one in the slot), and a few modest rainbows. Threw LC's mostly. As the first wave of weather hit, it shut down the bite significantly, and made tubing more of a challenge.

The color on many of the tigers is incredible. I took a few crummy pics of some of todays catch.
[attachment=0:9eef9d5n]PA130006.jpg[/attachment:9eef9d5n]

[attachment=1:9eef9d5n]PA130005.jpg[/attachment:9eef9d5n]

[attachment=2:9eef9d5n]PA130004.jpg[/attachment:9eef9d5n]

[attachment=3:9eef9d5n]PA120003.jpg[/attachment:9eef9d5n]


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Nice! Glad you were able to float. I really wanted to the other day, but the wind was really bad. It even blew me off balance several times on the shore.


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

Sounds like another great trip LOAH. I'm hoping to get up there with my 6 yo Thursday. If anyone else is there stop by and say hello!


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

It looks like you had a awesome day thanks for the great photos and report.


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