Ran up to Scofield this afternoon to test some gear and fish for a bit. The action was decent and the ice was 8 inches of hard, clear ice. It was nice to get out of the inversion for a couple hours. If you go up, bring your ice cleats as the ice is smooth and slick.
I have read a number of reports about Scofield this year or so. Some have been favorable, others more pessimistic. Since Scofields management has been, um, controversial, the topic has some interest to a variety of anglers. I haven't fished it myself for about 2 years, so I was curious about what I would find. I caught enough fish today to at least throw something together for discussion. FWIW, todays catch was 50% cutt, 25% tiger trout, and 25% bows.
First, the tigers. As the first picture shows, the tigers caught today seemed to be very thin. They all were the same. I can't say I was impressed.
Next, rainbows. These also were seemingly underweight but not as bad as they were the last time I fished it. When they were stocked will have an effect on their condition at this time. The same may apply with the tigers too.
Finally, the cutts. Cutts, especially sub slot cutts, are normally somewhat thin, complicating analysis. However, I only caught one "slotter" today. It seemed to be in decent shape. The closer the fish were to 15 inches, the better shape they seemed to be. That said, most were still pretty thin.
So, my unofficial and minimally scientific analysis is that it is getting better but has a ways to go still. I didn't catch any chubs though.
I have read a number of reports about Scofield this year or so. Some have been favorable, others more pessimistic. Since Scofields management has been, um, controversial, the topic has some interest to a variety of anglers. I haven't fished it myself for about 2 years, so I was curious about what I would find. I caught enough fish today to at least throw something together for discussion. FWIW, todays catch was 50% cutt, 25% tiger trout, and 25% bows.
First, the tigers. As the first picture shows, the tigers caught today seemed to be very thin. They all were the same. I can't say I was impressed.
Next, rainbows. These also were seemingly underweight but not as bad as they were the last time I fished it. When they were stocked will have an effect on their condition at this time. The same may apply with the tigers too.
Finally, the cutts. Cutts, especially sub slot cutts, are normally somewhat thin, complicating analysis. However, I only caught one "slotter" today. It seemed to be in decent shape. The closer the fish were to 15 inches, the better shape they seemed to be. That said, most were still pretty thin.
So, my unofficial and minimally scientific analysis is that it is getting better but has a ways to go still. I didn't catch any chubs though.