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Scofield Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Utah’s high cold pantry: Scofield stacks tiger trout and cutts at 7,600 feet, and its ice season out-fishes its summers.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
3 cfs
Air / High
44 / 46 F
Wind
SSW 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 09310500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Scofield Reservoir fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The nearest gauge is running 3 cfs. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSW around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 46. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 48 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Utah requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $40.00 for residents. What a Utah licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with UDWR before you keep anything. The season dates for Utah, read off the agency, are on the Utah seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Fish Creek above reservoir near Scofield.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 09310500.

4563 cfs09/2309/2810/0310/08

Today’s flow against 89 years of October 23

At 3 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 09310500 (Fish Creek above reservoir near Scofield) is below the lowest daily mean on record for the date: much below normal. In half of the 89 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 10 cfs; the highest was 26 cfs and the lowest 5 cfs.

p10 6median 10p90 15

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 09310500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp44 F
High / Low46 / 34 F
WindSSW 8-10 mph
Pressure1014.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 85%
Sunrise / Sunset07:43 / 18:33
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Scofield Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on Scofield Reservoir, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM
Minor period
4:26 AM-5:26 AM
Sun
07:43 to 18:33
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 17 mph
Rain chance
85%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Scofield Reservoir: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Scofield Reservoir calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Scofield Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 50 F, wind to 25 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 51 F, wind to 18 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 16 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Utah requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Utah license. Special limits favor harvesting chubs and protect the predator program: current DWR rules specify trout limits by species: read the Scofield exception box.

Access

Scofield State Park: Mountain View ramp and Madsen Bay unit; shoreline access along Highway 96.

About this water

A 2,815-acre high-elevation reservoir on the Price River drainage, Carbon County, Utah: tiger trout and cutthroat flagship water.

Fishing Scofield Reservoir: the full guide

The plateau bowl

Scofield fills a 2,800-acre bowl in the Manti-La Sal high country: one of Utah’s coldest, most productive trout factories. The state manages it as a predator-balance experiment that anglers won: tiger trout (brown-brook hybrids with attitude) and Bear Lake cutthroat headline over stocked rainbows, all fattening on a chub-and-scud forage base. Fish average solid and run to trophy: tigers past ten pounds have come through the ice.

Open-water patterns

Ice-out (usually May) starts the year fast: cruising tigers and cutts smash spoons, jerkbaits and buggers off the points and inlet mouths. Summer moves fish to 15-30 feet off the ledges: troll pop-gear-and-worm or leadcore spoons: while float-tubers strip leeches at dawn before the afternoon wind. Fall stacks aggressive fish back shallow: the September-October casting bite is the connoisseur season.

The ice institution

Scofield may be Utah’s most popular hard-water fishery: safe ice typically December-March, with the Madsen Bay and dam-side flats hosting the villages. Jigging spoons and tungsten-and-waxworm over 10-25 feet takes the mixed bag: and the tigers bite midday, unusual and appreciated. State-park plowing keeps access honest: check conditions in warm spells.

High-country logistics

Scofield State Park runs two units (Mountain View ramp north, Madsen Bay launch and camp): both simple and effective. The 7,600-foot elevation means weather whiplash: summer mornings at 40 degrees, afternoon squalls, and a wind that owns the open bowl. Price (30 minutes) and Provo (an hour over the pass) cover supplies. Chub minnows as bait are part of the management plan here: a rare legal exception worth knowing.

Common questions

What is a tiger trout?

A sterile brown-brook cross stocked as a chub-eater: it grew into the main attraction: aggressive, beautiful and thick-shouldered.

Is winter really the best season?

For numbers and comfort-adjusted odds, yes: midday ice bites and plowed access make it Utah’s friendliest hard water.

Can I use live minnows?

Dead chubs are part of the special rules here: check the current DWR Scofield exception before baiting anything.

Is fishing good at Scofield Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Huntington Creek24 miStrawberry Reservoir28 miStrawberry River33 miProvo River45 miStarvation Reservoir46 miDeer Creek Reservoir47 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 09310500 — Fish Creek above reservoir near Scofield
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-08 at 17:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.7738, -111.1521 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.