Scofield spillway to undergo rebuilding

The Bureau of Reclamation will begin rebuilding the spillway at Scofield Dam this fall. The road across the dam also will be renovated. Construction will continue into the summer of 2006.

The end result will be a safer spillway structure and improved traffic flow.

The popular trout fishery at the central Utah water should not be affected by the work.

This past winter, BOR dam safety inspectors found cracks in the spillway, which could possibly erode the face of the dam during emergency spilling.

In the interest of public safety, the BOR has decided to renovate the spillway. The construction project will be awarded to a private contractor.

To prepare for the work, the BOR tested the outlet structure in June to determine how much water could be passed through it. When the gates are open all the way, 445 cubic feet of water per second races through the shaft, emptying into lower Fish Creek. This rate of flow should be sufficient to drain excess water from the reservoir during the spillway construction.

Bob Davis, Scofield dam master, plans to limit the reservoir's storage capacity at or below 7,628 feet in elevation, which is about two feet below the spillway, this summer.

By fall, the water level will have dropped enough that construction can begin. Until the work is completed, the reservoir will be held at a lower than normal capacity.

Fishing is not expected to suffer from the reconstruction.

Scofield Reservoir ranks among the top three family fisheries in Utah. It owes its popularity to the fact that shoreline anglers often enjoy the same catch rate as boat anglers. The only exception occurs during the heat of summer, when fish retreat from the banks into deeper, colder water.

The best time to fish Scofield is in spring, just after ice-off; or late in the fall, before the reservoir freezes. Winter offers good fishing, too.

A broad range of baits, lures and fly patterns work well at the reservoir. Night crawlers and Power Bait top the list for bait casters. The Jake's Spin-a-Lure is the most popular lure, according to fishermen surveys. Fly anglers rely on leech patterns more than any other.

The latest report from Scofield shows that there is a large volume of natural food in the water and insects at the water's surface, which has slowed fishing.

Mosquitoes are especially bad this summer, so take repellent.