The temperatures have dropped in the high country which means its ideal for ice fishing activities. Division of Wildlife Resources Conservation Outreach Manager, Aaron Bott took time to speak over the telephone about the activity and recycling your Christmas trees.

Many anglers have taken to the water in Scofield and are having a good time. “Scofield does seem to have the most success right now. The ice fishing has been really good there for all the trout species. The reservoir itself has eight to ten inches of ice in all the bays. So really you can get out anywhere. So Scofield really is the best place to go at this time of year,” stated Bott. Anglers have been using tube jigs tipped with pieces of chub meat, as well as, Powerbait and nightcrawlers.

The majority of the lakes along the Energy Loop are frozen over. “Really everything up there is starting to freeze over as the winter progresses – Mammoth, and moving on up to Electric etc. Huntington North still has some open waters there on the north end, so it’s not quite safe really to get out on. People should be cautious as they approached the shoreline, the ice still seems to be pretty soft,” said Bott. Huntingtin Reservoir is similar to Scofield as far as ice thickness and anglers are using the same type of bait too.

There is still time to recycle your live Christmas Trees with the DWR. “We’re encouraging folks who have harvested trees for Christmas to now donate their used trees. We’ll strategically place those trees and they’ll be utilized for wildlife habitat for small mammals, for birds, even for reptiles later on in the year,” explained Bott. There will be a dump trailer located just north of the DWR office building on 319 North Carbonville Road where disposal of Christmas trees will be gathered.

To keep up to date on DWR activities and happenings visit their website at https://wildlife.utah.gov/