I love Chesterfield at first ice. And I made it again this year. 3 inches of ice. I thought it was going to be big fish only again when I dropped my first hook in. I let it hit bottom and before I could tighten my line I had a 5 pound rainbow on. Only 20 yards from my truck in 6 feet of water. It was a white and red dots maniac with meal worm. I had it tied on from Henry's. But I didn't get any more, or mark any on sonar for 30 minutes. So I moved out to 10 and 11 feet of water. 30 yards from my truck. And I started catching them on a Orange maniac. I learned many years ago that Orange was a good color at Chesty. I caught 5 fat rainbow around 1 1/2 pounds. Then one of my poles hit dead sticking with a green chartues lure and sucker meat. A nice 3 pounder. I couldn't get a picture of it because my fingers were to cold to turn my phone on. It was freezing fog and everything was coated with frost, poles, lines and even my head had a coat of frost. I turned them all back as I had fish in the fridge from Henry's.
But what fun. I quit at 11.
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Nice, those are some healthy looking fish.
Great report and pics Randy, love those big bows from that lake. If you were parking that close to the ice, there must not have been a lot of snow up there. Were there any other people out there fishing?
They plow the road and the parking lot of the boat ramp. Someone even spread ice melt on the ramp so I could back down right to the ice. But nobody had been on the ice yet. Several trucks stopped and came down and talked to me. These duck hunters told me it was open water just a week ago. They knew a lot about Chesterfield and said the fish and game had put a hundred of those 5 pound hatchery fish in there, like I got on the first fish.
The last time I was up there and kept a trout, I decided it would be the last time I'd do that because it had a mossy taste. Have you noticed that as well?
(11-17-2022, 05:54 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]The last time I was up there and kept a trout, I decided it would be the last time I'd do that because it had a mossy taste. Have you noticed that as well?
I've heard that before, but I haven't ran into it. I like them big enough to fellet and completely de-bone. I hate bones and little trout and Kokanee. I didn't keep any this trip but they are usually exe!ent and so pink inside, almost red. Summer time is a different story.
I fished in Utah for over 50 years and never caught a trout over 3 pounds. But my first time ice fishing Chesterfield, the first year in Idaho, I got a 4 and 5 pound rainbow. I've loved it ever since.
(11-17-2022, 07:30 PM)fast_randy Wrote: [ -> ] (11-17-2022, 05:54 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]The last time I was up there and kept a trout, I decided it would be the last time I'd do that because it had a mossy taste. Have you noticed that as well?
I've heard that before, but I haven't ran into it. I like them big enough to fellet and completely de-bone. I hate bones and little trout and Kokanee. I didn't keep any this trip but they are usually exe!ent and so pink inside, almost red. Summer time is a different story.
I fished in Utah for over 50 years and never caught a trout over 3 pounds. But my first time ice fishing Chesterfield, the first year in Idaho, I got a 4 and 5 pound rainbow. I've loved it ever since.
It could also be the time of the year, back in those days, when things were cheaper, we use to come up there during the Summer, so it could have been a fish I caught there during warmer temp. It could be that during the Winter that mossy taste isn't there but for sure that lake goes produce some big fish,
Just wondering what the current ice conditions are at chesterfield? Thank you in advance for any information.
Has the parking lot been plowed? It has been a couple of years since I have been there and I know it can be a little difficult getting in there sometimes.