Chesterfield 12/19/07

[BrianID]

Fished Chesterfield today. I measured close to 4" of solid clear ice in all of my holes. Many areas had 1-3" of frozen slush on top of the clear ice. Where I was fishing there was 2-4" of water on top of the ice. When I was trying to release several of the fish I caught they would start swimming away in the shallow water on top of the ice. It normally wasn’t hard to redirect them back to one of the holes. Below is a picture of a fish I had to corner in some slush so I could get him back down a hole.


Fishing was a little slower than a couple weeks ago. I caught more fish this time because I fished 7 hours instead of just 4 hours. Most of the fish would bite very light. Some of the fish would only bite once very lightly and wouldn't come back and bite again. I would estimate I hooked about 1/4 of the fish I saw bite.

Most of the fish I caught were around 13" but I did catch a few larger ones. Here is a picture of the smallest fish of the day.


The smaller fish like the one below were fatter than most of the longer fish.


Here is a picture of the typical longer fish. Not the type of girth I would expect on a Chesterfield fish.


I also saw a lot of fish with the black spots again. Doesn't look like anchor worm to me. I think it is "black spot disease". I will have to research this because I would like to know exactly what it is.

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[troutcarver]

Very nice report. Im hoping to get up there just after Christmas. There are some good fish in there its just a matter of time. Thanks for the report
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[flyguy66]

Thanks for the report Brian,

I got out there in a blizzard on Thursday and had pretty good luck as well mostly for smaller 12-14 inch fish, but a few larger. Hope to get out there again here soon.
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[AFDan52]

Hey BrianID, I live in Ogden. Whats the best route to get to Chesterfield? You guys are killing me with those pictures, I think I need some of that soon.

AFDan52
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[flyguy66]

I forgot to post a picture of one of the bigger fish we caught yesterday.
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[Widastick]

I have not fished there since i was a kid. how long will it take me to get there from Logan?

nice post.[]
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[JoyRide]

flyguy ... I know that is not an Idaho fish. I can see the Utah plates on the tail.

Chesterfield is about 30 min. + from Soda Springs heading North West. You'll have to figure it out for Logan.
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[davetclown]

we get black spots like those on our fish in just about every lake in michigan, but mostly in the stagnant area of the lake like canals...

we have seen those spots with in the flesh of the fish, dosnt matter the species... "other than carp and dog fish"

our fish guid says just to cut that part out of the fish and it is edible... "a parisite"

here is what michigan dnr has to say about them.. ([url "http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_10950-26964--,00.html"]full artical[/url] )

Occasionally anglers catch fish with black, pinhead size spots which cause the fish to have a peppered appearance, or a fish may be caught which has white to yellow colored grubs under the skin of in the flesh. Yellow perch taken from the shallower waters of the Great Lakes often contain red worms coiled within the body cavity. All these conditions are caused by common fish parasites. Fish with these parasites are safe to eat, as all these (and any other parasites) are killed by cooking.

Black Spot and yellow grub parasites are most common in bass, sunfish (all species), and northern pike, and red worm is specific to yellow perch. These and related parasites may be found in other species of fish as well. It is not unusual for anglers to catch walleye with pink, whitish, or yellowish wart-like growths on their bodies and fins. These are caused by fish viruses, the most common of which is called lymphocystis.

This is primarily a skin disease, and the flesh is usually not affected. Lymphocystis is harmless to humans and affected fish are safe to eat. Skinning the fish usually removes all diseased tissue. If a legal size fish is heavily affected and appears aesthetically unpleasing, it should be kept for disposal because a fish that is released will only spread more virus.

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[JoyRide]

[size 1]"Occasionally anglers catch fish with black, pinhead size spots which cause the fish to have a peppered appearance"[/size]
[size 1][/size]
[size 1]These spots are considerably bigger than that description and more isolated (see Brian's pix). May be something different? Has anyone talked to the F&G about them? I guess I better check on it before giving any fish to the neighbors ...[][/size]
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[flyguy66]

Brian,

Check this Chesterfield "football" out. Like you said, most of the longer fish weren't as girthy as the shorter fish. However, this was about the fattest 17 inch fish I've ever seen. Maybe something was wrong with it.
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[BrianID]

AFdan52,

Chesterfield is about 1/2 hour north of Lava Hot Springs. I take the old highway that follows the Portnuef North of Lava and then take the Kelly-Toponce Road. The last half mile To Chesterfield isn't often plowed. Most days you could probably do it in a car but I wouldn't go there without 4 wheel drive unless I knew exactly what the road conditions were. It is going to be crowded so expect plenty of company. Last winter I counted 75 vehicles in one day at Chesterfield. That is a lot of fishing pressure for the size of reservoir it is. Good luck if you get out there. It should be worth the trip.

JoyRide,

I'm fairly certain it is the "black spot disease" that is spread through snails and fish eating birds. I also saw the blacks spots on fish at Deep Creek and Devil Creek. I've been releasing all of the fish I've caught this winter (with the exception of kokanee []) but I doubt it is anything harmful to humans.

flyguy66,

That is a real pig. Hard to tell from the picture but it doesn't look like he has anything wrong with him besides an eating disorder. Too bad more of the fish in Chesterfield don't look like that this winter. If we get good snow pack there this winter and the reservoir fills up there will be many fat fish in Chesterfield this summer.
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[JoyRide]

AFDan ... Sorry I didn't give you the best route and gave you time instead.

From Logan you'll want to come through Preston and take the fork to the right at the North end of town headed for Grace. Head on up to Highway 30 and instead of turning to the right to Soda or left to Lava, go straight across the highway and take that road to Bancroft. In the town of Bancroft you'll see a sign for Chesterfield pointing North. Head up to the old town of Chesterfield and follow the road right on through the old buildings. You'll be on Chesterfield road I believe. Not too far out that road you'll see the dam to the right.
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