chesterfield reservoir

[sledmanwinder]

well I received the info from the southest fish and game office on the chesterfield ice fishing derby it has been filled 150 people for the derby so the lake will be busy Saturday the 29th still open to fish the lake. white and pink jigs and bait working real good on the lake best is around 15 to 18 feet deep.. great kids lake the rainbows are great size i caught 2 5 pound rainbows month ago on the lake 30 yards out i will be heading out this weekend to see who wins first place 2 limit lake ice is thick little water on top not much some slush up by the banks

[B.L.on ice]

Just wondering, have there been problems getting ATVs on the ice? I am coming up to fish the tournament and I have not had the time to go up and pre-fish at all, so any info you will share with me would be much appreciated.

[GreenLife]

Went there on 12-24 and 01-02 and the edges were fine on and off with plenty of ice depth.

[B.L.on ice]

Thank You

[sledmanwinder]

I fished chesterfield 3 weeks ago and the ice was 8 to 10 inches in spots and its probally thicker or the same plenty of ice for a four wheeler but theres going to be a ton of guys on there hard to say how many will have wheelers and sleds out there but we plane on going up a 6am to get a good spot. the edges about 20 to 30 yards out from the bank we were doing real good water depth was 8 to 10 feet but the fish were 5 pounds plus. we had a guy who caught a 8 pounder and another guy up towards the Indian res on the lake caught a 9 pound rainbow the fish seem to like the pink and white jigs and jigs with a worm tip also raplas working well to see you guys all up there Saturday

[B.L.on ice]

Thanks for all the info. We will be up there early on Saturday as well, this is why I love the people around here. WE SHARE INFO.

[ID lipripper]

I agree this is a great bunch i will be up early also good luck to everyone should be a great time

[jaklakmak]

So who was the big winner? Or maybe I should say what was the big winner?

[curt69]

The winner was a little over 23" . I just read it on another forum . Curt G.

[B.L.on ice]

Yes it was over 23". 2nd and 3rd were both in the 21's. And that is measurement from head to the fork in the tail. I did see the winning fish and it was huge. Had a great time up there today and there were alot of people. My brother and I did catch 30 fish just none big enough. Our biggest was 18" and we caught a few of those, lots of planters. And for the guys on the ice talking bad about the Utahns. We are not all bad just the ones that show up late and screw up the parking for everybody else.Thanks to Idaho State.for putting on the tourney it was a blast.

[rhinosparky]

The reason all of the locals bad mouth the utahans is because they continue to use live bait minnows which cause the f&g to have to poison the lake to get rid of the chubs about every three years.  If it were not for that the lake would have some true monsters in it.

[B.L.on ice]

That may be true,I would not know. Never used them, I have never had a problem catching my fair share of good fish out of that lake using a wild eye jig tipped with a worm. The big issue on Saturday was over parking and if you ask anybody that was there it was a mess. you could barley get a wheeler through the parking lot let alone a truck and trailer. Yes the truck in question was parked in the way along with the other 50 trucks on the road. They need to plow more areas to park or it is just going to get worse. We got there at 6:30 and barley got unloaded when the gates of hell opened.I knew parking would be an issue just not that big. Hope everybody can get along in the future, I would love to fish that derby again next year.

[curt69]

I don't think they poison the lake every two or three years . I have an e-mail into Fish & Game to find out the last time it was poisoned . I think it was over 20 years ago . Curt G.

[jaklakmak]

The reason all of the locals bad mouth the utahans is because they continue to use live bait minnows which cause the f&g to have to poison the lake to get rid of the chubs about every three years.  If it were not for that the lake would have some true monsters in it.

I have never figured out why state lines create so much finger pointing. Are we not all on here for one common thing and that being ice fishing? This site is here to bring us together as sportsmen and share our stories and photos. Each state has their "folks". I'm sure the "Utahns" are not the only ones if that is in fact true to introduce live minnows to Chesterfield. Before you go finger pointing maybe you should check into how many of your own Idaho natives have done the same. Ive met guys here on Jackson Lake that were using Bonneville Cisco for bait which are very illegal. I don't badmouth them. Instead i figure if they want to get a citation thats their choice and i leave it at that. I guess you can blame me for being from Wyoming and loving sheep!! Let's give it up guys and turn this topic back into what it should be. By the way I sometimes make the long drive and fish Chesterfield once and a while and I have met some "Utahns". They have been some of the most cordial and friendly folk on the lake. Tight lines boyz!!!

[fd757]

jaklakmak, thank you.  I needed some sence knocked into me.   "Let's give it up guys and turn this topic back into what it should be. By the way I sometimes make the long drive and fish Chesterfield once and a while and I have met some "Utahns". They have been some of the most cordial and friendly folk on the lake. Tight lines boyz!!!"  I deleted those ranting post's and I thank you for the compliment.  That is nice to hear.   

[rhinosparky]

I have no problem with anyone fishing anywhere from anywhere.  As long as it is legal.  I have tons of faily from Utah.  Just stating the general thoughts of the locals around Chesterfield.  I welcome them to fish it all day every day.  Just leave the live minnows at home.

[B.L.on ice]

Hey Guys, sorry to start shuch a uproar, I just had a different idea of what it was going to be like and it was because of this site. On this site everybody is so nice and they share there secrets about the different lakes and we haelp eachother out when needed. I suppose the issues up there can be atributed to alcohol and the competion of being in the derby.
 Thanks guys and make it a great day!

[curt69]

This is the reply from fish and game Curt G.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Thanks for requesting information on Chesterfield Reservoir.  The last time it was treated to remove Utah Chubs was in 2001.

 

Dave

 

David Teuscher

Regional Fisheries Manager

Southeast Region

Idaho Department of Fish and Game

208-232-4703