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Chester Woods

by Doug Mercer on 02/02/2010

nice gill
Fishing Chesterwoods has to be one of my favorite places to explore & when you can introduce a young person to the sport of fishing I jump at the chance. So when I heard that a friend’s boy Matt had only went ice fishing a couple times with no fish to show for his effort, I knew I had to change that. So this weekend he had some free time & off we went. Ben, Matt & I headed to one of my spots to search for some gills & maybe even a crappie or two. After the long walk out Ben started up my Strike master & drilled a few holes & I followed him with my flasher, looking in each hole for best chance for Matt to ice his first fish ever.



Matt in action
Soon the graph showed some fish. We set up the voyager on top of them and quickly got some heat going to make things more comfortable for us, as it was a little cool out. After seeing the fish on my graph, Matt was getting excited to get a line down the hole & start his day of fishing. So I set him up with one of my rods that had a spring bobber on it & I’m glad I did as the fish were biting very light for us. We were set up in 25 fow on the edge of a steep drop into the main lake. This spot has deep timber close by,as well as a weed edge & produces fish most of the year for me. After watching these fish come up to our baits with no takers, I knew I had to drill some more holes & find some active fish. Ben fired up the StrikeMaster again & followed me around punching holes through 15in of ice like it was nothing. We ended up only moving about 25yds into a little deeper water & the graph was showing fish once again. Before we moved the shack I decided to fish this hole first & soon had a nice gill race up to my bait & it was fish on!



Matts frist gill
I had Matt come over to try his luck at this hole, while Ben & I were moving our stuff & before we even got back to the shack to tear down Matt yelled fish on!! With a BIG smile on his face he iced his first fish ever. I think I was as happy as he was. We got our gear moved & caught a few more as the sun was setting & the moon was rising. About this time of day I knew the gills would slow down & the crappies would soon appear higher in the water column & just like clock work they started to show up on my graph.



Matts first crappie
We decided to stay & see how they would bite with the full moon glowing in the night sky.
There were a lot of them showing on the graph but not many takers as the night was going by. Matt ended up catching the0 only crappie of the trip & congrats to him as the bite was a little on the slow side.
Matt, it was a pleasure fishing with you & I look forward to doing it again someday!

Location : Minnesota
Water Body : Chester Woods
Species : panfish
Technique : ice fishing


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DOUG MERCER IDO FIELD STAFF
MrMuskie


James HolstAdministrator

Re: Chester Woods

#862701 - 02/02/10 12:27 PM

Thanks for the report! I know two nights ago the moon was incredible. Looked so close a guy would swear he could almost reach out and poke it with his finger.

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James Holst - In-Depth Outdoors TV Host
IDA Guides Guide Service
Ph. 507-271-0362

trumar

Re: Chester Woods

#862823 - 02/02/10 05:53 PM

Nice report Doug, I hope you saved fish for our outting

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"When it comes to family-Sometimes it not all about fishing" ~Trumar 2009

Doug Mercer

Re: Chester Woods

#862835 - 02/02/10 06:17 PM

There's still a few left Jeff. I put a X on the ice for ya. To bad it snowed

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DOUG MERCER IDO FIELD STAFF
MrMuskie

herefishyfishy

Re: Chester Woods

#862908 - 02/02/10 08:31 PM

Shoot I could use an X. lol great report

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"Land, they aren't making any more of it."

Steve Plantz

Re: Chester Woods

#862966 - 02/02/10 10:21 PM

Looks like fun Doug, I started fishing Chester woods this summer quite a bit for Bass, it is great when I do not have time to run to pool 4 as Chester is practically right in my back yard.

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Steve Plantz ~ IDO Management Team

zonar

Re: Chester Woods

#863105 - 02/03/10 11:06 AM



Jeff Jensen

Re: Chester Woods

#863179 - 02/03/10 01:29 PM

With a BIG smile on his face he iced his first fish ever. I think I was as happy as he was.


That says it all Doug!
Cool report, hope you keep getting after them

Ben Garver

Re: Chester Woods

#863215 - 02/03/10 03:09 PM

Great job Doug. Looks like you may have sparked a fire for a new ice angler.

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Ben Garver

Bass Pro Shops Pro Staff

Nebraska Walleye Guide Service - Guiding available on all Nebraska waters.
www.nebraskawalleyeguide.com
Call 402-890-3057

I say we work 2 days and fish 5!!!


Hellbilly

Re: Chester Woods

#863397 - 02/03/10 11:26 PM

great report couldnt have descibed it any better. matts already itching to go again he had a blast

Chris Granrud

Re: Chester Woods

#863409 - 02/04/10 05:32 AM

Thanks for sharing Doug!! Certainly bet Matt appreciated the outing, and especially icing his first fish!!

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Chris Granrud - RainyDaze Guide Service
World-Class Walleye, Crappie, Pike & Smallmouth Bass Fishing!
Visit RainyDaze Guide Service to book your next adventure!

Doug Mercer

Re: Chester Woods

#863421 - 02/04/10 06:57 AM

Sure made my day to get him on some fish. I heard that his Mom wants to get out now. Awsome, He's hooked!!!!

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DOUG MERCER IDO FIELD STAFF
MrMuskie

EyesNDucks

Re: Chester Woods

#863464 - 02/04/10 08:29 AM

Great report Doug, thanks for sharing. It's always great to see those kids get hooked. I keep forgetting about Chester, I'll have to run up that way sometime.

Thanks again,
Dave

wildfan

Re: Chester Woods

#863939 - 02/05/10 10:32 AM

Great report,
Man do I miss fishing Chester and zumbro.

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A good arrow,a good fishing rod,a good knife,and a good friend = a good day.

Doug Mercer

Re: Chester Woods

#864067 - 02/05/10 03:56 PM

Dude, Anytime you get the chance I got a seat for ya. Things should heat up Very soon!! Then we can chase some of those slabbers I've been talking about. It's just about time.

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DOUG MERCER IDO FIELD STAFF
MrMuskie



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