I'll leave the literary accolades to the others, but let's just say it was an EPIC weekend with the Herman Brothers at Norris Lake in Illinois.

Thanks, Brothers!

Here's our buddy, and new ice fishing expert Al with a massive ice-caught bluegill.



And here's of one our gracious hosts, Justin Herman with a mega-gill.



And here's TJ, the orchestrator extraordinaire with the biggest bluegill of the trip. (sorry, but there's a raindrop on the lens due to the fact it rained like crazy for the entire first day).



Our good friend Alex from Recycled Fish with a gorgeous 'eye.



Yolkie (Dr. Dave) with another beautiful walleye.



One of our moderators Josh (Omaha) with the biggest walleye of the trip.



Another shot of Alex with a beautiful bluegill.



Our buddy Sprkplug (Tony) with the biggest largemouth bass of the trip.



And the whole gang!!!



Thanks to our amazing hosts!! You guys are the best ever.

That's a big bunch of ice holes!!!!


Looks cold, but fun!! and power tools!!!

That seems really awesome

I knew you guys would have a blast!

I have to admit I had no clue what to expect, but my first hard water trip was just way to much fun. The fishing was great, but the complete trip was what made the memory. I had many babysitters on this trip who went out of their way to make sure I was doing things correctly, and helping me with rods, bait, advice, etc.

Saturday was the best day, and I got to see Ohmaha(Josh) pull a Reggie Jackson World Series moment as he pulled WE after WE out of the same hole, including one that he shared with a young boy so he could get the experience also. I thought that was a very classy move, until he walked half a mile down the ice to pick up minnows for everybody else. That was classier. And Yolk Sac(Dave), on his first ice trip also, who shared the hole to begin with what may have been the classiest move.

Add to that day Chief Todd, dragging all his propane cooking gear out in the middle of a lake to home cook us another great meal of clam/crappie chowder, perfectly seasoned pork chop sandwiches, and all the fixings.

My moment to remember was Friday evening when Nate, in the middle of a thunderstorm, moved me to a hut that Justin and Jarred(sp) were fishing, and I got to use the Aqua-Vu camera to see a huge BG slowly swim in from the distance, and grab my jig. It was definitely a "Jaws" moment, and one I'll never forget. I had a completely successful trip at that moment.

Just as a public service announcement type thing, never ever get between Sprkplug(Tony) and his fish. He may be one of the most intense fisherman I have ever seen. I've got a pic somewhere of him hunkered over Friday evening in the middle of the pond by himself in total concentration. There's a reason he catches so many fish.

Bruce may post more pics of other fish, as he repeatedly stopped fishing to take pics of everybody's fish.

Finally, the Herman family including Chef Todd, are some of the kindest and most sharing people I have ever met. Everything was handled to a tee, and I would make that long drive again in a heartbeat. I've never felt so welcomed before.

TJ, you did a great job setting this all up.

Finally, a report!!!

Nice report. Many thanks to Dr.Bruce for taking time out from fishing to snap some great pictures and put together this neat visual report.

It takes a lot of effort in soaking cold conditions to immediately stop what you're doing and manage to take incredible photos for friends with numb fumbling fingers. I tried to get several shots on the trip but by the time I could manage to get out my camera and skate over several photos were already taken and the fish was released. Big thanks to photo experts!

Bruce, with a Walleye on the line and Justin ready to assist.



TJ, on the hunt...



Matt, fishing some structure..



Popping Crappies at the edge...



Alex and Al, showing perfect form in the team augering event...



Lunch on the ice, courtesy of Chef Todd. Mere words cannot do this meal justice. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Quit rubbing it in guys! (just kidding). That pole barn looks familiar. I was there, what, 2 years ago or was it 3 for a QDMA Seminar.

Looks like ice cleats would have come in handy.

Nate, any thoughts to doing it again next year?

Steaming hot fish chowder with freshly iced crappies, crayfish and clams was off the charts...definitely firing that up on my next day on the ice on the farm.

Tony, I meant to bring up that same point. Whenever somebody hooked a good fish, the closet guys always dropped their rods to come help or take pics. Teamwork definitely came into play.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMmm

I'll put this one up here also. For whatever reason, it just speaks to me today.

Tony, I can see why.....

Same here...

Thanks for the report and pictures. That looks like a lot of fun...

Nice work guys -- a great tribute to a classic PB event !

A perfect weekend ended with a rendition of Purple Haze. Thanks Tony and Mr Jimmy !!!

Excellent pic & post sprkplug!!!

Thanks, but while I may have taken this photo, I can't accept credit for the idea. I was walking out with a bucket in one hand and an auger on my shoulder, when Alex, who was in front of me, turned around to snap a pic. I told him I would move out of his shot, to which he replied: "You are the shot".

That's when I turned around. I was in such a hurry to get to my spot and punch a hole that, although aware dawn was breaking, I simply hadn't stopped to observe it.

When I got where I was going, I grabbed this photo with Chef Todd silhouetted against the sunrise.

Observing Alex reminded me that it often pays to spend a moment taking it all in.......I am equal parts thankful, and awed, from having experienced that sunrise on Norris.

Looks like a great time...Thanks for sharing!!!

Wow...looks like a great time was had! Awesome pic there at the end.

An amazing adventure. Not only the fishing, but the company. Words can't express how amazing the company was. The passion for fishing, learning fish, and sharing ones own knowledge with others...

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Josh is sight fishing uber clear water, trying to jig up a bass.


Tony, ready for a new day on the ice


Omaha with one of his epic facial expressions


TJ with a last minute walleye, courtesy of Nate with the save.


Dave showing off the crappie




I got kinda envious watching Josh outfish everyone on the walleye





Jason Mitchell meatstick picks up the slightest bite...



Chef Todd in on the eye action



Herman Bros heading out for the last morning.








The Herman brothers hard work, and obvious passion for everything outdoors, coupled with outstanding hospitality makes for a lifetime type trip. Met some great guys that were a true pleasure not only to fish with, but just to hang out and chat.

Headed straight to Iowa from the weekend to speak at the Iowa LICA (land improvement contractors association) but am back now and hopefully will get a chance to post some pics... I have some awesome ones of these guys!!

TJ's walleye though in the bottom of the 9th inning though is for sure a highlight!!

Was that Matt Rayl in one of the pics?

Justin, Nate... You might find an extra hand auger around the lake house. Guess I'll just have to come back to get it.... Ha!

Yep, and Matt showed up with 3 very cool vintage ice rods.

Al knew right where to fish............nah, I asked him to pose for the shot, and he was a good sport.



Bruce and Dave, enjoying their first experience using a flasher to locate fish. Dave doesn't know it, but I secretly reprogrammed his unit so that it would impart subliminal messaging..."You want to stock HBG into your pond, Dave". "You WILL stock HBG into your pond, Dave". "Sprkplug's efforts with HBG are worthy of high praise, Dave" ......you know, that sorta' thing.



Nate, doing the slice and dice on a couple Crappies and a lone Walleye, who apparently suffered an unfortunate encounter with an Esox while being brought up to the hole....notice the injury on its side.



A raindrop-on-the-lens obscured large BG I somehow managed to catch.



Results of a hard days fishing.....tired anglers!

That last pic is one bunch of tired, sober dudes!!!

Some of the crew, minus a few:














Texas Boys First Ice Fish:

Alex, you can find the listing on ebay or you can come back and get it... either way is great for me...

Nate, that BG was the most important fish I caught all weekend. I kept waiting for the tug, and when I realized that doesn't happen often while ice fishing, I focused in on the line and the flasher like the rest of you guys. It was definitely a special moment for me.

Al, we just ran out of time. I would've loved to introduce you to the subtle nuances of spring bobbers, when trying for shy biting BG's.

Oh you will, I'm not done ice fishing for sure. We didn't get our HBG talk in either.

Love the pics, would of loved to been there looks like it was a good time!

Great job n8ly!!! How in the "heck" do you find time to work??? Seriously, you and your family are awesome. Never met you but it would fantastic to!

Be safe again this year and keep giving the scouts the time of their lives... The memories you gave them will be passed on to their kids (including the crew you had ice-fishing .

The Pike looks like a Hybrid x Musky ???

I need to retire so I can join the fun! Oh well, long time still to go, and an 8yo boy who is NOT interested in the outdoors.

Yep

Matt was there taking pictures, a little fishing and watching his Colts lose.

Yep...he watched his Colts get their @$$e$ kicked.

Nice thread and pictures! Just the thread I need to procrastinate from going down to the shop and getting something done. LOL

For the old and senile among us I assume this Norris Lake is something the Herman's manage judging by the high quality of fish?

Yes, Cecil. That is correct. It's beyond cool. They own it as well.

I kind of figured that but it didn't look like the summer pictures of the one I had seen. Do they own more than one?

Cecil, most of the walleye (except TJ's miracle) came from one of my clients lakes.
The rest pretty much from Norris...

Got it.

Good job. I've always been impressed with you guys even if I joke around sometimes. Keep up the good work!

Looks like good times. Nice pics. You guys are tuff; however, looking at those pictures I detect a hint of distress. I'm a wuss, I'd have to have a heated shanty. Ain't freezing my assets! I can't believe the Herman bros don't a have a custom built, tricked out ice shanty. What's up with that?

Nate, how big was TJ's 'eye?

Many times in ice fishing you have to keep moving so a "custom built tricked out ice shanty" isn't practical.

I'm guessing TJ's eyeball is a standard 24.2 mm. :-)

Back to BobbyR's pike question; Was the big fish a hybrid muskie?

Yea CB1 should now all about "jokin around sometimes".

It looks like one to me and I've seen quite a few as a taxidermist although my state doesn't plant them anymore as they get better returns from the non- hybrid muskies.

Nate?

Problem solved.
This one utilizes tracks. Slight overkill. Pretty cool tho.

This one is pretty neat. It actually has skids, but, if it were mounted on that little utility trailer minus the skids, that'd be sweet. Could probably be towed by an ATV, or a couple of young guys.

I suppose the ultimate ice shanty would be a motorized street legal version. You could drive it to the lake, spend the day fishing, drive home, all without ever having to step outside.

After touring the man cave, I think the idea of "custom fishing house" has been taken care of! Although in this case, it's more of a dock, than a shanty......


Actually, I never understood the reason for a structured shanty. I hit the ice to fish..... not to watch TV, have an excuse to drink with my buddies, play cards, or get away from the wife. All of which, as I understand it anyway, are fairly common occurrences in those locales where shanties are parked on the ice and left for weeks, or even months.

It's called fishing after all. And it's not always easy, or pleasant. In my opinion, that's part of the experience....a big part, actually. Adverse conditions make catching fish that much more worthwhile, at least for me.

Anybody can fish when it's 80 degrees and sunny.

I estimate 19-20" - pushing 3#

Well then Marty Feldman ain't got nothin' on him!

Nice fish TJ!

Here they go again!!!!! Can't wait for the pics .

Cecil, it is a tiger Muskie! It was born in 2008.

Nate

That's I what thought!

I get people around here that bring me a musky to mount and assume it's a tiger because it has a bar pattern.

n8ly - what is the stocked density of the tiger musky in that BOW? Have any ever been harvested?

35 acres and 50 tigers went in originally.
Then last fall 40 more went in at 12"...

None have been harvested but they have been caught alot and probably 10 or so are dead from mishandling...

Nate, what's their growth the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year after stocking at that size?

Females will grow 10-12 inches per year
Males more like 6-9 inches

Good info on the musky. Why are you using tiger musky instead of regular musky - availability? I would not use musky nor pike in a pond for fish food-harvest production. It would be like having a coyote in a goose, turkey, sheep farm. But I think they could be a good bonus fish in a predator emphasis sportfishing pond-lake. A lot would depend on ones need for management of fish recruitment. I think musky target certain species based on the community composition.

The Miracle on Ice

Minding my own business - jigging to some reluctant BG and not having much success. Nate has some educated fish, and the 18' clarity doesn't leave a ton of room for error presentation wise, either. Think of it as a seminar for the ice newbies on common ice fishing errors. Yes, I'm that generous of my experience and time...



Nate yells, "Tony is on!" - so I hop up and and see if I can assist...I've got nothing else going on all morning - besides leading the seminar, of course.



While Tony was fine on his own, when I saw the Walleye roll I decided the situation called for some unsolicited assistance. Hey, this was Tony's first Walleye ever, and through the ice no less! Move over Tony, I want a piece of this moment!



Apparently a school was rolling through as I heard, "TJ, you're on!" Note my cat-like dexterity and how I deftly drop Tony's Eye like a sack of taters - the preferred method of the In Fisherman guys I learned. [Sorry, T!]



Hell yeah I'm on - my rod was almost through the hole before I could save it! Felt like this fish had some shoulders...



Nate is on the scene, removing my Vexilar and preparing for a smooth extraction - ..."Dude, this fish is a friggin' monster - it's gotta be 27! You are hand's down the best fisherman I've ever seen!"



I managed to get the head to the hole, Nate poised to snag her, when my teardrop hook straightened and she poppped off and slowly slid back into the lake! What do you expect from a 29" behemoth? I was preparing to accept my fate - but Nate would have nothing of it. He thrust his entire arm into the hole to the shoulder, and moments later iced the Eye! We're both a little excited - and I'm pretty dang grateful...



"TJ, if I didn't admire you so deeply as a human being and appreciate your steadfast friendship to such a degree I'd never had soaked my entire arm for that 32" fish!" or something close to that...



The 34" Miracle on Ice - a new Illinois state record!

Excellent account of what really happened!

So that's why my phone said 42"!

Good one TJ!

TJ's riveting account is an accurate portrayal of the morning's events, to the best of my recollection anyway.



Very nice fish my friend, and a well deserved catch!


I was proud of my first WE until I realized that TJ's fish could've bitten mine in half...
,

Bill,
I use tigers in many cases instead of pure muskie because they grow a bit faster out of the gate, and also are a little more aggressive in terms of angling success compared to pures.

For the most part these days we are stocking these fish for the purpose of catching them.

Tigers also typically dont live as long as pures so you dont have too longterm of an investment on your hands, which actually allows for supplemental stocking more often and overall less educated fish in relatively smaller bodies of water that call muskies home.

since most public bodies of water do not stock tigers any longer, they are actually becoming a pretty highly desirable fish to catch. I have one 24 acre lake at the goose ranch that I am dedicating to tiger muskies and tiger muskies only... once those fish get to double digits they will be highly sought after....

I owe you that fish - if I wasn't with you I surely would have spooked my walleye with my frantic jigging when I saw her on the Aqua Vu and never would have hooked up. Eye fever!

No way....it's all you, brother!

TJ - nice detailed account of catching that 27", then 29", then 32, then finally a 34" walley through the ice with the last minute save from n8ly. I was on the 'edge of my seat'. I'm glad to see that you are well in the class of all anglers - ""all fishermen are liars except you and me and sometimes I wonder about you"". :-)))))))

n8ly - good description and explanation for the use of musky in smaller waters. Thanks for sharing.

Here is a link to a picture of a 34" ice fished walleye from Lk Erie.
That walley will give the Herman's something to 'shoot for' to grow a walley to 34".
http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=260591.msg2884203#msg2884203

Actually I prefer my walleye to stay in the smaller size ranges of 12"-16" because then they are forced to eat the more abundant smaller sized forage fishes and not larger harvestable perch. Note the mouth size of the big walleye above. What do you think it has been eating on a regular basis - not 3"-4" shad?

All I know is the 8 to 9 pounders I get in from local lakes have 5 to 6 inch bluegills in them and 8 to 9 inch largemouth bass.

If that is all you know, then that is good information about feeding habits of large walleye.

For more info: an 8 lb WE is around 26"-27" long and a 9 lber is around 27.5-28.5" long. A 29" WE weighs around 10.2 lbs as std wt.

Bill, the problem with trying to raise a big walleye is that it costs too much money and takes too much time. We are content with raising 1-3 lbers as bonus fish to catch, relatively quickly and inexpensively but really there is no demand whatsoever from people wanting to raise trophy walleyes in their private body of water, as crazy as that sounds...

However now that we own more than one body of water, I just may have to take a 2-3 acre pond and focus on just growing some big 'eyes just to learn more about em!

Basically demand is the biggest key to research, maybe we will just have to create the demand...

Nate - I agree with you the 1-3 lb walleye are the best multipurpose WE. For big trophy fish IMO the HSB is the best overall choice and easiest to raise. But for high quality table fare we have to go back to the WE (1-3 lb) or YP.

As far as growing big WE in smaller waters, I was told by a ODNR fish squeezer that worked with DNR pond walleye, WE often top out in ponds at around 5 lbs (23-24"). But as we are learning, that size limiting condition could be due to the type and size of forage fish available. Change the forage available then the WE could grow bigger in smaller waters. If you do some work with growing big WE your experiences will be very good research and baseline information about big WE in ponds. We may learn that growing big WE is not a whole lot different than growing big bass over 5 lbs. Change the forage available for big predators.

My guess is that your tiger musky are eating a significant number of LMB compared to other species.