Herman Brothers way of growing big bass in the north.
Growing Trophy Bass in the Northern US
Extracted from:
http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/factors-giant-bass/Far from the lunker bass waters of Florida, California, Texas, and Mississippi, Nate Herman of HB Lake Management of Peoria, Illinois, has plans to grow huge bass in Illinois. He’s well versed in lake management and has a successful business managing waterways for recreational fishing, using sunfish species, bass, catfish, hybrid stripers, trout, and more.
His new project focuses on a newly acquired property called Goose Ranch, which contains 52 lakes, the largest covering 121 acres. “The goal is to have a lake that offers good numbers of double-digit bass, here in Illinois,” Herman says. “Before I acquired it, this lake was known to occasionally produce bass over 10 pounds, so it has a history. With our management techniques, we can greatly increase their occurrence.”
Herman recognizes the need to provide adequate forage for bass at all phases of their growth, and how challenging that can be. “Few waters offer bass all they need to maximize growth,” he says. “Their dietary needs change as they go from 2 inches to 8 inches to 8 pounds. By raising fish in ponds, then moving them to new environments, we can provide plenty of food, reduced chance of predation, and less competition for prey. At each phase, you must identify limiting factors and reduce them as much as possible.
“In the Midwest, winter and cold springtime weather can cause bass to lose almost a year of growth. Fish have a difficult time making up for that setback. I work with a network of pond researchers who have broken new ground in growing big bass in midwestern waters. By training bass at a feeding site, some of our colleagues have had bass gain weight and condition over the winter, avoiding the flat or even negative growth that northern bass often exhibit in natural waters.”
They’ve found that bass eat bluegills and crayfish offered through holes in the ice. Some have even added diet supplements such as fish oils to prey. And training young bass to accept pelleted feed helps boost growth early in life, particularly if zooplankton and small preyfish are scarce.
This sort of intensive management is time-consuming but feasible in small private waters. To provide prey bass can catch and handle in cold water, pond owners sometimes must cripple bluegills. But results can’t be denied. Consider that shortly before her death in Bass Pro Shops’ tank, Ethyl’s girth was taped at 32 inches, thanks to her ad libitum diet of goldfish, shad, and shiners, which put her well into the 20-pound class.
Herman’s large lake on Goose Ranch is an old mine pit with deep, oxygenated water. He’s been growing trout in such waters and getting year-round survival. He knows how important these nutritious prey can be to giant bass, so he’s fully expecting a glut of 10-pounders before long.
It’s an exciting time for big bass enthusiasts. Management strategies on vast pubic waters and in private ponds have been fine-tuned by experienced managers and biologists. They’ve found that while you can’t fool Mother Nature, you can give her a kick in the pants. In less managed waters, abundant nutritious prey and harvest moderated by regulations and voluntary release make for prime opportunities, from Maine to California.
For examples of fish grown by the Herman Brothers see info in the link below. You can actually visit the Goose Ranch in IL and se how it is done and catch some of these trophy fish yourself.
https://www.facebook.com/hblakemanagement
