Finally got out to Norris

Today I finally made it out ice fishing out at Norris.


Typical Friday fishing routine- only this time my dad and I were joined by my father-in law and Justin. I helped get everything set up on the ice, and then had to run some errands over in Fairview and Ellisville. I met up with Bob Fidler of the fairview sale barn and dropped off some fish feeders for his new lake, then headed up to meet with Chuck Thome about his brother's aeration system. Finished up everything and made a mad dash back to the lake.

Were hoping to find some Jumbo Perch and locate where all the Bluegill are hiding out during the winter up at Norris, but never did catch any Bluegill whatsoever today???? Kind of strange to not catch Bluegill on an ice fishing trip. Anyhow we ended up catching 15 nice rainbow trout, a half a dozen largemouth bass, and one nice perch. Most of the action was fairly consistently spread out, but there was one 5 minute stretch where I proceeded to break off 2 largemouth 4 lbs+ at the hole, miss another pair of smaller bass, and miss a trout at the hole as well???? We were fishing with 4 holes drilled right in a row, and Justin got the whole thing on film. Those scenes will most likely be available on our midseason ice fishing blooper footage!

We are keeping this open water for the ducks and geese. There were 1000's of geese flying overhead this afternoon.

Mae's First Ice Fishing Trip

Mae's first fish through the ice!

Mae has been chomping at the bit to get out ice fishing with me for the first time. I had been waiting for the just the right day to take her out, and that day just happened to be Saturday. It was windy, rainy, 38 degrees, and the ice was really slippery! Not exactly the picture perfect day to get a 3 year old out on the ice for the first time, but she had been couped up inside for a few weeks, mom was ready for a bit of a break, and dad was getting a little stir crazy being inside all day on a Saturday.

Oh yeah it just happened to also be getting close to nap time when Mae decided she really wanted to head out "to work with Daddy". Against my better judgement, I decided it was now or never and we started suiting up for our great outdoor adventure!

Grandpa already had the shanty set up for us when we got there, so all we had to do is just make it from the truck to the shelter without getting cold and wet. We got there just fine, Mae was fascinated with the ice and walking on the lake and had a bajilion other questions. I was also very glad that the vexilar screen was lit up with fish upon arrival.

Mae's first fish was a small crappie suspended just 4 feet down. She was absolutely loving it! Her next fish was a baby bluegill (baby fish are her favorite!) Then she had to do everything herself from then on. She would get a bit angry when I would take too long getting the jig back in the water and down the hole.

Everything was going real smooth, until she hooked a big hybrid bluegill. It was a 9 inch beast of bluegill that was pulling just a bit hard for her comfort level. After we got that fish in, she was pretty much done for the day. She only wanted to catch mommy fish and baby fish!

After about 20 minutes it was time to head inside the house to play with grandma and some cousins. I would rate the first trip 100% success! She can't wait to come out and help daddy at work again!

Back on the Ice!

We have had barely just enough cold weather to get back on the ice. Not every pond is safe, but we have a few that we can still get on. Today I fished with dad, Chad, and Logan Sauder from Hanna City. Despite the slow fishing conditions, he managed to catch a few fish, his first ever on the ice!



The fish were very spread out, hanging tight to the bottom, and very very finnicky! It was by far the toughest bite of the season. Chad and I drilled over 30 holes, and never found any fish congregated. We ended up with 40 mostly small bluegill, bass, and crappie. We did get a few real good ones and look forward to hitting this pond again on a day when the fish are biting! I know there are some real good fish in here, because we electrofished the pond in November.

Video Footage of My Buck

This is video footage of my buck that I shot on opening day of shotgun season. The footage (and the Buck) was actually shot by my cousin Andrew about one week earlier with a bow and arrow.

Andrew recognized the Buck immediately, and the arrow hole through the neck confirmed without a doubt this was the same Buck. It was pretty cool!

Safe Ice????

Last Ice Fishing Trip for Awhile?


Today might just be our last icefishing trip for sometime? We started out early today because the forecast was for another sunny, warm day. Our fishing partners for the day were Bill and Al from Chicago. Bill has a really cool fishing website called http://www.catchphotorelease.com/. Al is a Bass Pro Shops seminar speaker and avid tournament angler.




We started out with 4 inches of ice, but we could only get to the ice from one corner of the dock. The edges were not even frozen due to all the rain and warm temps. The water was stained and the fish were scattered, but moving around in about 6-10 feet of water. Action was not fast, but fairly consistent as we caught 30 nice bluegill, a bass, and a catfish in about one hour of fishing.

We could have caught fish all day long, but the sun was shining and the ice was melting and weakening pretty fast. We decided to get while the getting was still possible! We tried 3 other ponds for safe ice, but none of them were worth the risk. We headed down to East Peoria and showed the guys the new fishing park http://www.hookedonfishingpark.org/ and then headed over to the burger barge for lunch.