advertisement

Local broadcaster, columnist Norris going into fishing hall of fame

Congratulations go out to a great guy and a truly excellent fisherman, Mike Norris, for being elected to the latest class of the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Norris was a fixture on Illinois waterways until he pulled up stakes and moved to south-central Wisconsin, where he now slays monster bass on Green Lake and other idyllic hotspots.

Norris came to prominence with his second-place finish on Lake Erie in the 1994 Professional Walleye tournament. It was a huge finish and the best competitive effort for Norris, although he has won plenty of prize money and trophies in other walleye and bass fishing competitions.

Norris is being installed in the hall of fame in the “Legendary Communicators” wing. I take exception to this because Norris deserves credit as a “Legendary Angler,” as much as for his skills as a writer and broadcaster.

That said, I have to give Norris his props as a communicator. He has been a regular weekly contributor to local newspapers for ages in the Chicago area. Norris was the original co-host with Dan McNeil on the weekly fishing show that ran on The Score, AM 670. He aired a show on Aurora’s WBIG-AM for many years.

Was Norris popular on the radio? I was grabbing a burger with Norris at a suburban Wendy’s one afternoon when we were approached by a woman.

“Say, would you happen to be Mike Norris, the fishing guy?” she asked.

He said yes, but I asked how she had known that, because he was on the radio, not television. She responded: “I’d know that man’s voice anywhere. I’ve listened to him for years.”

Norris was the co-founder of the acclaimed Walleye Master’s Institute. This was a weekend-long seminars series started by Norris and legendary angler Ted Takasaki. Takasaki nominated Norris to the hall this year. The Institute was jam-packed with talks given by the biggest names in the world of walleye fishing. The Institute was wildly popular and always sold out.

Norris has always been a big draw whenever he books a talk, whether it is at one of the big fishing shows or at a meeting of many of our local fishing clubs. His seminar topics are always groundbreaking and unique and aways draw a larger crowd.

It’s not surprising to find Norris giving a talk in the Chicago suburbs in the evening after a long day on a southern Wisconsin lake and turning around and meeting a loyal guide client on the following morning. Norris does not like to disappoint his clients, followers or fans.

I asked Norris why he had given up tournament fishing after showing he could be successful at it.

“To be honest, I got a little tired of being told what to fish for. What I mean is, why should I have to spend a weekend chasing walleyes in a tournament when the bite isn’t going too good, when I could be catching bass that are biting like crazy? Why should I drive myself nuts chasing a slow bass bite when giant bluegills are on fire?”

A good indication of the kind of guy Norris is, is to look at his pictures on the web. You’ll find scores of pictures of Norris’s clients holding up big fish and beaming from ear-to-ear. It’s obvious that Norris is most concerned with his clients, their success and their great fishing experiences.

“That’s true,” he said. “I live for putting my clients on fish. I get the biggest thrill out of the success of my customers. It makes all the effort worth while.”

Congratulations on the well-deserved honors.

• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.