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Just Do It!

We are in the middle of our Take ‘Em Fishing Challenge this fishing season.  In fact, we have had the first round of prizes awarded.

There are a lot of reasons you should find someone who has not fished before, or someone who has not fished recently, and take ’em.  Fishing is the perfect participation sport, anyone can participate at whatever level they would like.  Fishing is good for you, emotionally, spiritually, and yes, even physically.  Fishing is a great family activity.  Fishing is. . . you get the idea, I could go on and on.

On a more secular level, yes, the bottom line is we need to maintain and even increase fishing permit sales.  Why?  This is why:

Simply put, the stewardship of Nebraska’s fisheries is paid for entirely by the sale of fishing permits and by the collection of excise taxes on the sale of fishing and boating equipment.  You need to take someone fishing because our fisheries depend on it!

If logic does not appeal to you, there is always an emotional appeal, how about this one. . . .

I got an e-mail from my nephew a couple weeks back.  He had his wife and kids out for some fishing.  They fished a spot I have fished with my kids, including nephews, many times before.  They caught fish and had a great time:

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You need to find someone and take ’em fishing because you need to start your own tradition!  It runs in my blood, I get it from both my parents.  Some of my earliest memories were watching and catching fish!

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Then I can remember taking my son and nephew when they were young boys:

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And now my nephew is taking his boys!

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While your are at it, teach ’em to do it right too.  The kids learn catch & release real easy. I hear folks say that kids just have to keep fish, they do not want to turn ’em loose.  Well, it ain’t the kids that have a hard time with catch & release, it is the adults teaching them.IMG_0704a

Take ’em fishing!  You need it.  Your kids need it.  Our fisheries need it!

Well done, Andrew, Megan, and boys!

About daryl bauer

Daryl is a lifelong resident of Nebraska (except for a couple of years spent going to graduate school in South Dakota). He has been employed as a fisheries biologist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for 25 years, and his current tour of duty is as the fisheries outreach program manager. Daryl loves to share his educational knowledge and is an avid multi-species angler. He holds more than 120 Nebraska Master Angler Awards for 14 different species and holds more than 30 In-Fisherman Master Angler Awards for eight different species. He loves to talk fishing and answer questions about fishing in Nebraska, be sure to check out his blog at outdoornebraska.org.

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