I got a reminder from our Boating Law Administrator that this week is the National Association of State Boating Law Administrator’s Spring Aboard Campaign to remind folks to complete a boating safety course! Yes, somewhere in my wallet is a boater safety card. . . . If you check the 2018 Boating Guide, right up front, you will find the requirements for operating a motorboat in Nebraska and the boater safety requirements: Many of you will be required to take …
Read More »Brackets
I believe if you been reading my blog for anytime, you know I am a huge Husker fan! It is in the blood. Yes, I am a fan of any Husker sport. But, as far as just sitting down and watching a sport in which I have no rooting interest for either team, I have always enjoyed college basketball as much as any. I have played a little intramural, church league and pick-up basketball over the years, still do on …
Read More »Sturgeon Identification
I have seen some reports already this early spring of sturgeon being caught, mostly from Nebraska’s Missouri River. I am confident a lot of the anglers catching those fish, especially the old “river rats” are very aware of what they are catching and their sturgeon identification. On the other hand, I realize there are new folks learning about new fishing opportunities all the time, and sometimes I worry they may not know what they are catching. There are three species …
Read More »Pit and Pond Management Workshops
There are a couple of workshops coming up on managing small waters, pits and ponds: Lake and pond management workshops scheduled in Omaha, Lincoln LINCOLN, Neb. – Free workshops are scheduled in Omaha and Lincoln this spring for anyone who makes decisions about lakes and ponds or wants to learn more about protecting them. The two-hour workshops begin at 6 p.m. Reservations are required. The first workshop will be in Omaha on March 21 at the Douglas-Sarpy County Extension Office, …
Read More »Tweener Time
Let me tell you from the phone calls, e-mails, messages, and “chatter” I have heard this week, I have come to the conclusion that there are a darned lot more people that need to learn how to ice fish! It happens every year, the ice starts melting, we get some open water and warm afternoons, everybody thinks it is time to fish, and then they discover the water is still cold, the fish are hard to catch, and then the …
Read More »A Sandhills Perch Safari
My son and I made it out to the glorious Nebraska sandhills for another ice-fishing trip this past month. I have been swamped with “important” stuff to blog about since then and have not been able to tell you about it. Time to change that. We love ice-fishing Nebraska’s sandhill lakes; they truly are some of the best ice-fishing in the country for a variety of species of fish, northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegills, yellow perch, black crappies, we love …
Read More »First Trout Slam Completed!
It was only a month ago that we introduced our new angler recognition program–the Nebraska Trout Slam. At the end of my blog post on the subject I challenged to see who would be first. Well, it did not take long! Alliance angler is first Nebraska Trout Slam recipient ALLIANCE, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has its first official Trout Slam angler. Justin Powell of Alliance was the first to meet the requirements of the new program, …
Read More »Quick News Items, March 1, 2018
I just got a blog post up yesterday with a major news item, spring trout stocking, but I need to get another one up today with a couple of minor news items. No, these will not impact as many people, but if you were planning a late ice, ice-fishing trip into the north-central sandhills or planning to hit some early spring open water below Gavins Point Dam, you will need to know! Boating restrictions temporarily in place below Gavins Point …
Read More »Spring Trout Stocking, 2018
Man, we had a couple of warm days this week and my phone started ringing, “when are the trout going to be stocked?” Personally, I would rather we had ice to fish for another month, but if you wanna know: Rainbow trout stockings scheduled this spring LINCOLN, Neb. – Catchable-size rainbow trout are being stocked in city ponds, park lakes, and other waters across the state by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. These stockings will enhance fishing opportunities this …
Read More »Application Period for Archery Paddlefish Permits
Again I am blogging about something you might have already seen, but I want to spread the word as much as possible and there is something upon which I especially would like to comment. So, as I have often done, starting with the news release: Archery paddlefish applications accepted March 1-14 LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will accept archery paddlefish permit applications March 1-14. The application period begins at 1 p.m. Central Time on March 1. …
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