You have a current Nebraska spring wild turkey hunting permit and habitat stamp. You go hunting. You set up along a field edge bordering old-growth, open woodland habitat. You strike your slate call: “Yelp, yelp, yelp.” You pause for a moment. A gobble echoes nearby. It sounds like a jake, a nearly one-year old  male wild turkey born the previous spring. A few minutes pass. All of the sudden, here it comes running right toward the decoys, with its bright blue, red and white head, small, …

Tersh Kepler of Omaha, NE is closely monitoring his yard for the appearance of dandelions. Why? Because, that will be his sign that morel mushrooms have popped up in his river bottom woods. Many folks in Nebraska are getting antsy to head to their morel mushroom picking spots along river and creek woodlands. But, when will the morels emerge? Kepler says the sprouting of dandelions in his Omaha yard will be the indicator, however,  he knows there is more to it. Whether vigilant for dandelion flowers, tree buds, blooming lilacs or flowering woodland …

Nebraska’s popular archery spring wild turkey hunting season is in full swing, and seemingly a growing number of hunters have added another piece of legal archery equipment to their repertoire  — the modern crossbow. The word — crossbow — can stir up a very heated debate in conventional bow hunting circles. Consider that a similar debate also took place when the compound bow was first introduced into the hunting scene many years ago. Some folks will be quick to let you know that a crossbow or arbalest is …

Nebraska’s spring wild turkey hunting is tough to beat. It really is. Trust me, I know from many years of firsthand experience hunting throughout the state! And, I continue to hunt wild turkeys in the springtime from the Missouri River bottom woodlands of Washington County all the way to Platte River bottom woodlands of Dawson County. We Nebraskans as well as our nonresident visitors have plenty of reasons,15 at least, to enjoy the state and take to the woods to call in a bearded bird this year. An adult …

Blogger’s Note: By popular demand and because it is Saint Patrick’s Day week, I am bringing back my blog about corning beef and wild game. I hope you enjoy it and find the time to try one of these delicious recipes. I raise my glass to you and exclaim: “Sláinte!” (slawn-cha), which is an Irish Gaelic term meaning “health.” Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! GW. Saint Patrick’s Day is one of the greatest food holidays of all time! All of the savory, salty corned beef you can eat, scrumptiously …

They strike often, fight strongly, are easy to clean and cook, and taste great! Nevertheless, a significant asset to many of its excellent qualities as a game fish is the fact that few foods are as nutritious as a stocked trout from Nebraska waters! And, get this: More than 36,000 skillet-sized rainbow and tiger trout are in the process of being stocked in a number of waters around the state for your spring fishing! Trout are a cold-water species that will not survive the warm months in many of the ponds and …

The calendar indicates that it is obviously still winter. But, the days are getting longer, the spring migration of wild fowl is well underway, a few green shoots of plants have emerged — all pointing out that spring is just around the bend. For those of us who spring wild turkey hunt, our thoughts are drifting to the woods where we stake our blinds and decoys. A walk in the woods where wild turkeys reside or frequent is a refreshing and welcomed activity in late winter on a nice, …

While there will be more chilly, frosty nights — and yes, most likely, more snow — in the Nebraska countryside over the next several weeks, it is safe to say that spring is coming! So, in advance of those days exhibiting warm sunshine, calm breezes and moist conditions, there is a widespread edible, palatable fungi that you need to know. Along with finding and picking morel mushrooms, there is the dryad’s saddle to harvest in your favorite woodlands. Dryad’s saddle? The Dryad’s saddle (Polyporus squamosus) , a.k.a., pheasant back’s mushroom, or hawks wing, is …

They are not “sky carp,” “lutefisk with feathers,” “an over-cooked catcher’s mitt,” or trash birds.  Your blogger displays snow geese harvested during a recent Light Goose Conservation Order hunt in south-central Nebraska. Photo by Jim Druliner of Omaha, NE. They are classified as light geese — snow and Ross’s geese to be exact, and they are to be respected and revered like any other natural resource! In fact, they are a worthy adversary of hunters and actually great to eat! Snow and Ross’s geese, …

In a casual conversation, whenever the topic of ice fishing is brought up, and I’m visiting with folks who don’t ice fish, predictably many questions arise. The most common one: “Why do you even go ice fishing, it’s not very safe, is it? Then, there are these:  “It looks so cold, why on earth would any reasonable person consider going fishing sitting on a big ice cube?” “I don’t get it, why try to catch fish through the ice in the winter?” And, then there’s this question I had recently: “Have you …