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Barbs and Backlashes

Aquatic Habitat Update

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Short blog post today, just want to update folks on some of the Aquatic Habitat work that is in progress right now: Valentine NWR aquatic habitat project continues LINCOLN – Users of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge will continue to see construction and equipment along public roads and trails until freeze-up as an aquatic habitat project progresses there. Road and trail closures could occur for short periods as the project progresses. Access for ice fishing this winter should not be …

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Net Man

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One thing every angler needs is a good net man!  Unfortunately, many do not take that responsibility seriously. You know what they say, “Can’t find good help anymore”. This fall has been beautiful and there are still lots of fish to be caught, including many for which you will need a net!  Hope you and your net-person get to practice your fishing, and netting, skills this weekend! “Fish On!”

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Micro-Fishing

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One of my favorite themes about fishing in Nebraska is the variety of species and fishing opportunities our great state offers.  There are around a hundred species of fish swimming in Nebraska waters.  More than half of those hundred species are minnows of some kind and a variety of other small fish that typically are not caught on hook and line.  That is unless you are “micro-fishing”.  Micro-fishing?????  What in the world is “micro-fishing”?  Watch this and you will get …

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Happy Halloweeny

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Today is Halloween.  I feel obligated to do a Halloween blog. Fishing kayaks have become very popular in the past few years.  I have not purchased one yet.  I am waiting for the fishing pumpkins thing to take off. My kids carved several fish or wildlife-themed pumpkins over the years.  Here are some of the photos I could still find. I would go fishing tonight, but I am afraid of running into the devil mink, Or a scary fish with a …

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Get Wild!

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A couple of weeks ago I shared a Cabela’s commercial that I really liked, The Feeling Never Ends.  This Friday I have another one, this one from Orvis: I post these videos not because I am promoting any company, business or product.  But, Cabela’s and Orvis both have some really good stuff and if you are like me, you already have a bunch of it, and find something new to buy at nearly every opportunity. No, I post these videos …

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Fall Tour

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I had some meetings to attend “out west” a couple of weeks ago.  That gave me a chance to re-visit some places I do not get to nearly enough.  Fall is one of the prettiest times to be there.  I had to stop and catch my breath when I finally saw the end of the road. The view was just as pretty looking back from whence I had just come. Here is one of the cathedrals I visited. And looking …

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Standard Surveys

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Every season there is something going on if you are a fisheries biologist.  I would not say that there is any “down time”.  However, I would say that spring and then fall it is particularly busy.  Right now, Nebraska’s fisheries biologists are on the water sampling fish populations on a variety of waters across the state. Nebraska’s fisheries biologists conduct what we call “standard surveys”.  Those are fish population surveys that are carried out according to standardized, scientific methods in …

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What is a Fish Worth?

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I am going to plagiarize myself in this blog post and repeat something I wrote a few years back, back before this whole blogging thing.  I will update some figures and so forth, and add some comments, but this originally ran in the January/February 1998 issue of NEBRASKAland magazine. Determining the value of a fish is difficult.  Some anglers see fish and fishing as an integral part of life and might consider fish priceless.  Others might set its value based …

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Cornhusker Fly Fishers

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Want to mention another excellent Nebraska fishing organization, the Cornhusker Fly Fishers.  They meet monthly at our Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium south of Gretna.  If you check their calendar, you will see that this is a very active bunch of anglers doing fly-tying, fishing events, casting classes, meetings and a whole lot more.  Many of them are volunteer fishing instructors and also help with kid’s fishing events, family fishing nights, sport shows, and Expos.  If you are an angler, especially a fly angler, …

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Cold Water Stream Plan

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A few weeks ago a story ran in the Omaha World-Herald about a new comprehensive plan addressing stream habitat needs across the state.  Please take some time and read the Marjie Ducey story, Plan aims to preserve streams across Nebraska. I wanted to mention this in a blog post to fill in a few blanks.  First of all, if you are interested in details, if you want to see the actual 120-page plan, here it is, Cool Water Stream Management …

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