Barbs and Backlashes

I was thrilled to look at the front page of the Omaha World-Herald last Friday and see this story, http://www.omaha.com/article/20130531/NEWS/705319908/1016#volunteers-keep-nebraska-trout-stream-the-perfect-spot-to-spawn .  I would post a copy here, but I am sure the World-Herald would rather have you go to their website and read it.  Doooo it! While you are at it, make sure to check out Nebraska Trout Unlimited’s website: http://www.tu710.org/home/ They have a great series of photos of the work they are doing on the East Branch of Verdigre …

Got a video I have to share with you this Friday; take 5 minutes or so to watch it.  You will not be sorry. As soon as you see the beginning, I know what you are going to think:  “Hey, that ain’t Nebraska”. Yeah, whatever.  I have been to the place shown in the video; it is beautiful and the fishing is unbelievable. But, that ain’t why I have to share this video.  No, listen to the young lady that …

Let me again refer back to our current fishing promotion and commercial for this blog post. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IohDx0fuqxQ[/youtube] We kicked around a lot of ideas for that promotion and settled on the “It’s Never JUST Fishing” theme.  That theme means a lot of different things to hard-core anglers.  One meaning that many of us thought of was all the logistics and preparations that go into a fishing trip–getting the boat ready to go, putting new line on reels, finding bait and …

One of the most enjoyable things I get to do in my job is meet a lot of outstanding anglers and outstanding people.  One that I originally crossed paths many years ago is Teeg Stouffer, the founder of an organization called Recycled Fish, http://www.recycledfish.org/index.htm .  Teeg is one of those folks who seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm, you know the kind of guy who has caffeine coursing through his veins.  His energy and passion is infectious and you …

The “theme” of our current “Go Fishing” promotion, http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/gofishing/ , is “It’s never JUST fishing”.  Maybe next week I will blog more about how we came up with that theme and what it means to us.  That theme reminded me of this song by Trace Adkins: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IheODRwalEw[/youtube] I like a variety of music including some “Country/Western”, but I have to tell you what I hate about some Country/Western songs–they choke me up.  I have a daughter, have spent as much …

By this time I imagine most of you probably have seen our new “Go Fishing” commercial.  Just in case you have not . . . . [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IohDx0fuqxQ[/youtube] This is a promotion we are doing this “spring” in order to try to recruit more folks, especially families, to go fishing.  To go along with the commercial and other media promotions that we are doing, we have created a web page specifically with information that beginning anglers should find useful, http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/gofishing/ . …

May 18-24 is National Safe Boating Week, http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/index.html . This is a good reminder for all of us. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSoyoGzSgRc[/youtube] I have seen some statistics on boating accidents in Nebraska last year.  There were 8 boating and boating-related fatalities last year; in 5 of those 8 cases a life jacket would have been a life saver if it had been worn!  In the other 3 cases traumatic injury was the cause of the fatality.

I know for some of my blog readers this is not new and you have already seen it.  But, I know that there are others that have not seen it and need to! I hate litterbugs!  The trash that infests the shorelines of many of our fisheries makes me furious.  Sometimes a person can either cry about it, or laugh about it.  One of my buddies spends way too much time watching River Monsters, http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/river-monsters , and found a way …

This may be my last report from the spring turkey “woods” for 2013.  It has been one of the best seasons ever for me; I have assisted/guided in the taking of several birds and then finally punched a tag for myself.  Once again this year, I traveled to the Ponderosa pine-covered canyons that break into the Niobrara River for my bird.  I have hunted turkeys this spring from the rolling farm land of southeast Nebraska to the rugged cedar tree-studded …

This news is over a month old now, and I suspect many hard-core anglers may not even realize that we recently lost a legend, Doug Hannon.  Here is the release that ran on the Bassmaster website, http://www.bassmaster.com/news/doug-hannon-dead-66 . Doug Hannon dead at 66 “The Bass Professor” passed away at his Florida home Don Wirth Doug Hannon was known to millions as “The Bass Professor.” By Ken Duke APR 1, 2013 Doug Hannon, “The Bass Professor,” died at his home in …