Barbs and Backlashes

I know some of you are thinking about it already!  I am!  Yep, cannot wait for ice! I am old enough to have ice-fished in a time when there was not a plethora of ice fishing products on the market.  Believe it or not, there was a time when if you wanted an ice-fishing shack, you made your own.  There were some ingenious designs and creativity.  Everyone tried to make shacks that could haul as much as possible and yet …

I got drawn into an on-line discussion the other day about the variable colorations of rainbow trout.  The discussion got me thinking about the different colored rainbows I have caught from a variety of Nebraska waters.  I put together a little “collage” of some of them: Rainbow trout are a species that has been “domesticated”.  They have been selectively bred to be easy to raise in a hatchery.  As a result, there are a variety of different “strains” of rainbow …

Heading out the door for grandma’s house.  I will post a short blog here, and will get back to blogging when I get the chance after the holiday. We will celebrate Thanksgiving very much the same as most of you–family, feasting, football.  In addition, we will work in some time in the field and on the water when we can. Once again, we have a lot for which to be thankful.  I know that sometimes gets lost in all the …

Just spreading the news again in this blog post: Bartunek family receives grand prize boat in Take ’em Fishing program LINCOLN, Neb. – When the opportunity arose, Mitch and Heather Bartunek decided to introduce their 2-year-old daughter, Tinley, to fishing. And now, after winning the grand prize in the 2021 Take ’em Fishing program, they’re looking forward to enjoying future fishing trips with their growing family from a new Bass Tracker Classic XL fishing boat. “This gives us new opportunities …

I spend a lot of time on shorelines. The trash makes me sick.  Pretty much anytime, anywhere, all I have to do is glance around.  It is everywhere. I have to apologize. . . . I used to think the “litterbugs” were worse than pigs.  However, that is offensive to both bugs and pigs. I do not have a solution.  Yes, you can take a garbage bag and spend some of your time picking up after the slobs.  If you …

I have been blogging for a lot of years now.  It has been long enough that yes, there are “re-runs”.  Many of the same topics are relevant seasonally, year after year, and they get repeated in some form. There are other topics that I may have blogged about in the past, and I like to reference those old blogs.  Problem is some of those disappear from the archive over time.  When that happens, I may literally post them again.  Going …

We had the Take ‘Em Fishing Challenge again in 2021.  The deadline for participation was the end of October, so our challenge for this year has finished.  There will be news on the grand prize winner soon. I hope you got a chance to participate.  I hope you found someone and took them fishing!!!!!  If you did that, I hope it becomes a habit, whether there is a chance of winning prizes or not. Looking back, I know this year’s …

Several weeks ago I blogged about “Scary Stuff” and how a little thrill now and then keeps us alive.  In our outdoor pursuits, knowing there are big, bad predators out there is what makes the “wild”, well, wild.  It is what makes it worth the time spent there. I get the same feeling on the water.  There are monsters there too and most of the time we cannot see them.  When I finally make contact, my eyes get wide, I …

A month ago I blogged about a Nebraskaland story that highlighted Fort Robinson as Nebraska’s Fishing State Park.  Justin Haag wrote that story.  At the time it was published, I knew there was a companion story to come.  Well, it is here.  This one reviews the history of the waters and fisheries around Ft. Rob, and the Crawford Fish Hatchery.  Justin did a great job and it is a great story.  Follow the link and read it! Fort Robinson Exceptional …

I guess daylight savings time ends this weekend. Whatever. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour Saturday night.  That is a relatively easy task for most of us, but a little more work for some: Sorry, I could not resist.  I thought it was funny. I wonder if they have to move the cars at Carhenge in Alliance? The old Bauer homestead and my grandparent’s old place are both located north of Alliance.  My grandmother was not a …