Fishing

Another spring of trout fishing fun is on tap in Nebraska. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is scheduling the release of rainbow trout in waters across the state. This will give anglers and families, especially at city ponds and lakes, additional angling opportunities for this popular species. It starts March 11, opening day of the Trout Lake at Two Rivers State Recreation Area in Douglas County. All trout caught in this lake must be harvested and not released. Anglers …

News item for the blog today.  I want to spread the word on this: Game and Parks will certify youth fishing instructors across state The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors at workshops in five locations across the state in the coming months. Instructors are part of the Youth Fishing Program, a statewide team of volunteers and Game and Parks staff who host educational fishing events. Trainings will take place at: -The Mark, Elkhorn, March 19, …

My wife thinks I am a hoarder. I believe I am a collector of things. I tell my wife, Polly, that a collector finds special value in one type of thing but the hoarder finds value in innumerable things, thus the reason for keeping everything. I don’t keep everything. Just the cool things of value, whether intrinsically or monetarily, that I find outdoors or outdoors-related to be displayed. I guess you could say that I am into ‘alternate de-cluttering.’ For …

The east access road off NW 84th Street, leading to the boat ramp and parking lot at Wildwood Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, will be closed Feb. 28 for tree clearing. The tree clearing in the parking area is in preparation for a boat launch improvement project expected to begin later this summer. This is a joint project between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District. The road closure is expected to …

It is late February.  You know what that means?! Sport Show!  The Omaha International Boat, Sports and Travel Show. I can neither confirm nor deny that Greg Wagner and myself will be hanging around the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission booth over the weekend.  Stop by, see if we are there, look at my Nebraska fish pictures, listen to some stories, tell some yourself, buy your permits, ask your questions!

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors at workshops in five locations across the state in the coming months. Instructors are part of the Youth Fishing Program, a statewide team of volunteers and Game and Parks staff who host educational fishing events. Trainings will take place at: The Mark, Elkhorn, March 19, 2-5 p.m.; Schramm Education Center, Gretna, March 26, 2-5 p.m.; Ponca State Park, April 23, 9 a.m.-noon; Fort Kearny State Historical Park, May 10, …

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. Postal mail applications must be received in Game and Parks’ Lincoln office by 5 p.m. CST and online applications by 11:59 p.m. March 14. A nonrefundable $7 application fee is due at the time of application. Applicants supplying valid email addresses will be notified when the draw is complete. Those not providing valid email …

If you have been hooked on the fly-fishing game, you might as well take the next step! Game and Parks to host fly-tying workshops in March Anglers can learn the basics of fly tying that will prepare them to catch trout and panfish this spring. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will host fly-tying workshops March 8 and 12 at the Nebraska Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln. Members of the Cornhusker Fly Fishers Club will teach these sessions, which will …

You saw the title of this blog post.  It is a title that I have used more than once, but I have never used it in this way. . . . At the beginning of the classroom ice fishing clinic in Kearney a few weeks ago, we started by mentioning some of the reasons we love to ice fish.  I have a hard time talking about that without cracking up.  Yes, I suppose I am soft.  I have so many …

Winter Storm Diaz, the massive blizzard that moved across Nebraska in December 2022, now has claimed less visible victims — countless fish in at least 20 Sandhills and Panhandle lakes. Low oxygen levels have been recorded in many of the regions’ shallow, highly vegetated lakes, said Al Hanson, fisheries supervisor for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s northwestern district. As anglers are reporting dead plants and fish on their underwater cameras, people making long trips to Sandhills lakes for fishing …