Fishing

Summer is the best time of year to fish topwater baits; topwater baits for several species of fish.  Now maybe you spend all your time bouncing bottom while you are fishing, and in that case you are about to ignore me.  But, you should not.  You should be fishing topwater baits at least part of the time, if not a lot of the time. A couple of years back I blogged about the variety of topwater baits, tools, and how …

By Jerry Kane Nebraska Game and Parks Commission With fishing bait, you can use things fish want to eat, or things that look, smell like, or mimic things fish think they want to eat. You can use live, artificial or prepared baits to attract the fish to your hook using movement, vibration, color and/or scent. New anglers should learn the differences between types of baits and understand how to choose a bait for the type of fish he or she …

I have a miscellany of items I want to highlight today, nothing major, but of interest to Nebraska anglers! Boat ramp now open at Indian Cave State Park LINCOLN, Neb. – The boat ramp at Indian Cave State Park is open for use following repairs. During the brief closure, silt was removed from the area, a guardrail was replaced and riprap was repaired along the bank. An entry permit is required of each vehicle entering Indian Cave State Park, which …

If you have not needed a minute or three during this whole coronavirus thing to sit down, count to 10, and chill out, well, maybe you are asleep. Then the stinkin’ “Big 10” goes nuclear and ruins our whole Husker football and volleyball seasons.  AAAAArrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! The absolute best remedy for that is time on the water.  Hope you get to do that, and soon! But if you need a minute, right now, right where you sit: If you are like …

Some of us pointy-headed fish biologists share an adage, “The only constant in nature is change.” If you live in Nebraska, you should know that is truth.  Our weather is always changing.  Our climate changes from year to year.  We have wet spells, dry spells.  I have heard sandhillers say, no matter how wet it has been, that we are never more than about three weeks away from the next drought. That is life in the Great Plains. If you …

By Jerry Kane Nebraska Game and Parks Commission For a novice angler, selecting fishing tackle can be intimidating. An angler will find a lot to pick from at the store. Aisles of items, in fact. Any angler can keep things basic for starters, especially with simple hooks, sinkers and bobbers. Hooks Hooks can be used with worms, minnows, prepared baits or plastic baits. They come in a variety of styles, sizes and colors. A good selection of hooks that will …

Just want to mention a couple of friendly reminders in my blog today.  I hear a lot of things from a lot of anglers, and it seems there are always a lot of misconceptions and misinformation. . . . Total Length There are a lot of ways to measure fish.  With length limits you WILL need to measure at least some of them.  Pointy-headed fisheries biologists measure what we call total length.  The total length of a fish is measured …

I have had several blogs about Nebraska mustelids (members of the weasel family).  Badgers and skunks have provided some entertaining encounters, and I often share a shoreline with a semi-aquatic mink while I am fishing.  Mink were one of my Gramps Roth’s favorite catches on his trap line, and they have been for me too. There is another semi-aquatic mustelid that I am still waiting to run into–otters. On a couple of occasions at Calamus Reservoir, I believe I saw …

By Larry Pape Nebraska Game and Parks Commission How much time do you want to spend untangling your fishing line? Zero, none, never! While I cannot guarantee you a tangle-free life, there are ways to help spend more time fishing, and it starts by using the right gear for the conditions and your skill level. If you are teaching a beginning angler, here is what they need to know about rods, reels and line. Reels There are four types of …

I suppose I better explain the reference in the title of this blog, some of you ain’t old enough to get it. Back in 1992, you know, last century, there was a movie called A River Runs Through It.  It was about fly-fishing. Actually, it was about a lot more than that.  If you really want to know, check out the old Siskel and Ebert Review. My review is shorter:  It was about the adventures of two Maclean brothers growing …