How To

In the past couple of years we have seen water levels in the sandhills unlike anything any of us remember.  Roads have been closed, valleys have been flooded, water has been everywhere.  I would not say water levels are low now, it is all relative.  Certainly they are lower. So, I want to spread the word on this: Blue Lake reopens after long closure ALLIANCE, Neb. — A Sandhills fishing destination has reopened after a 28-month closure. The Nebraska Game …

It’s hot. I will always tell you that you cannot catch anything sitting at home on the couch.  However, when it gets this hot, I have to admit my motivation to go fishing wanes a bit.  I might still “wet a line”, but I will be selective about the times and places to do it.  On the other hand, getting into the water sound like a great idea right now. Let’s go there. . . into the water.  I can …

This news release went out late last week.  Once again, I am just trying to spread the word. . . . Grove Trout Rearing Station closing temporarily to visitors July 22, 2021 LINCOLN, Neb. – The Grove Trout Rearing Station near Royal, Nebraska, will be closed to visitors until further notice due to upcoming expected high air temperatures in the area. Trout have been experiencing some health issues as the water to the facility has been warming. Warm water holds …

I always get rather impatient this time of year. Is it because of the weather being so hot, humid and hazy? No. Is it that the hunting seasons are just around the bend? No. Then, why? Well, I am a gatherer, a prairie wanderer – if you will, and I am anxiously waiting to harvest elderberries during these dog days of summer. However, it’s not quite time yet. Here I am checking out wild elderberries for ripeness on a Saunders …

I try to “lighten up” with my Friday blog posts.  There were a couple of things I had in mind for today, but I changed my mind. . . . I love fish pictures, never get tired of fish pictures.  So what could be better than looking over a bunch of fish pictures? We are in our third year of our Take ‘Em Fishing challenge.  Right now there are 24 pages of fish pictures that have been entered for Take …

There have not been a lot of Trout Slam entries coming in, but there have been a few.  Time to give an update and get certificates mailed out. . . . In case you forgot, the Trout Slam is an angler recognition program we initiated a couple of years ago.  We started it to highlight our cold-water fisheries around the state.  Those are some beautiful places, and there are beautiful trout in those waters.  All a person has to do …

I want to point out some fisheries research work currently being done on the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska.  The easiest way for me to do that is to “copy and paste” a page from our July 2021 Nebraskaland Magazine: As the article says, if you happen to catch one of these tagged fish, we would like to know about it.  If you do not have any other contact information, you can always let me know about it, daryl.bauer@nebraska.gov. The …

There is no doubt “the” topic of the week has been the fish die-off at Lake McConaughy.  Here is our official statement from yesterday: LINCOLN, Neb. – The cause of a fish die-off at Lake McConaughy, Nebraska’s largest reservoir, remains inconclusive. Fisheries biologists from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission are investigating a die-off, in which approximately 1,000 dead fish were discovered on the west half of the reservoir. Adult white bass comprised 99% of those fish. Point-source pollution – …

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this is the third year of our “Take ‘Em Fishing” promotion.  In previous blogs, I have mentioned the benefits to finding someone and passing your love of hunting and fishing on to them (e.g. Take ‘Em, Passing It On).  I have emphasized the importance of family in establishing those traditions. This time, let me just point out the obvious! Find someone new or someone who has not fished in a while, take ’em …

One thing you learn as a fisheries manager is that there are a lot of things out of your control.  Take, for example, water levels, either due to “Mother Nature”, power and irrigation districts, or other entities, we have no control over water levels in many Nebraska fisheries. In recent years, we have completed some rehabilitation work at Twin Lakes in the Nebraska sandhills.  Access improvements to both north and south Twin lakes were an important part of that project.  …