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Flanagan Opinions

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Anglers in Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass, and Dodge counties; listen up, this blog post is for you. . . . Some of you will be receiving a questionnaire about Flanagan Lake.  That questionnaire will be coming via e-mail. Most of you know that Flanagan is a relatively new reservoir in the Omaha metro.  There has been a total catch & release regulation at Flanagan since it opened.  That regulation was implemented to give the fish community there the best chance …

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Temperature Under the Ice

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Finally!  We finally are having some cold weather, some ice-making weather! Those of you who think mild winters are great may want to turn your heads while I turn some cartwheels! However, you hard-core ice anglers are going to notice some changes in the coming days; changes that affect the number of fish you are catching. I have spent a lot of time messing with a digital thermometer under the ice.  You would be surprised at what the water temperatures …

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Hang On!

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If you have been ice-fishing for any amount of time, you probably have a story or three about an ice shack blowing away.  It goes something like this: If you want to watch another one follow this LINK . Of course those remind me of some stories. . . . I watched a couple of guys try to pop-up a shelter on the ice during one gale.  They spread it out on the ice and the skinny, little guy got …

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Shrimp?

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I hear the comments every winter, usually in relation to some waterbody or another producing BIG yellow perch.  The narrative usually goes like this, “The perch there grow so large because of all the freshwater shrimp they eat.”  Many times, the comments refer to someplace other than Nebraska, often someplace to the north of Nebraska.  Of course, the belief is the presence of these “freshwater shrimp” is obviously why the fishing is so much better “up there”. Time for a …

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Long Pine Habitat Restoration

Our Aquatic Habitat Program has completed projects from one corner of the state to the other.  I try to note those accomplishments frequently here on my blog.  In conjunction with one of our consulting firms, JEO Consulting, here is a video of recent work that has been completed on Long Pine Creek: If you have not been to Long Pine Creek, there is quite a bit of public access there, Trout Fishing in Nebraska’s Streams.  The video highlights some of …

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Post-Season Scouting For Deer

If you’re a deer hunter in Nebraska, you have wrapped up your seasons. Now, the fun begins. It is time to post-season scout for deer. Say what? Post-season scout for deer? So, you’re thinking: Why in the world would a deer hunter scout immediately after a season ends through the winter? After all, the next Nebraska deer hunting season doesn’t open until Sept. 1 (archery), right? Plus, deer will completely re-pattern in spring, summer and fall. Hear me out. I …

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Will We Ever have Good Ice?

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Unfortunately, it has been a relatively warm winter.  Yes, since the first of January, I have been on the ice a number of times; however I would not say ice conditions have been great.  From what I am hearing, that is still the case in much of Nebraska. The high winds we had a couple weeks ago killed us.  Nothing “eats” ice like wind.  The ice can withstand some days of warm temperatures, can even withstand some rain and snow-melt.  …

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Go Big, Not Just in the Fall

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If you have been reading my blog for a while, you have probably heard me talk about big baits for big fish.  I particularly return to that theme in the fall, one of the best times of year to catch big fish, big fish of a variety of species. Now, it is all relative.  Yes, I tend to fish smaller baits through a hole in the ice–smaller than I do in open water.  However, the last few ice seasons I …

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Name It

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I have hesitated to blog about this. I am so confused. According to the latest e-mail I received this morning from the Walleye Technical Committee of the North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society, it is officially Stizostedion and NOT Sander. What? Let me explain.  Most of us learned that the scientific name of walleye was Stizostedion vitreum.  I am pretty sure I even memorized that in an Ichthyology class.  Then there was some question about that, and it …

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State Record Summary, 2020

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We had some state record fish caught last fall, so I realize that it has not been that long since I gave a state record update (State Record Updata, Fall 2020).  However, it is a new year, and I want so summarize the state record fish we had last year.  It was a busy year! Surface Spearfishing One record fish was taken by surface spearfishing in 2020.  It was a 10 pound 7 ounce silver carp taken from the Platte …

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