Hunting

Still have an open Nebraska Spring Turkey Permit?  If so, you could be holding the golden-ticket to some of the best memory-maker hunts the spring has to offer.  You might need some minor tweaks to your strategies, though… More and more hens are starting to nest full time now.  While some others, for whatever reason, won’t be nesting at all this year.  So gobblers are trolling for any and all the remaining hens interested in breeding while avoiding hens that …

Once again this blog will be interrupted from its usual fish and fishing content because its author has been distracted by gobbling turkeys.  Actually, Nebraska’s spring turkey season has been ongoing for several weeks now, about time to give a report. . . . One advantage that Nebraska offers spring turkey hunters is the ability to hunt statewide on the same permit.  Each spring I enjoy some casual hunts close to home, when time allows, as well as some more …

You’re a hunter. You’re an angler. Or, perhaps you’re both like me. Maybe, you’re even a trapper. You know that you are the principal contributor, the main backer of wildlife conservation, management, habitat enhancement and protection in our country. You know that hunters and anglers were the driving forces behind the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a set of wildlife management and conservation principles established more than a century ago that declare fish and wildlife belong to all Americans, and that they need to be scientifically managed in a way …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will host a public meeting to gather input on hunting at Summit Lake State Recreation Area in Burt County on May 15. Currently, approximately 175 acres of the 535-acre area are open to hunting annually beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day. Rifle deer hunting also is permitted at the site. Game and Parks will seek input on the continuation of hunting at his area during the meeting, which will take place …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Private landowners have until June 15 to enroll their land in the Open Fields and Waters (OFW) Program. Through OFW, landowners can earn additional income for allowing walk-in hunting, trapping and/or fishing access on their properties. John Laux, Upland Habitat and Access Coordinator for Nebraska Game and Parks, said OFW is a win-win for both private landowners and hunters. “Participating landowners benefit from the extra income and our hunters and anglers (who help fund the program) have …

By the time you are reading this blog post, I may be in a panic.  We had so much winter in spring this year, and now it is finally nice and the spring is going to go too quick and I have too much to do!  I may not spend as much time on the blog here for a few days because I will be “out”.  I have some family celebrations to attend, and in the mean time there will …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Gov. Pete Ricketts has signed into law a measure that increases liquidated damages levied against persons who violate certain Nebraska game laws by killing, possessing or selling wildlife illegally. Liquidated damages are assessed by the courts that are in addition to fines imposed for violating the game law. These monies from liquidated damages then are returned to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and credited to the Game Fund. LB 1008, which was introduced by Sen. Bruce …

I have warned you that this time of year there is pretty much only one thing on my mind.  Through the magic of technology I can prove that to you. . . . I had a dream last night, here is what happens EVERY TIME I yelp on a turkey call. . . . https://www.facebook.com/203398586930712/videos/203749893562248/ Maybe I just need to learn to whistle? Obviously, I found that video on the interwebs.  What is going on there, I have no idea, …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved recommendations for 2018 deer, antelope and elk hunting seasons when it met April 19 at Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford. Among the big game changes to Commission orders: Deer — 1,550 buck permits are added in the Calamus East, Frenchman, Keya Paha, Loup East, Loup West, Plains, Platte, and Sandhills units. — 700 buck permits are removed from the Blue Northwest and Wahoo units. — 750 any-deer permits are …

Nebraskans have become accustomed to seeing wild turkeys from border to border but it has not always been that way. When I was growing up in southwestern Nebraska in the 1970s and ‘80s, it was much more of a rarity to see them. Similar to many wildlife species, wild turkeys are native to Nebraska but factors related to Euro-American settlement wiped them out of the state in the early 1900s. Along with a lot of other wildlife, though, turkeys have …