Hunting

See the late summer fun of catching bullfrogs along the water’s edge on my weekly TV outdoor report. That’s because Nebraska’s bullfrog season (that falls under fishing) opens this Saturday, August 15th, woo-hoo! Learn about bullfroggin’ on the report which airs LIVE on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News Thursday at 6 p.m. CST during the station’s sportscast with me and either Ross Jernstrom or Jeff Packer. If you’re unable to view the live broadcast of the outdoor report, I remind you that …

“Frog catching is the most fun a human being can have while on this earth.” – Jase Robertson. Maybe it’s because I have rural Nebraska roots. Maybe it’s because I grew up exploring the Platte River bottoms and nearby sandpit lakes in Sarpy County. Maybe it’s the wild and crazy spirit that I possess. I don’t know. Whatever the case may be, I absolutely, positively enjoy bullfrog hunting in late summer at night! Froggin’, as it is commonly called, offers an unusual and …

One of the many great things about hunting game animals and birds in Nebraska is developing a close relationship with the landowner and his or her family. In my case, besides being able to deer hunt on their river land, sweet corn is but yet another sweet reward from my own eastern Nebraska landowner friends who have become like family to me. In fact, the landowner and his family have even helped me pick a pickup load of sweet corn to take home! “Take all …

“Laws change; people die; the land remains.” – Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States.  Farmers, I am one of you. I am a landowner. I manage our nearly 150 year-old family farm here in southeastern Nebraska. No, I am not some crazy, wild conservationist just because I work for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. I am a crazy, wild conservationist because I am a progressive Nebraska landowner who has farmed his best ground and conserved the rest of it. Over the years I have …

The Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) program in Nebraska continues to grow and empower women. Nebraska was the second state to embrace this outdoor program started by Dr. Christine Thomas from Wisconsin in 1991. Thomas had a mission to give women the knowledge to be active in the outdoors and through the BOW program women gain the confidence needed to engage in all types of outdoor activities. The BOW program has grown not only in Nebraska and Wisconsin but is …

Just received this note from Lindsay Shearer, Nebraska 4-H Camp Operations Coordinator, about a special offer on the 4-H Outdoor Skills summer camps listed here.  I recently wrote about these camps, and others, on the blog The Power of Summer Camp.      hershy “We still have several spots available in the Outdoor Skills Sessions that are hosted in partnership with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, at all 3 of our locations (State 4-H Camp, Destination Camps and Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center). …

I’ve always said the outdoor world presents many different twists and turns, and that’s what makes it so intriguing! I compare entering the outdoor world anytime to going out on that first date: You’re excited, you’re nervous, you’re not wanting to forget anything, you’re probably overdressed and you’re wondering what eventualities might take place. But, I think spending as much time as possible in the field and trying new things improves your overall outdoor knowledge and skill level. In my mind, you’re able …

As you may have heard, Wisconsin lawmakers are currently looking into expanding their blaze orange requirements for deer hunters to allow hot-pink to be worn as well.  The Wisconsin’s Sportsmen’s Caucus – a bipartisan group of lawmakers – hopes the introduced legislation could encourage an even greater breakdown of the gender-divide often seen in hunting, while maintaining the safety aspect of the blaze orange rules.  Females make up about 10% of the deer hunters in Wisconsin, but represent the fastest …

Get your Nebraska outdoor law and regulation questions ready for Conservation Officer Rich Berggren of Waterloo on my Saturday Morning Great Outdoor Radio Show. It airs LIVE from 9-10 a.m. CST on Omaha’s KOZN Radio/1620 AM “The Zone.” Here’s a photo of Rich on a youth spring wild turkey hunt. Rich and I will be covering various do’s & don’ts, regulation reminders and tips for fishing, boating, state parks, wildlife, hunting and even more. Rich will also touch on what it’s like to be a conservation officer. You’ll find this program to …

With just two weekends left in the 2015 Nebraska Spring Turkey Hunting Season, we may be in the ninth inning, but there is still time to score on a gobbler.  In fact, some hunters will find the best hunts of the season in the final days this year. During the peak of breeding, gobblers often have all the hen-attention they want. We are now past this point and the boys are working harder to find willing hens.   Some are more …