Conservation

You all know that big fish turn my crank!  The biggest, baddest predator fish swimming in a body of water, “GET ON MY LINE”!  I spend A LOT of time on the water each year trying to do just that.  The thing is when pursuing those biggest, baddest, top-of-the-food-chain, apex predators, there never are a lot of them and there are a lot of hours of effort for each one hooked.  Yep, sometimes a lot of hard fishing in miserable …

Seen many milkweeds lately? I didn’t think so. They continue to disappear at a disturbing rate. But, who cares? What’s the big deal? They’re just milkweeds anyway, right? Monarch butterflies, which migrate through Nebraska, cannot survive without the milkweed. Their larvae, caterpillars, will only feed on it. Female monarchs need it to lay their eggs. According to National Geographic, the trouble is not only in Mexico with deforestation, but fewer and fewer monarch butterflies are crossing North America to winter into Mexico, and the …

Twin Lakes south of Bassett have been a couple of very productive and popular sandhill lakes over the years.  I just want to point out that there are some improvements coming to those fisheries! Boat ramp improvements planned at Twin Lakes WMA LINCOLN, Neb. – Angler access improvements are planned this summer at Twin Lakes Wildlife Management Area in north-central Nebraska. New boat ramp facilities will be built at both north and south Twin lakes. South Twin will have an …

Lately, I have been seeing this commercial on TV a lot. I love it! “This is my participation trophy”! It is summer, it is the weekend, you know what I am going to say, “Grab the kids and GO FISH”!  You will never regret one second of the time you spend together on the water, and you never know what you might catch, what memories you will make!

LINCOLN, Neb. – Gov. Pete Ricketts has proclaimed that June 19-25 is Nebraska Pollinator Week. This special designation reminds Nebraskans of the importance of pollination to ecosystems, businesses, and people’s lives, while acknowledging the creatures that pollinate. In Nebraska, pollination from the animal kingdom can be credited to species of hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, bees, beetles and flies. Lt. Gov. Mike Foley presented the signed proclamation to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist Melissa Panella on June 7 in a ceremony …

Once again I want to give you an update on the sampling activities of our Game & Parks Commission fisheries biologists and give you an idea of some of the fish they are seeing out there! You know my usual disclaimer, when fisheries biologists are sampling fish we do NOT necessarily go out and just try to collect the biggest fish.  Anglers as a group will see more big fish, and often the biggest fish because anglers target big fish. …

This blog post is going to be a real easy one for me, I am simply going to tell you to follow a link and read another blog post done by one of my Game & Parks Commission co-workers.  Recently, Justin Haag was able to tag along with a couple of our fisheries biologists in western Nebraska while they horse-backed into one of our most remote, and unique, fisheries to do some sampling.  Justin blogged about it here, Fisheries Work …

Sometimes, if you want to get where the fish are, you have to go where other people are not. Such was the case for fisheries biologists in the Pine Ridge last week, as they recruited the help of a Game and Parks Commissioner, a Wyoming outfitter, and six four-legged friends to study one of Nebraska’s most remote public fishing areas. With the help of horses and mules owned by Commissioner Rick Brandt of Roca and outfitter Casey Cary of Powell, …

I have been hearing some “chatter” in a variety of places about the handling of black bass, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, especially concerning the way they are held.  I want to chime in with some comments: First of all, black bass conveniently have relatively large mouths, large enough that an angler can grip those fish by the bottom lip.  Yes, they have teeth, but those teeth are nothing more than very rough abrasive paper.  You know the grip I …

CHADRON, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is urging Panhandle landowners to enroll in programs to improve habitat for upland game birds and other wildlife while providing public hunting access. The programs are key components of the Commission’s Berggren Plan, a five-year initiative for improving pheasant hunting in Nebraska. “These programs not only provide incredible conservation benefits, but also help families get into the field to enjoy the state’s hunting heritage,” said Matt Steffl, the Commission’s northwest district …