Conservation

One reason Nebraska claims to have the nation’s best turkey hunting is its variety of subspecies of the big bird. Bryce Gerlach, a forester for the National Wild Turkey Federation and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission who is an avid hunter, said the Cornhusker State is special because three of the four subspecies of the federation’s popular Grand Slam reside within Nebraska’s borders. Once extirpated from Nebraska, the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a conservation success story here and throughout …

It is hard to write a blog about fishing jigs.  Jigs come in an infinite variety of sizes, shapes, styles, colors, bodies, etc., etc.  Likewise, jigs can be fished in a variety of ways for a variety of species of fish.  You can catch anything that swims on a jig.  Furthermore, if you learn to be a good jig-fisher, you will flat out be a good fisher.  Period.  Many of the best sticks I know are great jig fishers. So, …

*BLOGGER’S NOTE: The National Wild Turkey Federation calls it: The Great Jake Debate. And, it  has surfaced again. It is the continual debate regarding whether or not to shoot a jake (a juvenile or nearly one-year old  male wild turkey) during a spring wild turkey hunting season, if legal. In Nebraska, it is allowable to shoot jakes during the spring turkey season. But let me tell you there is much misinformation floating around hunting circles about this ongoing discussion. In …

Maybe I am running out of stuff to blog about.  Maybe I am just getting growly from all this coronoavirus stuff. . . . Judging from the activity I am seeing on our waters and the questions I am answering over and over and over again, we gotta bunch of folks fishing this spring that have not been fishing for a while, or maybe never before.  So, let me go back to the very basics and compile a bunch of …

From what I am hearing and seeing, Nebraskans are doing a pretty good job of this! https://youtu.be/VSN_L2uqugI And that is a great thing!  Just make sure you do it a rod’s length apart! Have I ever mentioned that I prefer longer rods? Have a great weekend.  Stay safe.

If you have followed my blog for a year or three, you know this time of year I am distracted.  Distracted by gobbling turkeys.  Yep, I am pretty much all fishing, all the time, but when the turkeys are gobbling, I am gone. I love everything about wild turkeys.  They are beautiful birds and provide hours of entertainment every spring.  I love just watching their interactions and antics.  They are a challenge to hunt, and when taken they are great …

CHADRON, Neb. – Forest thinning is either underway or scheduled to begin soon at three Nebraska Game and Parks Commission properties in the Pine Ridge near Crawford and Harrison. The projects consist of 258 acres at Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area, 84 acres at Ponderosa Wildlife Management Area, and 80 acres at Fort Robinson State Park. The work is beginning this spring and will continue into fall. Most of the efforts are targeting stands of ponderosa pine trees, which, as with …

Nebraska muskies have received some love recently; let me share a couple of articles with you: The first ran in Omaha Magazine and was written by Doug Meigs: The Fish of 10,000 Casts The second was in Nebraskaland: A 50-inch Minimum STORY BY JEFF KURRUS Merritt Reservoir has long been one of Nebraska’s top fishing destinations. Merritt is an irrigation reservoir, but unlike some others, it fills every year because of the ample flow of the Snake River. It consistently …

Morel mushroom hunters will know this plant: Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), a biennial, is one of the first signs of green-up in Missouri River woodlands. This low-lying plant prefers moist soils, shade and limited sun, and while its heart-shaped leaves might look inviting during the bareness of early spring, garlic mustard is highly invasive. It outcompetes native plants and threatens the biodiversity of our woodland ecosystems. Distribution The story of how garlic mustard arrived to the New World is similar …

I know what you have all been doing the past few weeks.  While you are “working at home” you are watching a lot more TV, listening to a lot more radio.  By now you have seen all the same stupid movies a couple, three times.  Sports TV is worthless, but still better than sports talk radio is right now.  Sure, you can listen to music, but that gets old too. The best solution would be the sounds of nature; there …