Conservation

The rough-legged hawk may not stand out among raptors in looks, but it lives an interesting life. Perhaps you have seen this species along the road lately, but given its somewhat unassuming appearance, have not given it much thought. The rough-legged hawk, with its mottled brown plumage, blends in well with our landscape during the winter months. The rough-legged hawk is one of those species that logs many miles a couple of times annually. Those fence posts and utility poles …

Eastern redcedar invasion is the single largest threat to native grasslands across the Midwest, including the biologically unique Sandhills of Nebraska. This hardy, fast-growing species has long been appreciated for its use as an effective shelterbelt or natural snowfence; wildlife management agencies, including the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, have planted eastern redcedar to provide habitat and winter cover for wildlife. In retrospect, that wasn’t such a good idea. Eastern redcedar grows quickly and is extremely adaptable to a wide …

I always do a short blog post before heading out the door for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Problem is I feel like I say the same thing year after year. Like many of you, I will be traveling, weather permitting, and spending time with family.  One of the themes I repeat every Thanksgiving is that between feasting and time with family, a few of us will slip away to chase some roosters or perhaps dry off a fish or three.  Again, …

Thanksgiving is next week.  I am thinking I may have a more serious blog post then about every thing for which we should be thankful.  Until then, this old commercial came to mind: Yes, I can recite that prayer word-for-word. And, am sincerely thankful for the Rapalas! Have a great weekend!

My buddy Greg Wagner blogged last week about taking good deer photos after a successful deer hunt.  That got me thinking:  Most of Greg’s tips are excellent for taking good fish photos too! You know the shots I am talking about, the “hero” shots.  You caught a big fish and want a good picture of it.  Many of us have albums full of such photos.  So, take the time to read Greg’s blog, and then you know I have another …

I will fish open water as late into the fall as possible.  Pretty sure I ain’t done yet.  But, with the relatively cold fall we have had, I cannot help but wonder, how long until we have ice?  How long until I can ice-fish? Found a local reservoir that was 75% covered with a skim of ice last week! Same reservoir was 100% open water this past weekend. So, it is going to be awhile yet. I found this posted …

“Big, big weekend up at the lodge this weekend!”  Yep, it’s opening weekend of the Nebraska firearm deer season.  No, I am not going to blog about fishing today.  I am betting many of you are getting ready to hunt tomorrow. I love to hunt too, but admittedly do more fishing than hunting.  A lot of that is because there is so much to do and so little time.  I have done a little big game hunting, but not a …

Some Loup River anglers caught a notable fish last month. . . . No, it was not a catfish as big as a bus.  It was a pallid sturgeon, a federally-listed endangered species.  Pallid sturgeon are similar to shovelnose sturgeon, but larger and much rarer.  Nebraska Game & Parks Commission research crews spend a lot of time monitoring pallid sturgeon in the Missouri and lower Platte rivers in Nebraska, but none have ever been documented in the Loup River. That …

My thoughts are turning more and more towards ice-fishing, and if your thoughts are the same, you will love this. . . . I found this TV news report on the interwebs. . . . How did that guy end up in Oklahoma?  OKLAHOMA????  Of all places!  I would tell you he has to have been from someplace north of Oklahoma originally, but he has the Oklahoma accent!  At the least, he needed to travel “up nort” during the ice-fishing …

A long, long time ago, I used to do some bow-hunting.  Actually, I started shooting a bow before I ever went to school, kindergarten that is.  Back in those days, bows did not have wheels and wires, and arrows had cedar shafts.  The only thing I ever knew was a Bear recurve, and the arrows my Dad manufactured. Along about grad. school, I really got into fishing in the fall.  Oh, it is not that I do not love to …