Tag Archives: Fishing skills

It’s hot. I will always tell you that you cannot catch anything sitting at home on the couch.  However, when it gets this hot, I have to admit my motivation to go fishing wanes a bit.  I might still “wet a line”, but I will be selective about the times and places to do it.  On the other hand, getting into the water sound like a great idea right now. Let’s go there. . . into the water.  I can …

Going to share an article for this blog post.  I have mentioned Gord Pyzer before, retired Canadian fisheries biologist, and great stick.  So yes, this article was written a little over a year ago, and this guy fishes mostly in Canada.  But, he is right on with these ten mistakes!  Read this.  I am betting there is something there that will make you a better angler! The top 10 fishing mistakes—and how to avoid them!

“Dang, I thought I had a big bass! Hey, it’s a big channel cat.” The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), Nebraska’s official state fish, sometimes gets misunderstood, particularly it seems, by those who exclusively fish for bass and walleye. Catfish, especially the channel cats, have a reputation as bottom feeders that just lazily swim around sucking up stinky, dead stuff from the bottom. And that is not entirely true! I asked Chris Pokorny of Elkhorn, NE, who’s among Nebraska’s most avid …

From time to time someone asks, “If you could only have one lure/bait, what would it be?”  My answer to that question has always been the same, a jig!  However, you know as soon as I say that I have to post disclaimers and explanations. . . . “A jig” is really not a fair answer.  Jigs come in an infinite variety of sizes, styles, colors, actions, and bodies.  Of the 500 pounds of tackle in my tackle box, probably …

The past couple of weeks I have been on a soap box trumpeting the need for folks to have some fish identification skills. Might as well have some fun with it.  Watch the video, consider it to be your Friday quiz: Here is the second part: The weekend is here.  Get on the water, put your skills to work!

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the importance of having some fish identification skills, You Gotta Know!  Yes, I believe that even beginning anglers have a responsibility to know what they are catching. At that time, I mentioned that we had a fish identification aid in the works.  Now we have it! Fish Key Again, I would recommend EVERY angler spend some time looking at that publication and brushing up on their fish identification skills.  However, keep a …

I am happy to report that I recently ended a slump.  It had been a long, LONG time since I dried off a muskellunge. Sure, you can comment about my lack of skills as an angler.  Not going to argue with that.  I suspect there also will be some miserable souls offer commentary about the poor fishing we have in Nebraska.  Whatever. Those of you who have spent any time seriously, intentionally, targeting muskies know that under the best of …

One theme I return to over and over again is the diversity of fishing opportunities we have in Nebraska.  I have often said that we may not have as much water as some of our neighboring states, but we offer variety! I have suggested that one fun and worthy challenge is to see how many of species of fish you can catch from Nebraska waters.  In recent years, with the micro-fishing thing gaining interest, there have been some anglers who …

It is early spring and our waters are cold.  Without a doubt I hear anglers ask more about water temperatures at this time of year than any other.  There may be some reasoning behind that, but water temperature may not be as important as some think it is. Don’t get me wrong.  I have carried a thermometer of some kind with me on every fishing trip since I was a kid.  I have logged water temperatures from thousands of fishing …

I have spent my entire week answering the phone.  Almost every one of those calls was inquiring whether the spring, put & take trout had been stocked in one favorite waterbody or another.  I guess I understand, we have not published the exact dates of those stockings.  In the crazy coronavirus world we continue to live in, we do not want crowds gathering around stocking trucks.  So, the stocking schedule only says “The week of _______”. I swear, if we …