Nebraskaland Magazine
I am heading out of the office here in the next few minutes, but I have a couple of news items to get out before I leave. Do you want the good news first or the bad news? Let’s do the bad news first.
Discover Ice Fishing On-Ice Clinic in Kearney Canceled
LINCOLN – The Discover Ice Fishing on-ice clinic scheduled for Jan. 16 at Kearney’s Yanney Lake has been canceled because of a lack of safe ice. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will not reschedule the clinic.
Still scheduled is the Nebraska Fish and Game Association’s classroom clinic at Yanney Heritage Park’s Environmental Resource Center, 2020 W. 11th St., from 8 a.m. – noon. Registration is requested. Email Harold Fankhauser at harold@nefga.org to sign up.
WE ARE STILL DOING THE CLASSROOM SESSION AT YANNEY PARK TOMORROW MORNING!!!!!!
There will be a bunch of hard-core ice-heads at the classroom session, so even if we cannot get on the ice, come on out, pick some frozen brains, learn something!
We had planned to fish at Yanney tomorrow afternoon, but that has been cancelled. The lake in Yanney Park is a big sandpit and the ice on Nebraska pits is often thinner than you might expect. All of the sand and gravel pits in the state get water from the ground and there is enough groundwater flow that those pits do not have as much ice as other waters. When we have an ice-fishing clinic we have to be extra sure that it is safe before we take a bunch of beginning ice anglers on the ice. If we are not 100% confident that it is 100% safe, the best call is to cancel. Sorry.
Now you know why I get grumpy during mild winters!!!!
Now for the good news:
Goose Lake WMA Open to Public Access
LINCOLN – Goose Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA), located southeast of Chambers in Holt County, is open to public access effective immediately.
In September, the WMA was closed to all access because of a heavy infestation of Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive aquatic plant at the lake.
Eurasian watermilfoil can spread rapidly because a single fragment of stem or leaf can take root and form a new colony, and plants can grow up to 2 inches per day. Once established, the plant can form dense surface mats that interfere with boating, fishing, swimming, and other forms of recreation. Plant fragments can be transported on boats, trailers, and other aquatic sporting equipment, so the closure was necessary to assure that fragments were not transported to other bodies of water.
Winter recreational activities are thought to pose little risk of spreading the aquatic plant now that the lake has frozen over, but area users are reminded to guard against transporting any plant materials from Goose Lake to other areas.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is developing a plan to eradicate Eurasian watermilfoil from Goose Lake. Eradication has been successful for a number of lakes in other states.
The Commission reminds all water users to clean, drain, and dry their equipment (boats, trailers, waders, decoys) when they leave any body of water to prevent the spread of invasive species.
I have talked to several ice anglers this winter about Goose Lake, so I know there are a least a few folks that will be happy to know they can get on the ice there now. Goose is absolutely loaded with northern pike and has some good panfish and largemouth bass too. Yes, I am fully aware that Goose has a lot of submerged aquatic vegetation and it can be very tough to fish during the summer. But that will not be a problem now, GO FISH!
