Got an interesting photo from one of our “fish squeezers” on the water already this spring. . . . We do not have a large request for pike stocking in Nebraska waters this year, but we do have some.  So, that means crews venture forth as soon as the ice is out to set nets to capture spawning pike.  Only problem is, sometimes after those nets get set, it re-freezes.  That means someone has a lot of ice to chop! If …

I want to publicize this class one more time! Become a certified youth fishing instructor April 1 LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors April 1 at the Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln. This free training will take place at the education center, located at 4703 N. 44th St., from 9 a.m. to noon. Fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct youth fishing clinics. These volunteers will …

You can go back to notebooks I had in high school and find a variety of fish-related doodles scattered over the pages.  The more boring the class, the more doodles. Any former professors or teachers that might be reading this blog post:  Of course none of those doodles were from any of your classes, I was never bored in your classes. (Ha) I have never grown up.  I still do the same thing when I am stuck in boring meetings. …

Every now and then life leads me to write something of a personal nature here on my blog.  This is going to be one of those posts.  I write these mostly for me, it helps me to take some of the ramblings going on in my head, and put them on a computer screen (don’t actually write them down on paper anymore).  If you wish to read it too, that is fine. . . . It is natural when we …

So far this has been a typical early spring in Nebraska.  We have had beautiful warm days that have everyone revved-up and ready to fish, and then we have slap-in-the-face reality as the wind howls, the temperature drops below freezing, and it snows, again!  Welcome to springtime in Nebraska! The wild swings in weather make spring fishing especially frustrating, but fortunately we have a variety of fish that can be found in Nebraska waters including cold- and cool-water species that …

Some of our buddies over at Nebraska’s Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) investigated an odd phenomenon this winter that I want to tell you about.  Seems as though our somewhat unusual winter rains and runoff created a head of foam on some rivers in eastern Nebraska.  These pictures were taken on the Big Blue River in southeast Nebraska and Hadar Creek in the northeast: Greg Michl along with Dave Bubb, also of NDEQ, shot some video on the Big Blue near Holmesville …

Last week I teased you with a couple pictures of some pike our Game & Parks Commission fisheries biologists have had their hands on already this spring.  I promised to give you some more details; let me keep that promise. . . . This will be the sixth year we have been tagging northern pike at Lake Wanahoo.  Without boring you with all of the details about that work, please go back and read these previous blog posts, if you …

As soon as the ice starts melting, my phone starts ringing–“When are the trout going to be stocked?” Well, now I know: Nebraska Game and Parks announces spring trout stocking schedule LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is stocking catchable-size rainbow trout in city ponds and lakes across the state in March to enhance spring fishing opportunities. Fishing for stocked rainbow trout is an excellent way for families to introduce young and new anglers to fishing as …

I blogged about a sandpit management workshop last week.  I intended that would be the only blog post about that, but within a half day after posting, I discovered there were more workshops scheduled.  So, I need to get the word out about those too: Sandpit lake management workshops scheduled in Weeping Water and Columbus LINCOLN, Neb. – Persons interested in sandpit lake management are invited to a series of free workshops this spring. The workshops are a joint effort of …

I often smart off that northern pike are called “northern” for a reason:  They are a cool-water fish who’s native range is thought to have extended only as far south as north-central Nebraska.  Many waters, especially in eastern and southern Nebraska, simply can get too warm during the summer to support northern pike. Where we do have northern pike in Nebraska, they go through their spawning rituals as soon as the ice is gone.  If we have ice longer than …