Let me say a few things about one of the most popular species of fish that anglers, especially ice anglers, like to catch, yellow perch.  Most people would tell you that walleyes are one of the best fish on the table and they are right.  Except their smaller “cousin” the yellow perch, is just as good, and maybe even a little bit better.  For that reason word of a hot perch bite during a Nebraska winter travels faster than the …

I hope many of you have looked at the title of this blog post and wondered, “What in the world is “barotrauma?””.  Barotrauma is the pointy-headed fish biologist term for what happens to some species of fish when they are quickly raised from relatively deep water to the surface.  Most species of our freshwater fish have swim bladders–internal “bags” of gas that the fish use to regulate buoyancy.  Fish living at depths of 20-30 feet or more only have a …

It is Friday!  I try to keep in “light” on my Friday blog, but like to get something posted before I am “out the door” for the weekend.  I have posted a number of funny fishing commercials, but I must not be watching the right shows anymore because it has been a long time since I saw a good one.  I used to look forward to the Rapala commercials every fishing show “season” as they had some great ones, but …

At the end of each year I like to look back at the state record fish that were certified; kind of a “state record annual report”.  It is time to do that again. . . . Surface Spearfishing Let me start with the surface spearfishing state record category.  We typically do not see a lot of surface spearfishing record fish in a year and 2015 was no exception.  There was one fish certified as a surface spear-fishing record last year, …

I do not know a lot about this, but I saw a news release just today and there are a bunch of Nebraskans, especially Nebraska anglers, who should be aware of potential dam repairs at Box Butte Reservoir: Bureau seeking comment for possible dam repairs at Box Butte Reservoir The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking comment regarding an environmental assessment document for the dam at Box Butte State Recreation Area north of Hemingford. Engineers have identified problems with sedimentation through …

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 …

I will admit to you that my desks are not neat.  I subscribe to the theory that a clean desk is evidence of a warped mind.  Come to think of it, I have messy desks, AND a warped mind.  Anywho, I digress. . . . There are a couple of piles of books you will always find on my main desk, sitting to my left.  Forward left is a big pile of In-Fisherman magazines; I read them religiously.  Off to my far left …

I do not own a snowmobile or ATV, have ridden on a few on the ice, but not a lot.  I do know this, a person needs to be even more careful when running an ATV or snowmobile on a frozen lake.  Four inches of clear, new ice is enough to walk on, but if you want to run some kind of ATV or snowmobile, you better have a lot more than that, preferably at least twice that much.  Unfortunately, …

Do not know if any of you got any new toys for Christmas, maybe you got a drone, maybe you want to go ice-fishing with it! Or maybe this is more your speed. . . . I do not dare post that last video without all the disclaimers:  I do not drink nor do I condone drinking while on the ice.  I have seen some ice-anglers do some very stupid and very unsafe things while getting hammered on the ice, …

Some of you may remember from previous years that my calendar is organized a bit differently than other’s.  New Year’s Day for me falls on whatever day I am on the ice for the first time each ice fishing season.  That first day on the ice is the beginning of my new fishing season, my new year.  With the mild fall and early winter this year, New Year’s Day fell only a couple days before I needed to hang my new In-Fisherman …