My family and I got back “out west” for a long Thanksgiving weekend and we enjoyed every minute of it.  Yes, we spent a lot of time with family and in feasting, but we managed to slip outdoors a bit too. . . . You probably already have heard me tout the wide variety of hunting and fishing opportunities we have in Nebraska.  We ARE the mixed-bag capital of the world.  I love all of it, all of the hunting, fishing …

This news release went out recently.  If you use any of Nebraska’s waters for any purposes, you need to be aware of this: Invasive Zebra and Quagga Mussels Found in Two South Dakota Reservoirs LINCOLN – On Nov. 14, a single live adult zebra mussel was discovered attached to a boat dock at the Midway boat ramp on the South Dakota side of Lewis and Clark Lake near Yankton, S.D. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) staff inspected 11 …

The day after Thanksgiving has become known as “Black Friday”.  It is a day when millions of shoppers hit the stores for the opening day of what has become our commercialized, gift-giving, Christmas season.  A day when thousands of soccer moms and urban dads who would never think of going afield to harvest any kind of living creature nevertheless prove that they are instinctively HUNTERS. . . . Think about it.  By the time the rush to the stores has started, folks …

Like everyone, I absolutely enjoy the time off that I have on holidays.  You can bet that I will spend some time in the field and on the water in the next few days.  Unfortunately, I believe it is easy for us to get caught up in the time off and not really think about the reason for it.  It also seems to me that in our pop culture we go right from the decorations and lights of Halloween directly …

I am not sure where I found this, believe it was e-mailed to me, but I know it is good and I am going to recommend you check it out.  Orvis has a series of fly-fishing instructional videos they will e-mail you if you sign up, The Art of Fly Fishing . I am NOT some fly-fishing purist by any means, and I am not sponsored by Orvis.  My philosophy is that I want to catch fish and I will use …

My co-worker and buddy, Greg Wagner, usually blogs on Friday and mentions his weekly radio show which airs every Saturday morning on 1620 The Zone .  Greg has been busy at “deer camp” this week, so I want to mention it for him–tune in tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. central time. Greg’s show is always a good one because Greg is a wealth of information and he always has great guests (tomorrow’s guest might be a little “sketchy” but we …

I have been blogging about Nebraska’s outdoors, mostly about fish and fishing, for several years now, long enough to know that certain seasonal topics are repeated year after year.  When we have ice, I am going to be blogging about ice fishing.  I love to ice-fish and you can count on me blogging about it.  That also means that every year I am going to blog about ice safety!  I hope folks do not think I am being some kind of …

The Niobrara River has its origins just across Nebraska’s western border.  Other than that, it runs entirely within Nebraska’s borders and is without a doubt one of the state’s most unique and important natural resources.  Its hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities are among the best not only in Nebraska, but in the country. If you have not had the opportunity to experience any of those Niobrara River recreational resources, you need to, as soon as possible.  But even if …

Tomorrow is a holiday for many Nebraskans–the opening of rifle deer season!  I love the variety of hunting, fishing, and trapping opportunities that Nebraska offers, including some big game hunting, but not a lot.  However, I have done enough to know why tomorrow is such a big day, and I know there will be a lot of folks who have a hard time sleeping tonight.  We have some cold weather, the rut is in full swing, there will be some …

Let me tell you about a little project I spent a few days on a couple weeks ago.  The Keith County Visitors Committee was having some filming done this fall promoting the variety of outdoor activities available in the area.  They asked me to come out and do some on-camera interviews about the fisheries, maybe catch a few fish on camera, and provide whatever assistance I could.  I always jump at any chance I have to get around our great state …