I am going to share a photo of a big fish that was caught in Nebraska recently.  Yes, I realize that some of my blog readers will know all about this catch already, it has been making the rounds on the internet and that is where I got the photos and information.  But,  I want to blog about it because there are a lots of other folks who have not heard about it.  If there is one thing I have …

I do not know what your family traditions are for the 4th of July holiday, but I know this cartoon is very appropriate for ours: I have to tell you that the 4th of July has probably always been my favorite holiday.  Yes, I suppose that is due at least in part to all the fireworks, but a couple of years ago when it was very dry and the fire hazard was very high we did no fireworks and still …

If you have been reading my blog for anytime, you know I am a huge fan of catch & release.  In fact there are those who have accused me of being a catch & release fascist. I do not care.  Catch & release is an established part of sport fishing today, and an important part of fisheries management.  Simply put, if you fish today you will be releasing at least some of the fish you catch if not voluntarily, by …

The July 2014 issue of NEBRASKAland magazine is available on-line right now. It is way too early in the summer to find any of the gayfeather that is pictured on the cover, but inside you will find a variety of great stories, as usual. Of course I am going to point out a fish story on pages 42-45, “Shocking Flatheads”.  In that, NEBRASKAland editor Jeff Kurrus interviews Jordan Katt, the fisheries biologist in charge of the flathead catfish research that has …

When you see this you obviously will know that I stole it from the internet. . . . I recently inherited a bunch more fishing gear including rods and reels, but I do not quite have my pickup full of rods, yet. Come to think of it, I just bought another rod too. Wives and girlfriends might wonder why we need all of those rods and reels?  Because, they are tools and a person needs the right tool for the job!  I …

Let me give an update on some of my latest fishing in our great state.  On Father’s Day my kids and I were invited by a buddy to fish on a private pit.  That sounded like a really good idea and we jumped at the opportunity. As soon as we got there and tackled up, we spotted a bunch of bluegills and small largemouth bass cruising the shorelines.  That is a very common sight on Nebraska pits and ponds this …

Last Saturday was our annual Carp-O-Rama carnival at Pawnee Reservoir.  A lot of folks came out and I hope they had a great time with us and maybe learned a thing or three along the way.  The fishing was slow.  We had a significant rainfall event overnight before the event and I wonder if the carp fishing might have been better at the upper end of the reservoir where there was some water flowing in? Regardless, if you were not …

The politically correct world in which we are supposed to live is crazy. Yes, that insanity even applies to fish and fishing.  If you have read my blog for any time you know that I mostly blog about fish and the folks who pursue them.  In doing that I try to remember that political correctness dictates the use of gender-neutral terms.  Even though the term “man” or “men” would be gender-neutral when referring to a group, that use has been deemed to …

I got a phone call a couple of weeks ago, a request.  It was one of the folks from Nebraska public TV’s Backyard Farmer.  Somehow they had my name and wanted to know if I would film a segment on native fish people could put in their backyard ponds.  I told them I was in no way an expert on backyard ponds, but I was honored they asked, and  if they wanted to talk about some Nebraska fish in those ponds …

Next Saturday is the day!  Time for our annual Carp-O-Rama carnival at Pawnee Reservoir! We will have another major “Carp-O-Rama” event next month at Lake Maloney south of North Platte; stay tuned, I will post some reminders about that later. I always say that basically we just show up and have fun at these family fishing events and we hope folks come out and have fun with us!  Our Carp-O-Rama event at Pawnee Reservoir is one of the biggest examples …