Barbs and Backlashes

Yep, Still a Really Big Fish October is paddlefish snagging season on the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska.  Paddlefish are BIG, weird-looking fish and for those reasons they generate a lot of interest.  Last week I blogged about the new state record paddlefish that was caught on the ninth of this month, Stop the Presses, BIG FISH!  If you want to learn some more about that fish and the angler, Tom Keller, check out this video: There is an additional story, and …

Conestoga, Finally Our Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation project at Conestoga Reservoir west of Lincoln is finally getting off the ground! Aquatic Habitat Project to Begin at Conestoga Reservoir LINCOLN – The rehabilitation of the reservoir at Conestoga State Recreation Area is underway. The outlet structure will be modified in preparation for a project to improve aquatic habitat, water quality and angler access. Visitors can expect to encounter areas closed to public access near construction equipment and work areas. The reservoir has …

My blogging buddy here at the Game & Parks and I are blogging about the same thing today, Bauer on Great Outdoor Radio Show.  Yep, Greg Wagner and I will be together on the radio tomorrow morning.  Greg has a weekly show on 1620 The Zone, 9:00 each Saturday morning.  We will be talking all things fish and fishing tomorrow, fall fishing, state record paddlefish, trout stockings, etc., etc.  It is a live, call-in show, listen on the radio in …

I gave you a little preview of our main Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop a couple of weeks ago, BO-W.  I have caught my breath after that busy weekend, let me give you a little review.  Believe me, it ain’t about me, but let me give you a little review of how the weekend went for me. Thursday Once again this year our big BO-W weekend was held at the 4-H camp at Halsey.  Each year I like to head out …

I started getting notifications about a big fish caught over the weekend, a really big fish.  So, I realize this has been all over the internet already and has hit at least one newspaper; you may have already heard about it, but even if you have, I know folks love hearing about and seeing big fish! It appears our rod & reel state record for paddlefish has been broken!  Tom Keller from Malcolm was enjoying our paddlefish snagging season in …

Pretty much says it all. . . . They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream, but that’s not quite it. What happens is that you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things, and suddenly they’re just not such a big deal anymore.  Author John Gierach Have a great weekend everyone.  This is a great time of year to be outdoors; while you are at it, do not forget to GO FISH!

There is no question that the question of the day recently has been “When are the trout going to be stocked?”  I always tell folks that we have to wait until the water cools to stock those catchable-size rainbow trout, a cold-water fish, in parks and urban waters around the state.  That happens every fall in October, pretty much the same time from year to year. We cannot tell people when and where until we know.  These fish come from …

Here is the fall edition of our youth fishing instructor newsletter: If you want to see a little “cleaner” copy, and follow the links, Fish Tales, Fall 2015. Again, I know that many have already seen this newsletter, especially those who are already certified Nebraska youth fishing instructors.  I always try to post the newsletters here to my blog hoping that it might prompt more of you to get involved.  Here is your chance! Become a Certified Youth Fishing Instructor Oct. …

By the time you are reading this, I will be somewhere in the Bessey National Forest helping with this year’s main Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BO-W) workshop.  By my count, this will be the nineteenth year I have helped with that program.  This video will give you an idea of what happens over the weekend.  We have a lot of fun and learn a thing or three in the process! If you are a lady and you are reading this, sorry, …

Get a bunch of hard-core anglers together and pretty soon there will be a discussion on the best times to fish.  I will always tell you the best time to go fishing is whenever you have time, but you will find a diversity of opinions on the subject.  It is an important question because fish spend much of their time inactive, conserving energy.  In some cases they may be actively feeding for only a small percentage of time each day or …