Barbs and Backlashes

I know the spring trout stocking schedule went out in a news release last Friday, but my phone continues to ring, the weather is nice, and folks are ready to go fishing!  We have a lot of fish out there already, you do NOT have to wait for the stocking truck before going fishing, but the put & take trout stocking is very popular especially for young anglers and beginners, so look this list over and then GO FISH!  Stocking …

Sport show/seminar/banquet season is drawing to a close for me.  It is time to “shut up and fish!”  I have one last boat show I am working this weekend: I will be at Waconda Boats in Rep. City on Saturday; giving seminars on the 2015 Fishing Forecast for all of Nebraska at 10:00 and 2:00.  If you are in the area, stop by, check things out, tell me a fish story!

We have had an “on again, off again” ice fishing season this year.  As the calendar rolled into February I was seeking treatment for depression after an unusually warm January had brought my ice fishing season to a premature end.  Then as it usually happens in Nebraska, the weather, the climate, changed and it got cold again and my ice season was re-born.  I was thrilled to have a second season.  Actually, with the freeze/thaw cycle that we had repeated …

The weather has broke and I know we all are chomping at the bit to be outdoors, but I still have a seminar or two scheduled.  Here is the next one: Walleye Fishing Workshop Set for March 12 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium LINCOLN – The public is invited to a free walleye fishing workshop March 12 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium near Gretna. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission fisheries outreach program manager Daryl Bauer will present the 7 p.m. workshop, which will include …

I have not recommended to anyone in the past several weeks that the ice is completely, entirely safe.  However, I am fully aware that there are folks still ice-fishing in Nebraska and I have been taking advantage of “late ice” myself as much as possible.  Even this late in the ice-fishing season you can be safe and the fishing can be terrific, but you better know what you are doing ( Safety First ).  I cannot talk to anyone on …

It has been a few years since we had any state record fish that have been caught through the ice.  We had a couple of fish caught & released through the ice last winter that were state record class ( Big Fish! , Big Fish! Its Happened Again! ), but none in recent years that have been certified as state records.  I have one that was caught through the ice this winter, and it is a bit of an unusual …

I have often said that all of our waters can be important fisheries in Nebraska, and that includes some of the state’s smallest waters–pits and ponds.  Angler surveys have consistently shown us that at least a quarter of licensed Nebraska anglers spend some time fishing pits and ponds each year.  Those small waters produce some of the best largemouth bass and panfish fishing in Nebraska every year and there are a variety of other species caught from some of those …

This is a busy time of year for me.  A big reason for that is everyone wants to talk fishing right now!  For some it is one of the symptoms of “spring fever”, for others, like me, we are just ready to talk fish and fishing all the time! I will be talking walleyes this weekend.  One thing I know is true, Have a great weekend, GO FISH!

You know that I am always getting up on a “soap box” to  promote catch & release fishing:  It is a fact of life for sport anglers nowadays.  You will either be required by regulation to release at least some of the fish you catch or you will choose to voluntarily release some of your catch; it is important for developing and maintaining quality fishing..  I believe the best practice is what has been termed “selective harvest”–choosing to harvest a few …

I have an interesting news release I want to share with you: Now I know this open house, this particular fish passage project, is not going to be of great importance to many of you unless you are familiar with the Cedar River particularly in the Spalding and Ericson area.  But, I am betting that very few reading this have even considered that there might be a need for fish passageways on Nebraska rivers and streams.  No, we do not have migratory …