Barbs and Backlashes

It has been a typical Great Plains spring so far.  Sure, we have open water now, but the water is darned cold and the weather is schizophrenic.  Everyone is so eager to have open water to fish that folks cannot wait to hit the water after the ice is gone, but in my opinion this early spring period is one of the toughest times of year to catch fish.  The water is just too cold and the weather too up …

I will tell you that I do not believe in “luck.” However, “luck” has been described as “the residue of hard work” and “where preparation meets opportunity” and those descriptions definitely apply to fishing and to good anglers.  Those anglers who seem to always catch fish and catch big fish are not the “luckiest” anglers, they are the most skilled.  I believe that there are some fundamental skills that apply to fishing, just like any other sport has fundamental skills, and …

I have one last sport show to do this spring.  This one will be at the Platte River Mall in North Platte this weekend. I am planning to give seminars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and 10:00 a.m. on Saturday on the 2014 Fishing Forecast for Nebraska.  You might just hear me on KODY Radio 1240 at 9:00 Friday morning too.  The rest of the time you might find me hanging around a booth with Julie Geiser from our North …

In recent years there has been a lot of research into the motivation of anglers.  Most of that has been done because we believe we need to better understand anglers and why they fish in order to recruit more of them to fish and keep them fishing.  There is a lot of truth to that.  I am not going to review all of that research, but I do want to mention a few things that have stuck in my mind. …

We have open water in most of Nebraska now and spring fever is running rampant.  That means a lot of anglers are going to be pulling their boats out of storage and putting them in the water.  I do not want to discourage anyone from getting out and enjoying some time on the water, but I hope you do not mind a safety reminder.  This video is not 4 minutes long, it will take some time to watch it.  But, …

I will be hanging out at a boat show in Republican City this Saturday.  Stop by, let’s talk fishing!

Well it finally happened, looks like we are done ice-fishing for the year.  The last day I walk off the ice is one of the saddest days of the year for me. But it was a great ice season!  My partners and I had almost 3 full months on the ice this winter–the way it should be.  We were drilling holes all the way up through last weekend. So, consider this as my last ice report for this year; let …

If you have read my blog for any time at all, you know I love to ice-fish.  As a hard-core ice angler, one of the saddest days of the year is the last day I walk off the ice for the season.  I just do not understand folks who refuse to ice fish, who sit around and wait all winter for open water.  GO FISH!  All the time! I also find it curious that so many folks judge the seasons …

For those of you who are grumpy because you do not ice fish, I have a warmer, more springy, summery blog post this Friday.  I often take a little break over lunch hour and watch some fishing videos.  Although I am not a fly-fishing purist by any means, I love watching fly-fishing videos like those that can be found here, Orvis Fly-Fishing Videos. One of the trailers I found there early this week really caught my attention: That is just …

I am fully aware that spring will some day come, and that day is getting closer all the time.  But until then, I am on the ice!  Last fall I transitioned from fishing open water to being on the ice within a couple of weeks.  I am betting I make the reverse transition this spring. I do not have a lot of pictures to show or reports to share, just a quick update on what I have been doing, a …