Barbs and Backlashes

We are well into summer now, and most anglers will tell you that the fishing gets tougher during the summer.  As a pointy-headed fish biologist I will tell you that is true, but it has nothing to due with the fish feeling uncomfortable in “hot” water.  Yes, we have some cold-water and cool-water species of fish in Nebraska that do not prefer the maximum temperatures of summer and for some of those species, trout for example, they simply cannot survive …

This week has been “shark week”, http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week .  You know this pointy-headed fish biologist has been watching whenever I can.  I love fish, I love apex predators, shark week combines the two!  I will reserve my comments about the stupid “Megalodon” show, however. I blogged about the demise of poor Snuffy the seal a couple of weeks ago, http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2013/07/shark-week/ .   In memory of poor ole Snuff’, here is another tribute: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TN6xZjmxUM[/youtube] That kills me.  I might even have to …

I am often asked how much we communicate with pointy-headed fisheries biologists in other states.  Come to think of it, sometimes I am not asked that question so much as am told that “you guys need to do what they do in _________________________ (fill in blank with your favorite non-Nebraska state).  Actually we are very aware of what fisheries biologists in other states are doing, communicate with them frequently, and by they way, they know very much what we are …

By now many Nebraska anglers may have seen the photos of a big blue catfish that was recently caught.  I fired up my computer this morning and saw this. I have said before that there have been darned few verified catches of triple-digit fish from Nebraska waters, so any catch like that is a notable catch!  I have spent some time today trying to run down more details, and so far have not been able to find out much more. …

Some of you will probably remember the old Ugly Stik commercials featuring angler’s wives.  I had all of those commercials in a “long play” version and they were even better than the 30-second spots that ran on TV.  Unfortunately, my links to those long play versions have gone bad, except for this one. . . . [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHr_raJmnYA[/youtube] Wow.  I guess there are some wives out there who have some real issues. Maybe they should just go fishing? By the way, …

Last Saturday was the 2013 Nebraska High School Bass Fishing Championship.  I know there has been a lot of talk about this on the internet and elsewhere already; might as well add my perspective. This was the third year for a formal state high school bass fishing championship.  Tournament water this year was Harlan County Reservoir.  Yes, I said Harlan County Reservoir.  No, Harlan is not known as a hot bass water, but in recent years water level fluctuations have …

I have seen several pictures of big Nebraska catfish floating around on the internet lately.  The pictures I have seen have been of big blue and flathead catfish; I might as well mention another one I have seen, this one a channel cat. Andrew Paulsen and Phil Heckman of Milford were doing some fishing recently on a public body of water in Nebraska when they caught a bunch of big channel cats.  Here is the biggest one. They released that …

I love big predators of all kinds.  You will not find me feeling sorry for the “poor little prey”.  Hey, the predators have to make a living too!  This commercial has been running on TV recently, and with my warped sense of humor, I love it! Have a great weekend.

I made it to both of our large “Carp-O-Rama” events this year; time to show you some pictures and tell some stories. We have had Carp-O-Rama at Pawnee Reservoir northwest of Lincoln for several years now.  It seems like it gets bigger every year. Boats too! This is a family event!  Grandma helps take the fish off the hook! And dad holds ’em for photos. There were some fish caught. And carefully carried up to the tents. Stan will clean …