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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another. We have been staying at home for the most part with trips pretty much only being made to the grocery store, gas station or nearby trail for exercise. One activity though that has been very popular in Nebraska throughout this unprecedented time: Fishing! Recreational fishing is a legitimate outdoor lifestyle activity solidly rooted in science. Fisheries conservation and management balance the needs of people with consideration for …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The 2020 Nebraska Big Game Guide is available in digital format at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website by visiting OutdoorNebraska.gov/guides. The publication is a summary of regulations, laws and orders pertaining to the hunting of deer, antelope, elk and bighorn sheep in Nebraska. It includes unit maps, as well as information on season dates, permits and bag limits. The guide soon will be available in hard copy wherever hunting permits are sold. To view the …

The warmer weather is here and it’s time to fire up that grill, if you haven’t done so already! Some of us grill meat and other foods year-round, while the rest of us are probably just beginning. Regardless, as the weather improves and becomes more summer-like, it means more home-cooked, barbecued meals for the folks in your household. Grilled Nebraska steaks. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Though I may not cook much (my wife will tell you …

*BLOGGER’S NOTE: The National Wild Turkey Federation calls it: The Great Jake Debate. And, it  has surfaced again. It is the continual debate regarding whether or not to shoot a jake (a juvenile or nearly one-year old  male wild turkey) during a spring wild turkey hunting season, if legal. In Nebraska, it is allowable to shoot jakes during the spring turkey season. But let me tell you there is much misinformation floating around hunting circles about this ongoing discussion. In …

Through the COVID-19 pandemic it’s hard to find things to do with the family and others in your household, especially when the weather is nice. Have you ever considered going fishing? Kids love it! Look, we all must follow CDC, state and local health guidelines and regulations, but if there ever was a time to legally, allowably wet a line in Nebraska, it is now in the springtime! In fact, May is the best fishing month of the year when …

It is the primary reason I hunt wild turkeys in the spring. It invokes such strong feelings of excitement that it escapes words. It is a crazy sound in nature, really, perhaps even a bit comical. The sound, made by a wild bird and denoting spring, is actually a loud, shrill, descending, gurgling, throaty jumble of chords that lasts about 1-2 seconds. This is the gobble of a male wild turkey. Gil-obble-obble-obble. For those of us who enjoy being outdoors …

Those of us who enjoy outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, boating and camping are spending an awful of time around the house when it rains or is cold outside. Nevertheless as you think of or plan your next outdoor trip, those conditions offer an opportune time to go through your gear – cleaning, repairing, restoring and organizing various items that most likely were shelved, locked in a cabinet or safe or neglected. You have the time to do this, …

You’re staying at home, hardly going anywhere except for essentials. There’s not a lot to do. Or, is there? Have you ever taken the time to watch or listen to the birds around your yard, acreage, farmstead, ranch house or lake house? After all, it is spring and that means courtship, breeding and nesting. But spring is also means migration. Our overall diversity of birds peaks in early May, so new species arrive every day or week. I have to …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is advising hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts to honor guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health organizations, to avoid spread of coronavirus as they head to the field this spring. “Outdoor recreation has long been an important part of our way of life for relaxing and getting in touch with nature, and many people are turning to outdoor recreation as they seek comfort during …

As avid spring wild turkey hunters, we possess a major advantage over other outdoor enthusiasts: We know what it feels like to be completely isolated, and to be alone, most notably in a turkey hunting blind for hours. As Henry David Thoreau once said: “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” For us hunters, we are used to sitting alone in different blinds quietly for long periods of time with our thoughts, waiting for a moment …