Fishing

The extended forecast is not looking real good for our 2016 ice season, but I hope to squeeze out a few more days on the ice this winter.  I thought I would share some thoughts and tips I have been reminded of this winter. . . . I have said before that the variety of fishing lines we have available now is amazing.  I am old enough to remember when there were a handful of quality monofilament lines on the …

I know this has been publicized already, but I want to give it another round and make sure as many folks as possible are aware of this opportunity: Rock Creek Station Hosting Youth Fishing Instructor Certification Jerry Kane January 19, 2016 Fishing, How To, NGPC News, Parks LINCOLN – Learn to teach youth and families the lifelong activity of fishing by becoming certified as a youth fishing instructor. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will conduct this free workshop Feb. …

I am a huge fan of fishing clubs and organizations, especially those with Nebraska connections.  I will always tell you that joining those organizations is a great way to learn more about the fish you pursue, become a better angler, socialize with fellow anglers, and give something back to the sport and our fisheries resources.  If you are serious about your fishing, find an organization like that and JOIN IT! In my position as the fisheries outreach program manager for …

Alleged sightings of mountain loins tend to cause a hysteria in some parts. . . . In the future, Nebraska anglers will have to keep their eyes open for tigers too. No, I am not talking about the large, orange and black-striped cats that adorn boxes of breakfast cereal.  I am referring to a fish that is now being stocked in some Nebraska waters.  In fact, some of you may have already heard about tiger trout and in recent blog …

I am going to share with you something very interesting that was brought to my attention on another blog–not only is fishing a lot of fun, it is good for you!!!!  Besides the excerpts I am going to share with you, please take the time to read the entire article, FIX.com, Fishing for Wellness! One thing I have often said, and it is echoed in the blog post I just referenced, is that fishing is meant to be a participation sport! …

Busy time of year for me, lots of meetings, workshops, sportshows, fishing, etc., etc.  I will be hanging out here this weekend: If you are in the area, stop by, tell me a fish story, ask me a question! If you make it onto the ice this weekend, dry one off for me!

Let me say a few things about one of the most popular species of fish that anglers, especially ice anglers, like to catch, yellow perch.  Most people would tell you that walleyes are one of the best fish on the table and they are right.  Except their smaller “cousin” the yellow perch, is just as good, and maybe even a little bit better.  For that reason word of a hot perch bite during a Nebraska winter travels faster than the …

I hope many of you have looked at the title of this blog post and wondered, “What in the world is “barotrauma?””.  Barotrauma is the pointy-headed fish biologist term for what happens to some species of fish when they are quickly raised from relatively deep water to the surface.  Most species of our freshwater fish have swim bladders–internal “bags” of gas that the fish use to regulate buoyancy.  Fish living at depths of 20-30 feet or more only have a …

It is Friday!  I try to keep in “light” on my Friday blog, but like to get something posted before I am “out the door” for the weekend.  I have posted a number of funny fishing commercials, but I must not be watching the right shows anymore because it has been a long time since I saw a good one.  I used to look forward to the Rapala commercials every fishing show “season” as they had some great ones, but …

At the end of each year I like to look back at the state record fish that were certified; kind of a “state record annual report”.  It is time to do that again. . . . Surface Spearfishing Let me start with the surface spearfishing state record category.  We typically do not see a lot of surface spearfishing record fish in a year and 2015 was no exception.  There was one fish certified as a surface spear-fishing record last year, …