Fishing

I have had very few experiences eating carp, twice to be exact. The first time, I prepared it myself. The second time, I went to a place call Wild Bill’s Bar and Grill in Rulo. The first experience didn’t impress while the second was delicious. I thought it tasted just as good if not better than any fried fish I have ever had. I have yet to master cooking carp, but here a few things I learned from my first …

“Anything you can see underwater you can expect a carp to see too – and more besides.” – Marc Coulson, The Complete Guide to Carp Fishing. Have you ever noticed the relatively large eyes of a carp you caught while fishing? Did you know that the big eyes of the carp have a highly developed sense of color vision and an incredibly wide field of view? They sure do. Interesting, huh? Think about it. Carp generally live in a turbid, …

We are having some fun with “Carp Week” on our Game & Parks FaceBook page this week.  You are not going to find carp near the top of any of my favorite fish lists, but I have said that all of the fish that swim our waters are unique and should be appreciated for their uniqueness.  No, carp are not going to be the most popular sport fish in Nebraska, but they can be a lot of fun to catch, …

An extraordinary aspect to wildlife management these days is the extent to which technology is being used to learn more about animals. It seems telemetry, the process of using tracking devices attached to the animals to collect data, is increasingly being used to monitor a variety of species. In my time with the Game and Parks Commission, I’ve photographed researchers putting collars on animals as big as elk and as small as burrowing owls. I even read an article not …

Every year about this time the Discovery Channel has their Shark Week.  If you are a pointy-headed fisheries biologist like me, you think that is pretty cool, especially when great white sharks are munching on seals (Ah, poor seal.)  Unfortunately, Nebraska has some really cool toothy predators, but alas no sharks.  To piggyback on the whole shark week thing some have thought it would be fun if we had “Carp Week” at the same time.  OK.  If we are going …

Welcome to #CarpWeek!  Let’s address carp fishing bait. It comes in as many flavors (and forms) as there are anglers. It is rare that two carp anglers sit down and agree on the best method or concoction for catching Cyprinus carpio or other cyprinids. Every angler has his or her own individual secret when it comes to making carp bait. The end result is the carp decides what item or morsel it will consume and what it doesn’t want to swallow. We do know a thing or two about carp food preferences though. Carp …

Shark Week begins on the Discovery Channel tomorrow, but are you ready for #CarpWeek here in Nebraska? It starts tomorrow as well! I’m pumped up for it! Those of us at NE Game and Parks who thoroughly enjoy fishing for carp will be sharing some of our best kept secrets on how to catch, clean and cook carp. We also want to encourage you to share some of your own tried-and-true tips with regard to carp and carp fishing on our NE Game and Parks Facebook Page and where possible on …

A week or so ago I got a fishing report from an old college buddy.  He catches some big catfish from Omaha area waters and recently landed another one.  This one was a flathead catfish, a 41-inch flathead catfish.  That fish was released after taking some pictures, but it would have weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 30, maybe 35 pounds.  Although there are bigger flatheads caught from Nebraska waters every year, a 41-incher is a very respectable fish, plenty big …

Our kids were all home this past week, and family time and Johnson Lake time go hand in hand with the Berggrens. Grandkids enjoy the water dragon, and our kids still enjoy going for a pull. Jeanne and I even took our turn! The gulls are just starting to arrive so surface activity should heat up this week. Persistence really paid off over the weekend as we opted to troll searching for white bass. Continuing to change speed and lure selection finally hit …

I try to brag up our youth fishing instructors because they are a tremendous asset to our fishing education programs!  For those of you who are NOT already one of our youth fishing instructors and are interested in becoming one, here is an opportunity: Become a Certified Youth Fishing Instructor in Columbus Area LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors Aug. 30 in Duncan, Neb. The free workshop will be held at the Boystown …