How To

OK, so last Sunday was “earth day”. Whatever. Forgive my cynical attitude, but I weary of special days for this and special days for that when what we need is people to do simple little things every day. . . . Like, pick up your trash.  Like PICK UP YOUR FISHING LINE! I was inspecting some new boat ramp work at a Nebraska reservoir last fall and with the water down also noticed old cedar trees that had been sunk …

As the trees bud, the lawns green and the flowers bloom, did you know that may have food growing in your yard, lot, garden or field? I bet you do! Now that spring has finally sprung, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods make their initial appearances. It’s when edible wild plants are at their most tender, tastiest stage. And your own backyard, garden, vacant lot, alleyway or patch of woods or prairie, could very well be the closest and most productive place you’ll find to forage this time of …

As I have said several times already this spring, it is a busy time for Nebraska fisheries workers.  From the time the ice is gone, field work is in full swing.  Once again this year that included our efforts to collect pallid sturgeon brood fish from the Missouri River.  Here is the annual newsletter on those efforts. . . . Once again, if you want to see a “cleaner” version of that report, here is the .pdf, 2018 Broodstock Newsletter_draft4 . You …

I have warned you that this time of year there is pretty much only one thing on my mind.  Through the magic of technology I can prove that to you. . . . I had a dream last night, here is what happens EVERY TIME I yelp on a turkey call. . . . https://www.facebook.com/203398586930712/videos/203749893562248/ Maybe I just need to learn to whistle? Obviously, I found that video on the interwebs.  What is going on there, I have no idea, …

If you are a Nebraska outdoors-person you know that weather trumps everything and this spring has been nothing but a hand of wild cards.  I always say one of the best fishing options for early spring when the water is still cold is to pursue cold-water species like trout.  However, the weather is even having an impact on the trout fishing at the Two Rivers Trout Lake; only thing is it is not the impact you might expect: Trout anglers …

Many of you in southeast Nebraska have been looking forward to the opening of a new reservoir, Duck Creek, located near Peru.  Specifically the reservoir was labeled as Duck Creek #12, but it looks like the Nemaha Natural Resource District is going to call it Duck Creek Recreation Area. Now a formal “grand opening” is planned for June 2, but a person might just want to take a drive by and see if the gates are open (wink, wink): Duck …

Been a busy week, one in which I was out of the office most of the time!  I helped with our walleye egg collections, worked late nights most of the week catching the female walleyes from which eggs were collected.  We handled hundreds of fish, mostly walleyes, but during the week I handled a few muskies too. There is just something about big predator fish, something awesome about them.  Every time I see one, every time I get my hands …

We’ve been dreaming about this weekend for sometime.  But none of our visions contained weather like what’s being forecasted for Nebraska’s opening weekend of shotgun spring turkey season.  Being a hardy lot we Nebraskans still have intentions of heading out to fill a tag or two.  Here’s how… Snow Unless it comes in blizzard proportions, or is mixed with the conditions listed below, a little snow barely registers for turkeys who are focused on love right now.  Strategies need to …

If you can see them, this is how you catch them. The old fishing adage I grew up with of “If you can see the fish, you can’t catch the fish” followed me most of my fishing life until I found myself on a lake in Minnesota watching gigantic, black blobs swim back and forth through the water. My fishing partner and I made repeated casts toward these blobs, knowing they were smallmouth bass, only to have them ignore every …

One of the joys of harvesting a mature gobbler, besides the thrill of the hunt and the delicious meal that follows, is the opportunity to obtain a trophy tail fan and beard mount. Follow these simple steps to create your own mount that will be a treasured memento for many years. First, cut off the tail fan slightly below the tail bone and the beard from the breast. It’s better to have too many feathers initially than not enough, as …