How To

I have seen some reports already this early spring of sturgeon being caught, mostly from Nebraska’s Missouri River.  I am confident a lot of the anglers catching those fish, especially the old “river rats” are very aware of what they are catching and their sturgeon identification.  On the other hand, I realize there are new folks learning about new fishing opportunities all the time, and sometimes I worry they may not know what they are catching. There are three species …

There are a couple of workshops coming up on managing small waters, pits and ponds: Lake and pond management workshops scheduled in Omaha, Lincoln LINCOLN, Neb. – Free workshops are scheduled in Omaha and Lincoln this spring for anyone who makes decisions about lakes and ponds or wants to learn more about protecting them. The two-hour workshops begin at 6 p.m. Reservations are required. The first workshop will be in Omaha on March 21 at the Douglas-Sarpy County Extension Office, …

Let me tell you from the phone calls, e-mails, messages, and “chatter” I have heard this week, I have come to the conclusion that there are a darned lot more people that need to learn how to ice fish!  It happens every year, the ice starts melting, we get some open water and warm afternoons, everybody thinks it is time to fish, and then they discover the water is still cold, the fish are hard to catch, and then the …

My son and I made it out to the glorious Nebraska sandhills for another ice-fishing trip this past month.  I have been swamped with “important” stuff to blog about since then and have not been able to tell you about it.  Time to change that. We love ice-fishing Nebraska’s sandhill lakes; they truly are some of the best ice-fishing in the country for a variety of species of fish, northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegills, yellow perch, black crappies, we love …

It was only a month ago that we introduced our new angler recognition program–the Nebraska Trout Slam.  At the end of my blog post on the subject I challenged to see who would be first. Well, it did not take long! Alliance angler is first Nebraska Trout Slam recipient ALLIANCE, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has its first official Trout Slam angler. Justin Powell of Alliance was the first to meet the requirements of the new program, …

I just got a blog post up yesterday with a major news item, spring trout stocking, but I need to get another one up today with a couple of minor news items.  No, these will not impact as many people, but if you were planning a late ice, ice-fishing trip into the north-central sandhills or planning to hit some early spring open water below Gavins Point Dam, you will need to know! Boating restrictions temporarily in place below Gavins Point …

The countdown to the start of Nebraska’s spring turkey season is on.  And what you do right now could ensure one of your most memorable springs, yet.  These simple prep items can help get that ol’longbeard strolling your way right off the roost on opening morning.  And they won’t take too much of your time. Road-Scouting You got to be where the gobblers are.  Quickest way to find them is using your ears early in the morning as they sound …

Man, we had a couple of warm days this week and my phone started ringing, “when are the trout going to be stocked?”  Personally, I would rather we had ice to fish for another month, but if you wanna know: Rainbow trout stockings scheduled this spring LINCOLN, Neb. – Catchable-size rainbow trout are being stocked in city ponds, park lakes, and other waters across the state by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. These stockings will enhance fishing opportunities this …

For Holly Green, her peace of mind during finals in college could reliably be found in one place: between the pages of a black composition notebook. The formula was pretty straight-forward: head to one of the bridges at Fort Kearny State Recreation Area, notebook in hand, and just observe: the morning fog over the water, chunks of ice floating down the river, brown bats silhouetted against the moon, the croaking of the bullfrog she dubbed “Romeo” for his incessant singing. …

Again I am blogging about something you might have already seen, but I want to spread the word as much as possible and there is something upon which I especially would like to comment.  So, as I have often done, starting with the news release: Archery paddlefish applications accepted March 1-14 LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will accept archery paddlefish permit applications March 1-14. The application period begins at 1 p.m. Central Time on March 1. …