How To

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 …

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 …

Please consider me the proverbial town-herald, rather than an alarmist. But…The end is near! THE END IS NEAR!! January 31, draws nigh and with it comes the end of my beloved bird season.  And what a season it has been, too.  Last season (2014/15) I was pleasantly surprised with bird numbers.  This season (2015/16) I was shocked.  The birds bounced back. Yes-yes, I heard all the good news prior to heading to field this past fall, but data is just …

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 …

LINCOLN – Get out of the house this winter and spend some time viewing Nebraska’s bald eagles. They can be seen year-round across the state, but winter and early spring are the best times to see numbers of eagles. In the winter, there often are concentrations of bald eagles feeding on fish and sick or wounded waterfowl at reservoirs that have some open water. Favored sites include Sutherland Reservoir near Sutherland, Harlan County Reservoir near Alma, and below Gavins Point …

LINCOLN – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in February: Feb. 1, 5 – Hunt Safe Session, Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex, Platte River State Park (SP), Louisville, 5:30 p.m., 402-234-2217 Feb. 2 – Big game public informational meeting, Bridgeport, Prairie Winds Community Center, 428 N. Main St., 7 p.m. Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23 – First Steps Pistol, Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center, Lincoln, 6 p.m., …

Someone I knew once said: “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you a snow day, you make snow ice cream!” I couldn’t agree more! With an ever-expanding blanket of snow cover over much of Nebraska, I thought it would be a perfect time to share with you my recipe for making snow ice cream. Creating this scrumptious “snow cream,” as I call it, is a fun activity to do with the kids on a cold winter day here on the Great Plains. They’ll …

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. 13 at Rock Creek Station State Historical Park near Fairbury from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Youth fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct fishing clinics. These volunteers will have access to the Commission’s loaner fishing equipment and educational materials for events, as well as …

I am heading out of the office here in the next few minutes, but I have a couple of news items to get out before I leave.  Do you want the good news first or the bad news?  Let’s do the bad news first. Discover Ice Fishing On-Ice Clinic in Kearney Canceled LINCOLN – The Discover Ice Fishing on-ice clinic scheduled for Jan. 16 at Kearney’s Yanney Lake has been canceled because of a lack of safe ice. The Nebraska …

LINCOLN – The Discover Ice Fishing on-ice clinic scheduled for Jan. 16 at Kearney’s Yanney Lake has been canceled because of a lack of safe ice. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will not reschedule the clinic. Still scheduled is the Nebraska Fish and Game Association’s classroom clinic at Yanney Heritage Park’s Environmental Resource Center, 2020 W. 11th St., from 8 a.m. – noon. Registration is requested. Email Harold Fankhauser at harold@nefga.org to sign up.