How To

On my WOWT 6 Outdoor Report this week, I’ll be featuring  and promoting the 2014 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) event coming up the first weekend in October at the Nebraska State 4-H Camp near Halsey. Space remains for this outdoor education program which is a hands-on, fun, camaraderie-filled one designed to give women the basic skills to become active participants in the outdoor lifestyle; including activities related to fishing, boating, hunting, hiking and camping to name a few. Check out these photos from past BOW …

I will not pretend to know a thing about sports psychology.  What I do know is that at the highest levels of competition, whatever the sport, competitors look for any advantage they can gain.  To calm nerves and focus on execution of every sport, one technique athletes employ is to picture, visualize, themselves hitting the baseball, sinking their free-throws, catching that touchdown pass. Fishing is a sport for everyone.  It can be enjoyed on a variety of levels in a variety …

Every year I hear and read accounts of anglers who think that August is a slow time for fishing. It’s hot, the dog days of summer are upon us, and in most cases, there are more than enough groceries for fish to help themselves too. Fish can be lethargic, seem to disappear, and not be interested in being caught at all. While part of that is true, not all of it is. It’s true, in lots of cases this year, that …

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 …

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, …

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 …

The Nebraska Cornhusker football team is practicing and fall high school sports practices begin on Monday, so it’s time for us who enjoy hunting in Nebraska to begin our pre-season preparation work as well. Find out some key things that need to be done for hunting on my Weekly Outdoor Report airing live on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News tonight at 6 p.m. CST during the sports segment. If you miss the live broadcast of the outdoor report, you have some options.Video replays of the report are always available after …

When I was a kid, my uncle Bill once picked a pail of wild gooseberries from woods in Pawnee County. Clueless what to do with them, he gave them to my mother. She baked them into what was probably a very good gooseberry pie, but I did not care for it. It was too tart for my tastes. Of all the possible gifts our candy store-owning uncle might furnish – he brought bitter fruit.  My next encounter with gooseberry pie …

The days are at their longest this time of year, the wind doesn’t seem to be as strong most days, and the fishing may become, well, less than stellar. Of course, this isn’t true for every body of water across the state, but I’ve heard of it recently applying to more than a handful. For a few weeks now, I’ve heard it has slowed down on local reservoirs, as well as waters farther away. The recent walleye tournament at Merritt Reservoir would suggest …