How To

You have heard of “dad jokes”; in fact you probably have a few. I was reviewing some tunes the other day and realized I also have a repertoire of “dad songs”.  You know what I am talking about.  Your kids roll their eyes too. On long road trips I would occasionally pop the ole cassette tape in and play this one:  (It was a cassette, not an 8-track).  (Oh yes, I am serious, I have a cassette with this song …

I have long been a proponent of fishing for a variety of fish species.  By targeting different species of fish, you can stay on top of a variety of “hot bites” for the maximum length of time.  If the walleyes do not want to bite, but the crappies are jumping in the boat, well, why wouldn’t you fish for crappies?????  By fishing for a variety of species, the learning and the excitement, never ceases. But, there is something else I …

Got another news item today.  You may have seen the news release already.  If you have, ignore me.  If not, well, that is exactly why I am spreading this around: Hackberry Lake to be chemically renovated Aug. 9 LINCOLN, Neb. – Hackberry Lake on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge will be chemically renovated the week of Aug. 9 as part of the ongoing Aquatic Habitat Project on the refuge. The rotenone treatment is aimed to eliminate common carp, an undesirable …

In the past couple of years we have seen water levels in the sandhills unlike anything any of us remember.  Roads have been closed, valleys have been flooded, water has been everywhere.  I would not say water levels are low now, it is all relative.  Certainly they are lower. So, I want to spread the word on this: Blue Lake reopens after long closure ALLIANCE, Neb. — A Sandhills fishing destination has reopened after a 28-month closure. The Nebraska Game …

It’s hot. I will always tell you that you cannot catch anything sitting at home on the couch.  However, when it gets this hot, I have to admit my motivation to go fishing wanes a bit.  I might still “wet a line”, but I will be selective about the times and places to do it.  On the other hand, getting into the water sound like a great idea right now. Let’s go there. . . into the water.  I can …

This news release went out late last week.  Once again, I am just trying to spread the word. . . . Grove Trout Rearing Station closing temporarily to visitors July 22, 2021 LINCOLN, Neb. – The Grove Trout Rearing Station near Royal, Nebraska, will be closed to visitors until further notice due to upcoming expected high air temperatures in the area. Trout have been experiencing some health issues as the water to the facility has been warming. Warm water holds …

I always get rather impatient this time of year. Is it because of the weather being so hot, humid and hazy? No. Is it that the hunting seasons are just around the bend? No. Then, why? Well, I am a gatherer, a prairie wanderer – if you will, and I am anxiously waiting to harvest elderberries during these dog days of summer. However, it’s not quite time yet. Here I am checking out wild elderberries for ripeness on a Saunders …

I try to “lighten up” with my Friday blog posts.  There were a couple of things I had in mind for today, but I changed my mind. . . . I love fish pictures, never get tired of fish pictures.  So what could be better than looking over a bunch of fish pictures? We are in our third year of our Take ‘Em Fishing challenge.  Right now there are 24 pages of fish pictures that have been entered for Take …

There have not been a lot of Trout Slam entries coming in, but there have been a few.  Time to give an update and get certificates mailed out. . . . In case you forgot, the Trout Slam is an angler recognition program we initiated a couple of years ago.  We started it to highlight our cold-water fisheries around the state.  Those are some beautiful places, and there are beautiful trout in those waters.  All a person has to do …

I want to point out some fisheries research work currently being done on the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska.  The easiest way for me to do that is to “copy and paste” a page from our July 2021 Nebraskaland Magazine: As the article says, if you happen to catch one of these tagged fish, we would like to know about it.  If you do not have any other contact information, you can always let me know about it, daryl.bauer@nebraska.gov. The …