In The Wild

It’s a sport. It’s a hobby. It’s a profession. It’s a pastime. It’s a lifestyle. Fishing. As a parent, I can tell you firsthand that spending time fishing with your son or daughter can be a key cog in their emotional development and mental well-being, as well as a contributing factor to what is referred to as a filial bond. And, it continues through the years and never really stops. In fact, it rolls on further with grandchildren. There are reasons why you should take your son or daughter fishing …

The strong smell of smoke still permeates the air and eventually causes the eyes to water. Soot is on and in everything, even items and  paperwork inside drawers and cabinets. After a while your clothes begin to smell like you built the smokiest campfire ever. A structural fire, or being next to an intense structural fire and dealing with the aftermath of it, is a nasty, dirty thing that takes considerable time to professionally clean and restore. If you have not heard, our/your Nebraska Game and Parks …

Zac Hickle is an avid fisherman. He could take a rod and reel, tackle box and bait, and sit by the river’s edge to try to catch catfish and a variety of other fish. But, he doesn’t do that. Instead, at home he gets his young 6-year old son, Gavin, ready, then hitches up his customized Jon boat loaded with archery fishing gear, life jackets and large tubs, and sets off for the backwaters of mighty Missouri River. You see, Zac Hickle of Elkhorn, NE is a hardcore …

You can’t miss them. You really can’t. Around bridges over rivers or creeks this time of year, they immediately snatch your attention. Maybe it’s their sheer numbers (hundreds, if not thousands of them) and their extreme aerial acrobatics that catch your eye. Or, maybe it’s them coming in and out of their clusters of gourd-like mud nests clinging to the walls beneath bridge overhangs that capture your awareness. Or, perhaps it is the throng of bird activity along the muddy bank of a stream or mud hole …

Roasting marshmallows over a campfire is one of the highlights of a camping trip or an outdoor gathering, especially to a state park area. No question. You would think roasting a marshmallow over the coals and embers in that furnished fire ring may seem like the easiest thing to do, right? Not necessarily. How many times have you seen someone pull their stick from the fire to reveal a perfectly roasted marshmallow? That’s right, not very often. What you normally see is somebody quickly removing their …

I do not do this often, but from time to time I will copy “stuff” I have found on other blogs or somewhere else on the interwebs and post it here on my blog.  This week my buddy Greg Wagner wrote a great blog on not just hooking big fish but then landing them, and what to do with them after they are landed.  Yes, I talked to Greg while he was writing his blog and he quotes me in …

You’re a hunter. You’re an angler. Or, perhaps you’re both like me. Maybe, you’re even a trapper. You know that you are the principal contributor, the main backer of wildlife conservation, management, habitat enhancement and protection in our country. You know that hunters and anglers were the driving forces behind the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a set of wildlife management and conservation principles established more than a century ago that declare fish and wildlife belong to all Americans, and that they need to be scientifically managed in a way …

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 …

Nebraska’s popular archery spring wild turkey hunting season is in full swing, and seemingly a growing number of hunters have added another piece of legal archery equipment to their repertoire  — the modern crossbow. The word — crossbow — can stir up a very heated debate in conventional bow hunting circles. Consider that a similar debate also took place when the compound bow was first introduced into the hunting scene many years ago. Some folks will be quick to let you know that a crossbow or arbalest is …

Nebraska’s spring wild turkey hunting is tough to beat. It really is. Trust me, I know from many years of firsthand experience hunting throughout the state! And, I continue to hunt wild turkeys in the springtime from the Missouri River bottom woodlands of Washington County all the way to Platte River bottom woodlands of Dawson County. We Nebraskans as well as our nonresident visitors have plenty of reasons,15 at least, to enjoy the state and take to the woods to call in a bearded bird this year. An adult …