Conservation

You can start some good arguments/discussions in a group of anglers by bringing up the subject of color.  Everyone has an opinion on the importance of color in catching fish, and some guys have several opinions.  What I will tell you is that we know that fish can see colors, that is a scientific fact.  It ain’t rocket science, but it is fisheries science.  We even know that different species of fish have different sensitivities to different colors. When doing …

I have been doing a poor job of giving updates on aquatic habitat and angler access improvement projects.  There are a bunch of them to tell you about, let me try to get ’em all into this one blog post: South Boat Ramp Replacement at Pawnee Reservoir Rock Creek Boat Ramp NORTH PLATTE, Neb. –  A new ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) approved boat ramp, parking area and vault restroom is soon to be constructed at Rock Creek Lake State …

Snowing again this morning; looks like another crummy “spring” weekend.  Folks are getting grumpy and that is proof that they do not fish enough. Saw this making the rounds on the inter-webs, so you may have seen it already.  If you have not, maybe it will brighten your day just a little bit! https://www.facebook.com/uniladmag/videos/4699145376775151/ Man, I gotta have one of those hanging on my office wall!  The only thing is the voice ain’t “Billy Bass”.  Have to call her “Barbara …

I mentioned that our Nebraska Game & Parks fisheries staff hits the ground running every spring and that we have really geared up with our collection of walleye eggs starting this week.  I also want to note that this sure ain’t the first field work we have been doing already this spring.  Our field crews have been on the water in several places sampling, tagging, collecting eggs, etc., etc.  I want to show you a few photos to give you …

Those of you who have been to Smith Lake Wildlife Management Area south of Rushville lately have surely noticed the signs warning you about an invader that has taken up residence in the water. For those of you who have not, no, the Walgren Lake Monster of local legend has not moved east — as far as we know. The culprit is curly leaf pondweed – a plant that forms dense stands over large areas, crowding out other species, restricting …

Let’s see, snowed yesterday, more forecast for later this week, it is below freezing, ice just melted, it is cloudy, the wind is blowing, and the calendar says first week in April.  Yep, must be time for the walleye spawn! Our Nebraska Game & Parks Commission fisheries crews will be hitting the water starting this week to collect the walleye eggs needed for stocking walleyes around the state this year.  Here are the details: Walleye egg collections begin April 2 …

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 …

Holy Cow!  I look out my window right now and the sun is shining!  Seems like we have had nothing but cloudy, damp, and cold, forever! I think this calls for drastic action! Naturally Mike would tell you to go catch a bass, should be a good day for that, but it could be a pike, walleye, trout, crappie, catfish, whatever. . . . I know this much for sure, THIS AIN’T SPREADSHEET WEATHER!  Take his advice, stop what you …

Have you ever held a new fishing bait in your hands and wondered what it might catch? How big are your dreams? I did the other day, a brand new bait.  The hooks needed sharpened.  By the way, lots of new baits need the hooks sharpened, some of them just plain need better quality hooks, right out of the box. After sharpening all nine hooks on three trebles, I wiped the blood from where I had impaled my fingers, and …

This weekend should be an interesting one for turkey hunters.   Warm Saturday and then some disagreeable weather for Sunday.   You have to love spring turkey hunting!   No matter, grab your turkey calls and head to the woods as things may start heating up soon! Over the years, I have come to be very fond of certain turkey calls.   From mouth calls, slates, wing bone yelpers, to box calls, I have and still do use them all.   But it seems each …