Conservation

If you have lived in the great state of Nebraska for any length of time, you know that spring is a frustrating time.  It comes in “fits and starts”.  I laugh at the wild swings in weather, and the wild swings in the mental health of those hoping for warm, sunny days.  Ha.  We are going to live with this schizophrenia for several weeks yet, might as well make the most of it! For example, in this past week I …

I got a reminder from our Boating Law Administrator that this week is the National Association of State Boating Law Administrator’s Spring Aboard Campaign to remind folks to complete a boating safety course! Yes, somewhere in my wallet is a boater safety card. . . . If you check the 2018 Boating Guide, right up front, you will find the requirements for operating a motorboat in Nebraska and the boater safety requirements: Many of you will be required to take …

I believe if you been reading my blog for anytime, you know I am a huge Husker fan!  It is in the blood.  Yes, I am a fan of any Husker sport.  But, as far as just sitting down and watching a sport in which I have no rooting interest for either team, I have always enjoyed college basketball as much as any.  I have played a little intramural, church league and pick-up basketball over the years, still do on …

I have seen some reports already this early spring of sturgeon being caught, mostly from Nebraska’s Missouri River.  I am confident a lot of the anglers catching those fish, especially the old “river rats” are very aware of what they are catching and their sturgeon identification.  On the other hand, I realize there are new folks learning about new fishing opportunities all the time, and sometimes I worry they may not know what they are catching. There are three species …

There are a couple of workshops coming up on managing small waters, pits and ponds: Lake and pond management workshops scheduled in Omaha, Lincoln LINCOLN, Neb. – Free workshops are scheduled in Omaha and Lincoln this spring for anyone who makes decisions about lakes and ponds or wants to learn more about protecting them. The two-hour workshops begin at 6 p.m. Reservations are required. The first workshop will be in Omaha on March 21 at the Douglas-Sarpy County Extension Office, …

Let me tell you from the phone calls, e-mails, messages, and “chatter” I have heard this week, I have come to the conclusion that there are a darned lot more people that need to learn how to ice fish!  It happens every year, the ice starts melting, we get some open water and warm afternoons, everybody thinks it is time to fish, and then they discover the water is still cold, the fish are hard to catch, and then the …

My son and I made it out to the glorious Nebraska sandhills for another ice-fishing trip this past month.  I have been swamped with “important” stuff to blog about since then and have not been able to tell you about it.  Time to change that. We love ice-fishing Nebraska’s sandhill lakes; they truly are some of the best ice-fishing in the country for a variety of species of fish, northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegills, yellow perch, black crappies, we love …

When I received the call from my co-worker, Justin Haag, about coming to the Panhandle to take photos of the bighorn sheep capture, I was more than ecstatic. I had always wanted to see how this process takes place and get close to the sheep. Along with that, who doesn’t want to travel to one of the most beautiful areas of Nebraska, the wildcat Hills and Pine Ridge. Not knowing what to expect, I went out to watch the crew …

It was only a month ago that we introduced our new angler recognition program–the Nebraska Trout Slam.  At the end of my blog post on the subject I challenged to see who would be first. Well, it did not take long! Alliance angler is first Nebraska Trout Slam recipient ALLIANCE, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has its first official Trout Slam angler. Justin Powell of Alliance was the first to meet the requirements of the new program, …

I just got a blog post up yesterday with a major news item, spring trout stocking, but I need to get another one up today with a couple of minor news items.  No, these will not impact as many people, but if you were planning a late ice, ice-fishing trip into the north-central sandhills or planning to hit some early spring open water below Gavins Point Dam, you will need to know! Boating restrictions temporarily in place below Gavins Point …