Conservation

They are not “sky carp,” “lutefisk with feathers,” “an over-cooked catcher’s mitt,” or trash birds.  Your blogger displays snow geese harvested during a recent Light Goose Conservation Order hunt in south-central Nebraska. Photo by Ty Stromquist of Norfolk, NE. They are classified as light geese — snow and Ross’s geese to be exact, and they are to be respected and revered like any other natural resource! In fact, they are a worthy adversary of hunters and actually great to eat! Snow and Ross’s geese, …

CHADRON, Neb. – More than 50 bighorn sheep are carrying new equipment to help the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission track and aid their populations, some of which are struggling in areas of the state. A crew of about 50 people, consisting of Commission staff and volunteers, equipped the sheep with monitoring devices after a helicopter capture crew caught them at five locations in the Panhandle this weekend. The crew set up its mobile staging station at four locations along …

I am thrilled to say that we still have ice and it looks like we are going to be ice-fishing for at least a little while yet.  I have drilled up to 16 inches of ice in the past few days.  Whoot, whoot!  As a matter of fact, the conditions I fished in this past weekend were as “raw” as any I have fished all season.  That reminded me of a subject I have not mentioned yet this ice season–the …

Started a new workout the other day. . . . https://www.facebook.com/pescadoresdeplantaooficial/videos/1750834808270238/ For some reason I keep getting funny looks from people.  But, I have to admit I am not getting as many from the ladies in Yoga pants as I was when I started.  You would think they never saw a guy in chest waders before! GO FISH! And, Big fish matter. EDITOR’S NOTE:  The video ain’t actually me, but it has been making the rounds on the inter-webs lately.  …

I have been blessed to have opportunities to fish with some really good anglers.  Had another couple days on the ice deep in the Nebraska sandhills doing that again this winter. It all started when a buddy let me know he had a legendary ice angler coming down to spend some time chasing big Nebraska bluegills.  He invited me to come out and fish with them.  It took some shuffling of my schedule, but I jumped at the chance.  Who …

I am always touting the diversity of fishing opportunities Nebraska has to offer; I believe that is one of the unique things we do offer anglers in the state.  That certainly includes cold-water fisheries that are capable of supporting trout year-round.  No, I am not talking about the urban and parks waters where we stock put & take trout in the fall, winter and early spring, I am talking about some of the prettiest places in the state where we …

LINCOLN, Neb. – In 2017, a record 209 active bald eagle nests were estimated in Nebraska by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Bald eagles were on federal and state endangered species lists as late as 2007 and 2008, respectively. In a little more than quarter century the species has gone from a nonexistent breeding species in the state to one that is relatively numerous, according to Joel Jorgensen, Nebraska Game and Parks’ nongame bird program manager. In the early …

Unless you live under some kind of big rock, you know that this weekend is the “super bowl”.  This year Minneapolis is hosting this great American event.   In conjunction with the big game, Rapala and a Minneapolis TV station are hosting a promotional event like you have never seen before! https://www.facebook.com/CBSMinnesota/videos/10156254630003825/ If you want to read more about it, here is the press release, NR.WCCO and Rapala Minnecentric Experience_012618. It sounds like a hoot, but I am wondering if somewhere there …

The calendar tells me that today is World Wetlands Day so it seems appropriate to thank those who work to conserve the lands that waterfowl and so many other species depend upon for survival. Throughout the world, conservation-minded volunteers devote time and resources toward the preservation of wildlife and the lands they inhabit. Many of them channel their energy through conservation organizations, of which the recognized leader for wetlands is Ducks Unlimited. One such person is Larry Olson of Crawford, …

I did not get a blog post up today; not because I have nothing to blog about, believe me I have plenty, but because we did another FaceBook Live today–on the ice!  Those of you who might be new to the ice fishing game may be interested in watching: https://www.facebook.com/NEGameandParks/videos/10155235942003513/ We have some videos that cover a bunch of ice-fishing basics here too, How To Fish, Ice Fishing. With the forecast, it looks like we are going to be on …