Conservation

Our Nebraska Game & Parks fisheries personnel had an opportunity to get another quick renovation done this spring.  There have been some news releases on this, but I am guessing many folks may have not heard about it.  Here is an extended version of the news release, a version with a little more detail on why these projects are so beneficial: Watts Lake Renovated to Improve Fishery Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission(NGPC) renovated …

Tomorrow is the opener of our Nebraska spring shotgun turkey season.  Yessssssss!  Actually, many Nebraska hunters have been actively hunting spring toms since March 25 with bow, crossbows and arrows.  And beginning last Saturday youth permit holders could get after ’em with a shotgun.  But, the next time the sun rises, it will be “on” for the rest of us. My kids and my hunt started a couple of weeks ago now.  To be successful, we have learned to spend …

I blog about fish and fishing, most of the time.  I try at least once in awhile to maybe pass along some tips or ideas that might help folks catch more fish, or catch & release a big fish.  I have one of those in mind today, but I am going to warn that this is going to ruffle the feathers of some of you. . . . I spend a lot of time on the water, observe a lot …

In the past few weeks I have blogged about some of the springtime field work that occupies the fisheries staff of the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (e.g. Piking, Easter Egg Hunt).  I cannot tell you everything our fisheries workers are doing, just know that spring is a very busy time.  But, I do have another activity that I want to tell you about. . . .We have crews on the Missouri River collecting broodstock pallid sturgeon as well!  Even …

If you are one of our youth fishing instructors, you have already received this.  If not, that is OK, the rest of you can read it too! Here is a cleaner, sharper version if you would rather read this, Spring 2015 Newsletter . And once again let me put out the plea:  We can always use more help, get involved, Become a Youth Fishing Instructor.  For those of you who have already joined the ranks, THANK YOU!

It is that time of year again and Nebraska fisheries workers are on their annual Easter egg hunt–for walleye eggs.  If you missed this, here is the official news release: Game and Parks Commission to begin Walleye Egg Collection LINCOLN — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans to begin collecting adult, spawning walleyes in late March. The Commission plans to collect approximately 76 million eggs to meet the 2015 stocking requests. Anglers should be aware that Game and Parks …

You can’t beat a good waterfowl picture. My wings are definitely clipped, so to speak, when it comes to drawing or painting a picture of a bird, but beautiful photos of waterfowl within the pages of NEBRASKAland and other magazines helped instill my passion for wildlife photography. I’m not alone in my fondness for imagery of ducks and geese. One only has to travel as far as the local Ducks Unlimited banquet to notice that the pretty waterfowl art from …

What I am about to tell you may be used by some to justify the next purchase of a rifle, bow or shotgun.   You may want to tape this to the refrigerator as soon as you read it.   But I guarantee you that, if you are a shooting sports enthusiast, hunter or angler, you will swell up with pride.  How the funding for the greates conservation model the world has ever known all came together to provide us the hunting, fishing and …

It has been long-awaited, but if you go to the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District’s website you will find this news! Prairie Queen Recreation Area Opening Set for March 31st I have often said that I wish all reservoirs built 30+ years ago were built the way we can build them now when given the chance to partner with a dam-building entity like the Papio-Missouri River NRD.  Simply put, reservoirs can be built with water quality, fish, anglers, and aquatic habitat in …

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of my son with a very nice, 36-inch pike he pulled through an ice hole this winter.  I put all of my blog posts on my FaceBook page too, and there a friend was giving me a bad time about the “hero shots” and holding fish closer to the camera to make them look bigger.  Another friend chimed in and said something that I thought was profound; I want to share it …