Conservation

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has awarded a Nebraska family the prestigious Private Lands Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award. The award was given to the Forney family, which owns the Forney Ranch in the Nebraska Panhandle. Dr. Kent Forney, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioner from 2007 to 2016 and a lifelong champion of conservation, accepted the award on behalf of his family earlier this month during the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies annual …

I was outta the office a week or so ago to help do some field work.  I got to help with some work on one of my favorite waters in one of my favorite parts of the state–Pelican Lake on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). I am not going to rehearse the details, or the merits, of the large Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation project that is ongoing on the Valentine NWR.  If you have been living under a soapweed and …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley honored the state’s hunters and anglers on Monday during a ceremony in which he proclaimed Sept. 22 National Hunting and Fishing Day in Nebraska. For more than four decades, National Hunting and Fishing Day has recognized America’s hunters and anglers for their leadership in fish and wildlife conservation. National Hunting and Fishing Day, celebrated the fourth Saturday of every September, remains an effective grassroots effort to promote the outdoor sports and conservation. …

Many years ago when I was going to school training to be a pointy-headed fish biologist, I never dreamed I would be doing what I am doing now.  Yes, I am referring to blogging, communicating, writing and speaking, informing and educating; that is pretty much what I do all of the time.  A big reason I am doing that now, and something we never dreamed of years ago, is this interwebby thing.  Simply put, the internet is an extremely valuable …

I originally heard this story on a radio station, then found it making the rounds on the inter-webs: Market Shut Down for Putting Googly Eyes on Fish To Make It Look “Fresher” Apparently, after sitting around on a table in some stinky fish market, adding some “googly eyes” improves sales! See how much better it looks! Now why didn’t eye think of that? My latest walleye photo after dark was a little blurry, if I had added a googly eye …

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I believe the best open-water fishing of the year is upon us right now.  I love fall fishing.  I have touted the many reasons I love fishing in the fall, and one of those is there is a lot less activity on our waters in the fall.  There are a lot of other outdoor pursuits that occupy people’s time in the fall; once the fall hunting seasons start to …

The Seven Fish guys teamed up with one of our fisheries biologists to do a video on what EVERY boater should do when taking their boat out of EVERY body of water: That is a great reminder, and yes, you can expect me to continue to hammer on this message every chance I get.  We all must do our part!  Your fishing, my fishing, depends on it!

Nebraska is a place where we experience all four seasons, winter, spring, summer and fall.  Sometimes we experience two or more of those seasons within a 24-hour period. Most of the time the transition between seasons is much more gradual, much more subtle.  If you only fish a few times a year, your transition between seasons may be abrupt–spring on one trip, summer the next.  But, if you spend a lot of time on the water, if you pay close …

Been awhile since I have given an update on the state record applications that have crossed my desk. . . . It has been the time of year when we see some activity for underwater spearfishing state records, so let me start there: The first to cross my desk was a bigmouth buffalo speared by Mike Ban from Colorado.  Mike was diving on a private sandpit in Dawson County when he speared his 30 pound 7 ounce buff. Mike’s fish …

I have some roots in North Platte, graduated from high school there.  This headline from the ole hometown newspaper caught my eye: Driver hit with Taser after threatening deputy, holding frog hostage Obviously, there is some funny stuff going on back in Flat Rock–holding frogs hostage!  What is this world coming to?  Here’s the whole story as reported in the North Platte Telegraph: A man rolled his car, then held an amphibious bystander hostage during an altercation with a deputy …