Nebraskaland Magazine

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will train apprentice firearm hunter education instructors Nov. 5 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, 21502 W. Neb. Hwy. 31, Gretna, and Nov. 7 at the Hunter Education Office, 4817 N. 56th St., Lincoln. The three-hour workshops begin at 6 p.m. Register for the Gretna workshop by Nov. 4 or the Lincoln workshop by Nov. 6. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter@nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

I’ll be giving you some quick tips on hunting rooster pheasant and bobwhite quail for the opening of those two seasons this weekend on my Weekly Outdoor Report airing LIVE Thursday at 6 p.m. CST during the sportscast on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News with Greg Ortiz. Changes in habitat use and drought have led to low numbers of pheasants in many locales, however, there are areas where hunters can find birds! Also, improved numbers of bobwhite quail most likely will …

LINCOLN – A 48-year-old Omaha man has died following a hunting incident near Macy in northeast Nebraska on Sunday, Oct. 20. The incident took place on the Omaha Indian Reservation, where an early deer hunting season was in progress. The victim was in a five-person hunting party when he was shot in the buttocks with a rifle. He was transported to a Winnebago hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy has been ordered. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, …

At the FLW Southern Conference High School Bass Fishing Championship at Lake Texoma (with its 1,250 miles of shoreline) this Past Saturday, Payne Ahrens and Eric Soe of Gretna High School along with their boat caption, Cory Roll, had a great time and represented Nebraska and their hometown of Gretna well! There were seven teams with thirteen anglers. They fished seven hours and weighed just four fish. The winning team won with two fish weighing in at three pounds to …

One of the purposes of doing this blog is to hopefully expose a few people to new things about Nebraska’s birds and birding.  On Thursday morning last week, Lauren Dinan and I made a trek, a pilgrimage if you don’t mind a little bit of hyperbole, to Audubon’s Spring Creek Prairie near Denton.  This was a no nonsense trip seeking one thing……to find the elusive Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii).  Not only were our efforts rewarded with a Sprague’s, but we …

Our paddlefish snagging season has been underway since the beginning of October.  One never knows what water conditions are going to be like on the Missouri River nor how much water the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be releasing through Gavins Point Dam nor which gates they will be releasing water through.  All of that can have a significant impact on the success of paddlefish snaggers.  Fortunately, things have worked out this season and the reports I have been …

Whether it’s running down a tree head first or standing on hind legs to inspect an attractive aroma, raccoon behaviors can be fascinating to observe. Though easily identified by their distinctive black mask and ringed tail, witnessing a raccoon in the wild can pose a challenge due to their nocturnal nature. In the city, however, the odds of catching a glimpse of these mammals are considerably greater. With a population density and life expectancy higher than that of their country …

Quick note to wish Nebraska’s own high school bass fishing champions well today at Lake Texoma for the Regional High School Bass Fishing Championship! Good luck to Payne Ahrens and Eric Soe of Gretna High School (Gretna Bass on Facebook)!

Got to share some photos with you today.  Fall is a a great time to both hunt and fish in Nebraska!  To prove it, my friend Steve has been telling me about the success he and his grandson have been having this fall.  First, they slipped up to the Gavins Point tailwaters to snag a paddlefish. In spite of government shut-downs and predictions of the flood gates being open and the best paddlefish snagging area being off-limits to anglers, the …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners created three additional multispecies hunt permits during their meeting Friday, Oct. 18 in Nebraska City. Those new multispecies lottery permits, which will be drawn in 2014, are: – One Super Tag (elk, antelope, deer and turkey) for residents or nonresidents, with multiple $10 entries per person allowed. – One combination (antelope, deer and turkey) for residents, with one $10 entry per person allowed. – One combination (antelope, deer and …