Nebraskaland Magazine

My job with the Game and Parks commission and NEBRASKAland has taken me to some incredible places throughout the Panhandle and beyond in the first six months. With more than 40 Commission properties within 160 miles of my home, there is a lot to see and photograph in this spacious region. That being said, it seems some unbeatable travel opportunities await me right before my nose. While I join others in the desire to set up camp at a location …

Who doesn’t love to catch catfish this time of year in Nebraska waters? I sure do, especially the flatheads! So, I’ll be prodding you to step outside and fish for post-spawn, hungry channel, blue or flathead catfish during the cooler parts of the day and offer some universal tips to help improve your catfishing success on my Weekly Channel 6 Outdoor Report tonight! The Weekly Outdoor Report airs on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6 and online at www.wowt.com LIVE Thursday evening at …

I made it to both of our large “Carp-O-Rama” events this year; time to show you some pictures and tell some stories. We have had Carp-O-Rama at Pawnee Reservoir northwest of Lincoln for several years now.  It seems like it gets bigger every year. Boats too! This is a family event!  Grandma helps take the fish off the hook! And dad holds ’em for photos. There were some fish caught. And carefully carried up to the tents. Stan will clean …

It’s been a very busy, but enjoyable and exciting week for us at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. We hosted and participated in the 2013 Annual Summer Meeting for the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Association here in Omaha. Base camp for it was the Hilton Hotel in downtown Omaha. From invasive species to mule deer and trout, from presentations to committee meetings and exhibits, this big meeting covered the gamut of conservation topics that are synonymous the …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is accepting recreational trail grant applications for fiscal year 2014 funding. The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a grant program through the Federal Highway Administration that reimburses political subdivisions such as communities, counties and natural resources districts up to 80 percent of project costs for trail acquisition, development, renovation and support facilities. Applicants must have the financial means to undertake and maintain the project and all funding should be on hand. …

Cue the theme music. . . . She Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby It has been almost three years ago that I went into some detail about the fisheries renovation that was done on the west lake at our Mormon Island State Recreation Area,( http://www.outdoornebraska.ne.gov/parks/guides/parksearch/showpark.asp?Area_No=123 ), http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2010/08/rotenone-renovation/ .  What I want to share with you here is a paper that documents the fisheries science behind a rotenone renovation, http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tnas/418/ .  If you wish you can download the entire paper, …

I often joke that my best Nebraska fishing spots are guarded by mosquitoes, ticks, itch mites, owls, wild hogs, sasquatch, mountain loins and rattlesnakes (have shown a couple pictures of the rattlesnakes this year,  http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2013/06/adventure-report-june-5-2013/ ,  http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2013/07/adventure-report-july-17-2013/ ).  My pets that guard my favorite spots are raised in a top-secret facility deep in the Nebraska sandhills, Area 52.  The boys in research and development have been working on a new critter to keep the swimmers and fellow float tubers away from …

I’ll be previewing the inaugural Scheels Camo Classic Golf Tournament on The Great Outdoor Radio Show I host this Saturday morning. If you’re wondering, the tournament is scheduled for August 10th at Omaha’s park-like Miracle Hills Golf Course. Here’s the flier about it. Only a  few openings remain! This will be unlike any other golf tournament, trust me! Why? I’m playing in it, that’s why! Good thing there’s no water on the course at Miracle Hills otherwise I’d be in …

It is about this time every year I get a bit antsy….my wife calls it miserable. The first open hunting season looming at the start of next month gets me a bit crazy. I have gone an entire month without chasing a critter…Its tough on the soul. Throughout July I like to finalize plans for fall hunts. It gets me through to the opener of squirrel season. Each year I will take to the squirrel woods with a single action …

The past couple of weeks have been busy and I have traveled to several corners of our great state.  Time to give you a report on what I have been doing, mostly show some pictures, and oh yes, tell you about some fishing. . . . Most years I end up spending the 4th of July holiday with my family in Valentine.  That has been a tradition for about as long as I can remember.  This year was no exception …