Tag Archives: big fish

Why do some people get perplexed when they see someone release a massive, master angler-sized catfish? After all, catfish, even the larger ones, sure taste good, don’t they? Consider the belly meat on a flathead catfish. So why is it every time we see an angler report or a social media post mention or show a picture of a large catfish they have put back in the water, a spirited discussion most likely ensues over what should or should have …

All of us who love to fish have a story or two about the one that got away, don’t we? Invariably, the tale involves hooking the fish of a lifetime and losing it to unforeseen circumstances or mistakes. Trust me, I have made my share of mistakes when it comes to large, prized game fish. Your blogger mishandling a nice-sized channel catfish. Photo by Rich Berggren/Conservation Officer with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Without question, these stories, however embellished, …

Why do some people get perplexed when they see someone release a massive, master angler-sized catfish? After all, catfish, even the larger ones, sure taste good, don’t they? So why is it every time we see an angler report or a social media post mention or show a picture of a large catfish they have put back in the water, a spirited discussion most likely ensues over what should or should have not been done with that whopper? So how …

All of us who love to fish have a story or two about the one that got away, don’t we? Invariably, the tale involves hooking the fish of a lifetime and losing it to unforeseen circumstances or mistakes. Trust me, I have made my share of mistakes when it comes to large, prized game fish. Your blogger mishandling a nice-sized channel catfish. Photo by Rich Berggren/Conservation Officer with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Without question, these stories, however embellished, …

Why do some people get perplexed when they see someone release a massive, master angler-sized catfish? After all, catfish, even the larger ones, sure taste good, don’t they? So why is it every time we see an angler report or a social media post mention or show a picture of a large catfish they have put back in the water, a spirited discussion most likely ensues over what should or should have not been done with that whopper? So how …

Spring is a very busy time for Nebraska Game & Parks Commission fisheries workers; fish to be stocked, fish to be spawned, sampling to be done, eggs to be hatched, etc., etc.  I will always tell you that in our field work we do NOT necessarily see the biggest fish that are present in our waters.  If you want to see that, anglers as a group target big fish and are most likely to encounter the biggest fish in any …

I have some piles of data on my messy desk right now; I am putting stuff together for the 2017 Fishing Forecast.  It should be done and available near the first of the year, just like it is every year.  I will be sure to get the word out when it is ready. . . . Until then, I know that no matter how much I say or what data I show, nothing beats some pictures!  So, to tease you …

People are fascinated by big fish, even photos of big fish.  I learned that a long time ago.  If you want to see some, some big fish photos that is, Y102 in Kearney and The Boat Dock in Grand Island are currently running a “Wishin’ I Was Fishin’ Contest”. You can see a bunch of fish, some big fish, most caught in Nebraska, and some really good photos that have been entered in their contest, Wishin’ I Was Fishin’ Album. …

By now many Nebraska anglers may have seen the photos of a big blue catfish that was recently caught.  I fired up my computer this morning and saw this. I have said before that there have been darned few verified catches of triple-digit fish from Nebraska waters, so any catch like that is a notable catch!  I have spent some time today trying to run down more details, and so far have not been able to find out much more. …

I slipped out of the office one day last week and helped some of our field biologists do some flathead catfish collecting at Branched Oak Reservoir. Got your attention now? I have blogged about this fisheries project at Branched Oak before and am not going to repeat all of that again here.  What I would like to do in this blog post is share some of the things that have been learned about those big, beautiful flatties in Branched Oak. …