Tag Archives: fisheries management

It has been a few years since we had any state record fish that have been caught through the ice.  We had a couple of fish caught & released through the ice last winter that were state record class ( Big Fish! , Big Fish! Its Happened Again! ), but none in recent years that have been certified as state records.  I have one that was caught through the ice this winter, and it is a bit of an unusual …

I have often said that all of our waters can be important fisheries in Nebraska, and that includes some of the state’s smallest waters–pits and ponds.  Angler surveys have consistently shown us that at least a quarter of licensed Nebraska anglers spend some time fishing pits and ponds each year.  Those small waters produce some of the best largemouth bass and panfish fishing in Nebraska every year and there are a variety of other species caught from some of those …

Some of you may know that we recently started stocking some striped bass in Nebraska, again.  There is more to the story. . . . Striped bass are a marine species that migrate into fresh water to spawn (anadromous is the big pointy-headed term for fish that live in the ocean but spawn in freshwater).  Sometime in the middle of the last century it was discovered that striped bass did not necessarily have to live in salt water, they could very …

A fishing buddy once told me, “I would venture that both your head and backside remain trimmed in your line of work”.  Boy, some days that is so true.  In fact it is so true that I saved the quote. Our mission here at the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission is stewardship of the state’s fish, wildlife, park, and outdoor recreation resources in the best long-term interests of the people and those resources.  Our fish, wildlife, park and outdoor recreation resources …

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the Lake Yankton Renovation.  That fisheries management project went off on schedule last week in spite of cool and rainy conditions.   Right now I want to show you a few pictures of dead fish because it demonstrates exactly why we do rotenone renovations, why we eliminate all fish in a body of water, and then re-stock. It is somewhat ironic that fisheries biologists would purposely, intentionally kill fish, but that is …

I will tell you that I wish that Nebraska had more water for fishing and outdoor recreation.  Since we do not, I believe it is extremely important that we maximize every opportunity, every resource we have.  In some cases we have water bodies that are not large, do not support tens of thousands of anglers, and may not produce boat loads of trophy fish.  But, I learned a long time ago that even those small water bodies, many of them community …

I have been to a lot of Nebraska Walleye Association (NWA) meetings over the years.  In fact, I was at a number of their meetings years ago when they started as the “Eastern Nebraska Walleye Association”.  However, I have not been to a NWA meeting for awhile; I intend to remedy that this coming Sunday. The NWA is having a meeting at 1:00 at the LaVista Cabela’s and I will be there to talk Nebraska walleyes.  If you can make it, …

Many of you have probably notices that our current Fishing Guide is valid until the end of this year.  In 2015 we will have a new Fishing Guide for the next couple of years.  That means we have been kicking around some regulation ideas: On October 23, 2014, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will hold a public hearing and take testimony on proposed changes in Fisheries Regulations for 2015-2016.  Before we finalize our ideas into recommended changes in regulations, …

There was a news release on the Lake Yankton rotenone renovation a couple of weeks ago: Lake Yankton Fishery Renovation Set to Begin Posted by: Jerry Kane August 12, 2014 in NGPC News LINCOLN – A renovation of the existing fish population in Lake Yankton, located below Gavins Point Dam, is set to occur on Sept. 10. The project includes drawing Lake Yankton’s water level down four feet and applying the chemical rotenone to eliminate the fish population. Record Missouri River flooding in 2011 allowed …

Every year about this time the Discovery Channel has their Shark Week.  If you are a pointy-headed fisheries biologist like me, you think that is pretty cool, especially when great white sharks are munching on seals (Ah, poor seal.)  Unfortunately, Nebraska has some really cool toothy predators, but alas no sharks.  To piggyback on the whole shark week thing some have thought it would be fun if we had “Carp Week” at the same time.  OK.  If we are going …