Tag Archives: hybrid sunfish

Fish identification can be a challenge.  There are a hundred some species of fish in Nebraska.  Anglers may catch maybe forty-some of those species.  That does not seem too daunting, but it gets complicated by the fact that any species of fish can come in a variety of sizes and coloration is highly variable.  For that reason, it is useful to know identification characteristics other than coloration or “looks”.  However, it is true that we learn different species simply by …

Quick blog post today; just want to give a little report on what I have been seeing on the ice.  Yes, ice fishing 2023 has been good, have been on the ice quite a bit so far this season.  Mostly I have been fishing small waters, pits and ponds.  There is no real reason for that, no real strategy.  It has just worked out that those are the waters I have fished the most.  Actually, my new year did start …

Last time I blogged about my recent ice fishing adventures (Been Around Some More), I mentioned that in spite of deteriorating ice conditions, I was not sure I was done, yet.  I was not.  I slipped another afternoon in on the ice a week ago.  By the way, the ONLY way I push it as early and late as I do is by religiously following ice safety protocols (Annual Ice Safety Reminder).  If you are not able to do that, …

My son and I do not get to fish together all the time.  Still it is nice knowing that even though we are separated by miles, we are on the water.  Maybe apart for now, but still on the water.  In fact it is interesting how often we are doing the same things even though we are fishing individually. For example, each winter we target big bluegills, 10-inches and larger, just like we get after muskies in open water.  At …

Getting towards the end of the year and some folks like to look back, review what kind of year it has been.  If you are an angler, you like to do that and remember the fish you caught. I could do that, but a year is such a long period, and I fish really hard in the fall.  So my review is not going to be all of 2020; just the past few months–the best open-water fishing of the year. …

Like all anglers, I love big fish.  The bigger the better.  Big, bad, predator fish turn my crank. But, I also love the variety.  In fact I spend at least some time every year just tossing a small “bobber” and catching some sunfish. Does watching a bobber go under ever get old?  Or maybe I should ask, are you ever too old to not get excited seeing a bobber go down?  If you do, then you should quit fishing. Now, …

A few weeks ago I posted a few photos of fish our field biologists have sampled around the state this fall.  I have all the data now and am putting together next year’s Fishing Forecast.  Wait for it, it is coming, should be sometime shortly after the first of the year. Until then, let me tease you with some more photos of fish that were sampled, and released.  These from eastern Nebraska: OK, for the sake of accuracy, this one …

Most of you know that I am all fishing, all the time, but I love to hunt and trap too.  I seldom go more than a few days without drying off a fish or two, but in the spring when the turkeys are gobbling, I get distracted.  This spring has been no exception.  I spent as much time as possible listening to my favorite birds gobble from ridge tops, fields, and canyon bottoms.  When the time is right, often in …

When doing seminars and workshops about Nebraska fishing I often note that we have no closed season for fishing in the state, and that I will spend at least some time fishing every month of the year.  An ideal autumn is one where I go from late fall, open-water fishing to first ice, ice-fishing in just a couple of weeks.  Likewise, I ride late ice as long as I can, as long as it is safe, and ideally transition to …

You all know that big fish turn my crank!  The biggest, baddest predator fish swimming in a body of water, “GET ON MY LINE”!  I spend A LOT of time on the water each year trying to do just that.  The thing is when pursuing those biggest, baddest, top-of-the-food-chain, apex predators, there never are a lot of them and there are a lot of hours of effort for each one hooked.  Yep, sometimes a lot of hard fishing in miserable …