Tag Archives: panfish

It’s hot. It’s humid. Whew! Yeah, it’s summer alright. Hey, has your fishing success slowed with the conditions? Well, one fish leads the way with lots of action for anglers in the good, old summertime — bluegill. A male bluegill stands guard on its nest in a southern Nebraska pond. Underwater photo courtesy of NEBRASKAland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Maybe it’s the kid in me, I don’t know. But, at 60 years of age (approaching 61), I still enjoy …

The December issue of Nebraskaland has a one-page story by Jeff Kurrus, Don’t Stunt.  Yes, Jeff spent some time in my office talking about the story.  Yes, Jeff quotes me in the article.  If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will recognize the subject matter, again: I have said before, will again now.  I have seen far more panfish populations that suffer from the effects of over-harvest, than I have seen in less numerous, larger, predator …

By Larry Pape Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Nebraska is home to more than 100 fish species. Many of these will never be encountered on a fishing hook because their size, habits or habitats make them unavailable or undesirable to anglers. Most fish that can be caught by hook and line are designated as sport fish species. Nebraska offers opportunity for more than 40 of these species. It is good to know which sport fish you are catching since several …

Several years ago I posted a blog about what I consider to be the basic “kid’s fishing system”.  Unfortunately, I cannot link back to that old blog post, going to have to dust it off and just plain run it again some time.  Anywho, it was simple, rods, reels, small floats, small jig-heads, waxworms (yes, waxworms are great bait year around, not just on ice).  It is a system that almost never fails for catching some panfish, sunfish, bluegills in …

There is a video that has been making the rounds on the interwebs; it is about a subject I have already been on my “soap box” about once this winter.  In fact, some of you get tired of my pointy-headed ramblings on the subject; some have even called me some kind of fascist about it.  So, don’t listen to me, take a few minutes and listen to some of the best ice sticks in the world and see what they …

My buddies here at the Game & Parks Commission, Jeff Rawlinson and Aaron Hershberger have been taping some “how to” videos or “V blogs” or whatever you want to call them.  You can find them on YouTube under the title of “Nebraska Outdoors“. Aaron invited me over last week to talk fishing and they just got that video posted up today.  Might as well share it here on my blog too! Have a great weekend everyone.  Fish are biting, get …

I have a lot of ice fishing gear. I’ll admit it, I’m a junkie. Too many hours have been spent perusing catalogs and the Internet for the latest and greatest tools to get fish from one side of the ice to the other. Whether my purchases have resulted in more success can be debated. If I had to name the most valuable piece of equipment in my arsenal, it wouldn’t be the portable shanty, gas drill or electronic fishfinder that …