Tag Archives: predator/prey

Several weeks ago I blogged about “Scary Stuff” and how a little thrill now and then keeps us alive.  In our outdoor pursuits, knowing there are big, bad predators out there is what makes the “wild”, well, wild.  It is what makes it worth the time spent there. I get the same feeling on the water.  There are monsters there too and most of the time we cannot see them.  When I finally make contact, my eyes get wide, I …

Some of us pointy-headed fish biologists share an adage, “The only constant in nature is change.” If you live in Nebraska, you should know that is truth.  Our weather is always changing.  Our climate changes from year to year.  We have wet spells, dry spells.  I have heard sandhillers say, no matter how wet it has been, that we are never more than about three weeks away from the next drought. That is life in the Great Plains. If you …

We live in a world that is way too uptight.  How uptight?  So uptight that even our crayfish are anxious.  Don’t believe me?  Well, there are some pointy-headed crayfish biologists that say otherwise:  Anxious Crayfish. Actually, if you read the article, it does make some sense, at least it does to a pointy-headed biologist.  Molting, or more correctly ecdysis, is a stressful time for crayfish and for good reason. . . . Ecdysial crayfish have “soft shells”, and it takes …

Does not matter what part of Nebraska you live in, the past couple of weeks have been wet and they have been cold.  Some parts of our state have already seen significant snow.  To say we are in the middle of fall would be an understatement because the weather has been a whole lot like late fall/early winter.  If you are one of the few who has been spending some time on the water, you know the water temps. have …

Had a conversation recently with one of my hard-core fishing acquaintances, reminded me of similar conversations I have had over the years with other good sticks, and finally it dawned on me that it might be a good blog post.  That is it would be a good blog post if I can actually communicate what is rattling around in my head.  So let me start with a story. . . . Once upon a time, on a lake north of …

I did not spend a lot of time on the water over the Memorial Day weekend, but that was alright.  We spent a lot of time with family.  Never fear, I did spend some time on the water; would have spent more if it were not for a nasty storm that blew up one evening.  From that little bit of time on the water, I can tell you one thing:  Right now the channel catfish are en fuego. Fishing reports …

No matter how you define it, we are now in the fall season.  There are no calendars in nature; seasons gradually morph from one into another.  Below the surface of our Nebraska waters, fall started weeks ago. I know folks are busy with a lot of activities in the fall, and many of them will reach for their sticks & strings, scatter guns, and smoke poles rather than fishing poles.  Just know that fall provides some of the best open-water …

Recently I got “tagged” on FaceBook with a picture of a channel catfish that had been caught through the ice. The fish was a little over 5 pounds, a very respectable channel cat, especially through an ice hole, but the big surprise came at the cleaning table when the stomach contents were examined: Look close, it has been digested a bit, but laying just in front of the catfish’s head is a bullfrog that came out of that fish’s stomach! …

The fall bite is on, the best open-water fishing of the year is upon us!  It is also the best time of year to use big baits for big fish.  Don’t believe me? OK, now I must post the disclaimers because I learned a long time ago that some people take things they see on the internet way too seriously, and some people do not have much of a sense of humor. . . . That is a picture one …

I set you up last Friday by posting a video that showed Wels Catfish in Europe snatching pigeons off of river sandbars, and I postulated that our beautifully ugly Flathead Catfish might do the same thing (It’s A Fish Eat Pigeon World). This Friday, the birds turn the tables! I am NOT a bird biologist, and I am not sure where that video was taken.  I do know that is some type of small Heron, I am pretty sure a Green …