Fishing

My wife and I spent some time hanging out at a busy boat ramp on a recent weekend.  I have always said you can see a lot of funny things at a busy boat ramp: No, we did not see any one quite that proficient.  We did see a few folks that really knew what they were doing. Also saw a few that did not have a clue. By the way, the more sparkly the boat and the nicer the …

You may recall a couple of my previous blog posts about hybrid fish, Hybrids, Hybrids, More Sunfish.  My intent with those posts was to call attention to some of the interesting fish you likely will encounter in Nebraska waters.  In addition I hoped to point out some tips on fish identification. You may have noticed the “theme” in those previous blog posts being hybrids of the sunfish family, Centrarchidae.  More specifically I blogged about hybrids within the genus Lepomis which …

Saw a note from the Lower Loup Natural Resource District this past summer about road work planned at Davis Creek Reservoir.  I wanted to wait until later to post a reminder, and then I almost forgot about it! Anywho, here is what it said: Road Closure Scheduled for Davis Creek Recreation Area To better serve visitors, the access road through Davis Creek Recreation Area will close beginning Oct. 1, 2023, for a paving project. The area is south of the …

Fall is the perfect time in Nebraska to combo-up some hunting and fishing. And now it is official! Governor proclaims Sept. 23 as National Hunting and Fishing Day in Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday proclaimed Saturday, Sept. 23, as National Hunting and Fishing Day in Nebraska. “Hunting and fishing continue to be an integral part of the good life outdoors in Nebraska,” Pillen said. “Over recent years, hunting and fishing have offered a growing number of participants a chance …

I know some of you are still working on your Trout Slam, and I know this will be of interest to you: The latest batch of cutthroat trout raised in our Nebraska State Fish Hatcheries have been stocked recently.  They were all “catchable” size, 10 inches and maybe a little larger.  Here are the locations and numbers: Fall is a great time to get after some trout.  GO FISH!

It is fall and I have been touting it as a good time of year to go fishing.  Some of the best open-water fishing of the year will be happening in the next few weeks. That also means that the summer crowds are gone.  Now it is time to get caught up on some maintenance work.  I just heard about some more road work that you will want to know about if you are still fishing this fall: Expect closures …

National Hunting and Fishing Day is this Saturday, Sept. 23. This is a significant day. No, this is not just another one of those celebratory days, not by a long shot. I grew up hunting and fishing in rural Nebraska. My hunting heritage began 54 years ago this fall as a “quail dog” for my dad and his friend, Jim on our family farm in southeast Nebraska. I am eternally grateful to my dad for taking me hunting! Below a …

Calendar says it is mid-September.  The past few evenings have said autumn is definitely here!  Actually, depending on the fish you pursue and the amount of time you spend on the water, the seasons started to transition from summer to fall weeks ago already. You also know that our seasons repeat themselves, year after year.  As a result, I return to the same topics in my blog every year.  So, I am going to dust off an old blog post, …

Many of you will remember that we started an angler access and renovation project on Standing Bear Reservoir this spring (Standing Bear Renovation).  Beside the renovation of the fish community, this concept map describes the work being done: Weather has been relatively favorable this summer, dirt has been moving and progress is being made.  Got a few photos to show.  These are some of the angler access improvements along the north shoreline: Here is a big picture view from the …

A few weeks ago I published a blog entitled Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Boat.  I wanted to point out that a person does NOT have to have a boat to catch fish, a lot of fish, big fish.  I also wanted to emphasize that good fishing waters are good whether you have a boat or not–find a way!  As an example, I mentioned that shallow water cover often holds fish, even during the summer.  Sometimes you just have to find …