42 2020 Annual Report • Fisheries
Fisheries
E N G A G I N G N E W A N G L E R S
Nebraskans spent a lot of time fishing in 2020 – and many
of them were new anglers. With more than 35,000 new and
reactivated anglers in 2020, Game and Parks developed a
plan to provide information to help people on their journey
for a successful fishing trip — helping to ensure retention.
More than 15 fishing-related articles were distributed to
news outlets, through blogs, radio, social media and through
email engaging new and current anglers. Each article directs
readers to our How to Fish page and Going Fishing Guide on
our website. Topics included 1) Importance of tying good
knots; 2) Simple setup to get started fishing; 3) How to plan
a successful trip; 4) Handling fish; 5) Rods, reels and line; 6)
Hooks, bobbers and weights; 7) Bait; and 8) Where to fish.
Later articles covered late-summer white bass and wiper
fishing and fall stocked trout fishing. Looking forward to 2021,
we are producing fishing trip planners to provide ideas of new
places to go, lists of different species people can catch, and
a challenge for beginners to catch and identify a variety of
common sportfish.
R E S E A R C H A I M S T O
U N D E R S T A N D R E S E R V O I R
H A B I T A T S
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has been
teaming up with University of Nebraska at Kearney to
conduct research aiming to understand reservoir habitat
characteristics and their influences on fisheries. The study
site for this work has been Harlan County Reservoir, where
reservoir coves of differing connectivity have recently been
monitored for numerous habitat, water quality and fisheries
characteristics. In addition to cove assessments, new research
has been started to determine the influence of artificially
added habitat structure to the reservoir. As reservoirs and
associated habitats continue to age and degrade, aquatic
habitat enhancements of this nature are likely to increase.
The results of these research projects will guide future habitat
management actions at Harlan County Reservoir and other
reservoirs statewide.
JULIE
GEISER,
NEBRASKALAND
MAGAZINE
