Outdoorsmen Adventures.com

SIDNEY, Nebraska – The University of Nebraska bass fishing club and Cabela’s teamed up this season for what team captain Kyle Branecki called the best sponsorship contract in all of college fishing.

Cabela’s initiated the deal after hearing about the Husker Bass Anglers, which had only minor sponsorships and an unreliable boat-use agreement, last year. Terms of the Cabela’s sponsorship included use of a boat provided by the Ranger dealership based out of the company’s La Vista, Neb., retail store, where the boat was on display between tournaments.

Cabela’s also designed the University of Nebraska boat wrap and supplied the trolling motor, electronics, lures and team uniforms, while Evinrude provided the engine and Geico took care of the boat insurance.

“It only seemed right that the University… Continue reading

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal.

YANKTON, S.D. — Scott Madison, who heads up River City Guide Service at Lewis and Clark Lake, was gassing up his big Lund when I pulled into Captain Norm’s just below the Gavin’s Point Dam at 6 a.m. last week.

Lewis and Clark Lake, the past few years has quietly assumed the position of one of the Missouri River’s best walleye fishing reservoirs.

The reservoir is the only one on the system that has a 15-inch minimum with no slot limit.

Madison says walleyes ranging from 20 to 24 inches are very common and in the fall of 2009 many fish in the eight to 12 pound range were caught and released.

But fishing is no sure thing, even on the best of lakes. This day we caught many, many fish but the bigger ones eluded us. However, the small fish are a good indicator of things to come.

The weather had been very unstable the three days prior to our arrival and that, I’m sure, contributed to our lack of success on larger fish.

We trolled six rods all armed with crankbaits and worked over a dozen spots, which had provided good fishing in the past. We marked very few baitfish or walleyes on the electronics.… Continue reading

Turkey hunting has been in my blood since the early 70’s when I first hit the woods in pursuit of the long beards.

Over the years, I’ve managed to take over eighty birds bagging every species in the U.S.  except for the Osceola of Florida.

As spring approaches, my excitement builds and as the season begins to draw down, I feel as if something will soon be missing from my life.

This year it was different, as I had tagged all three of my Nebraska birds early in the season, two in northeast Nebraska and one in the southeastern part of the state.

I’d also called had the opportunity to call in a couple of birds for Team member Larry Myhre while we hunted together.

Since I’d tagged all of my birds and there was plenty of time left. I decided to give my cameraman Kyle Nickolite, Yankton, the opportunity to shoot his first bird.

Kyle had been on several turkey hunts with me, but he was always on the other end, running the camera.

His first filming in he field had been a spring turkey hunt where a Tom came in behind him without making a sound, startling both he and I.

This is one of those things that will either scare the heck out of you or hook you on turkey hunting for life.

As most turkey hunters do, on our first trip, we headed out long before the sun rose and set up where we thought the birds would be traveling from the roost.… Continue reading

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

I’ve always maintained that when fish, any fish, are in shallow water, there is no more effective way of taking them than with the fly rod.

That was brought home to me once again when Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., and I were guests at the Big Blue Ranch and Lodge just south of Burchard, Neb., recently.

The lodge overlooks a 25-acre lake and from the first time I laid eyes on it I couldn’t wait to baptize a fly upon its waters.

I didn’t have long to wait. Gary and I filled our turkey tags in less than two hours and we were on the shoreline by 3 o’clock, rods in hand.

Gary doesn’t fly fish so he was hurling a number 3 Mepps spinner and soon connected with a three pound bass, the first of many.… Continue reading