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Monster Fish: Flying Carp

SNEAK PREVIEW – SPECIAL NIGHT & TIME
Sunday, July 18, at 10 PM ET/PT

Flying fish from Asia are invading America’s waterways and turning innocent boating trips into boxing matches as fish “knock out” anglers.  They’ve already infiltrated the Mississippi River system and are now positioned to take over the Great Lakes.  With no natural predators, the flying fish are growing to mega proportions, jumping 10 feet in the air and injuring boaters, in addition to threatening local ecosystems as they squeeze out native fish.  Zeb Hogan heads to the Illinois River, one of the areas where this fish population is densest, to see what can be done to stop them … and the answer could be as simple as your dinner plate.



Biologist Zeb Hogan, ecologist Kevin Irons, and crew members use electrofishing methods to catch the Asian carp. With fish jumping eight to ten feet in the air, the men send a 5,000 Watt electric current around the boat to stun fish and catch them in their nets. (Credit: National Geographic Television)

Video “Fish Invasion!” – To find out just how much of an impact Asian carp have on native fish species, Zeb joins a crew of fisherman out on the river.

Video “Redneck Fishing Tournament” – One group of angry sportsmen and women have decided to fight back against the invasive carp by holding a carp-catching competition.

Monster Fish: Alligator Gar

Monday, July 19, at 10 PM ET/PT

Hogan goes in search of one of North America’s toothiest and most misunderstood monster fish: the alligator gar.  These bizarre creatures reach lengths of 10 feet, have a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and can breathe air, but over the past several decades have disappeared from their northern ranges and are currently vanishing from the bayous and marshes of the southern United States.  We’ll join a band of scientists in some unlikely places to see what characteristics equipped this prehistoric fish to survive over the centuries: a mouthful of teeth, toxic eggs, impenetrable scales and the ability to breathe air.  Today, alligator gars are facing a new threat — and Hogan is determined to find out if this fish will be able to survive in a modern world.

Zeb Hogan holds a juvenile alligator gar. (Credit: National Geographic Television)

Video “Catching Dinosaur Fish” – Zeb joins a fish biologist as she tags Gar in Louisiana in order to prevent the species from dying out completely.

Video “Juvenile Gar Detention” – Zeb visits a baby gar hatchery in Louisiana that is ensuring that the alligator gar population will endure for years to come.

Following the special sneak preview, Hogan continues his adventures on Monday nights, venturing into the jungles of Thailand in search of 600-pound Siamese carp in Monster Fish: Giants of Thailand on Monday, July 26 at 10PM ET/PT, going deep into remote Rio Roosevelt in western Brazil in Monster Fish: Jungle Catfish on Monday, August 2 at 10PM ET/PT, and traveling to Spain in search of the invasive Wels catfish in Monster Fish: Catfish King on Monday, August 9 at 10PM ET/PT.

Then, Fish Warrior begins on Monday, July 26 with:

Fish Warrior: Amazon Giant

Monday, July 26, at 9 PM ET/PT

Vágner treks deep into the Amazon in search of a river monster essentially unchanged since the Jurassic age — the arapaima.  These skilled predators can grow to massive proportions and can eat just about anything; they can even snatch up birds and monkeys from the water’s surface!  It’s a grueling expedition, but after days of hiking, canoeing and camping in the jungle’s extreme environment, Vágner makes the catch of a lifetime.  He reels in the biggest arapaima he’s ever seen, a 10-foot-long specimen, measuring nearly 5 feet in girth and weighing a whopping 325 pounds!

Jakub Vâgner and three other men life the 339 pound 10′1″ arapaima. (Credit: National Geographic Channel)

Then Vágner continues his journey to the world’s largest rain forest to go head-to-head with the giant piraiba catfish in Fish Warrior: Colossal Catfish on Monday, August 2 at 9PM ET/PT, and to Lake Turkana, Kenya in search of the Nile perch in Fish Warrior: Nile Mammoth on Monday, August 9 at 9PM ET/PT.

Finally, below are brief bios of Zeb Hogan and Jakub Vágner for your reference:

ABOUT ZEB HOGAN

National Geographic Explorer/Fish Biologist/Conservationist

Zeb Hogan is the director of The Megafishes Project, a five-year study to learn more about and help protect these monsters of the deep, supported by the National Geographic Society.  He earned an undergraduate degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis.  He was a Fulbright scholar at the Environmental Risk Assessment Program at Thailand’s Chiang Mai University and has also served as a World Wildlife Federation senior freshwater fellow.  Hogan was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2004.  He is now an associate research professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

ABOUT JAKUB VÁGNER

World Record-Holding Angler

Lifelong adventure angler Jakub Vágner holds many notable records, including a catch of 147 catfish in 40 hours.  His world records include capturing one of the largest freshwater fish, the arapaima, in the Amazon River basin.  Another world record was granted to Vágner for a 242-pound, 8-foot-long catfish captured on the Italian river Po.  Vágner’s fishing endeavors have succeeded in proving the mass existence of catfish in the Czech Republic, and he is a passionate promoter of the catch-and-release practice.

Click here for the open discussion at Huntingne.com

Morels begin to appear in mid- to late-April. They are not only delicious to eat, they are easy to find. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has a few simple pointers that may result in a bucketful in no time.

– Go early and often; get out into the field when the lilacs and violets bloom.
– Morels appear first in moist wooded river bottoms, then later (around Mothers Day) in hilly, forested areas.
– Morels may be found just about anywhere, but around dead, dying and fallen trees are optimal places to begin a search.

Here are some key things to remember before embarking on a hunt:

– Get landowner permission. Most landowners will grant permission for morel hunting, especially if they are offered a portion of the bounty.
– Always go with a partner and be sure to wear blaze orange to be seen.
– Use a plastic bucket with air holes in it to carry mushrooms. The holes will allow moisture to drain and keep the mushrooms from getting soggy.
– Use a sturdy walking stick for leaning on when bending to pick up a mushroom or moving vegetation to find those that are hidden.

A morel hunt is an excellent way to introduce children to nature by providing fresh air and physical exercise.

Click here to view their channel.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Efforts to control the light goose population continue with the Light Goose Conservation Action, which begins Feb. 6, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The dates for the conservation action are: Zone 1, Feb. 6-April 18; Zone 2, Feb. 6-April 1 and Zone 3, Feb. 6-April 18.

White and blue-phase snow geese and Ross geese may be taken statewide during the conservation action, but different regulations apply in each zone. Read the 2009 Nebraska Waterfowl Guide, which includes regulations for the 2010 conservation action, at http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/hunting/guides/waterfowl/waterfowl.asp.

Considerable effort has been put toward the reduction of the mid-continent snow goose population. This population attracts attention because of the damage to Arctic habitats it has caused. The use of methods to increase harvest has resulted in more than a million snow geese being harvested annually since 1998, with nearly 1.5 million taken in 1999. It is estimated that 1.4 million snow geese would have to be harvested annually to reduce the population.

There are no bag or possession limits during the conservation action and hunters may shoot 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Hunters may use unplugged shotguns and electronic calls during the conservation action.

Hunting is allowed statewide except for several state wildlife management areas and federal waterfowl production areas in the Rainwater Basin region of central Nebraska.

In Zones 1 and 2, hunting will be allowed only on Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Beginning March 24, hunting will be allowed seven days a week.

In Zone 1, it is illegal to hunt within a half-mile of the outer channel of the Platte River between U.S. Highway 281 and Nebraska Highway 14. In Zone 2, it is illegal to hunt light geese within a half-mile of the outer channel of the Platte River between Feb. 8 and March 10. The no-hunting area expands to 3 miles (changed from 5) between March 11 and April 1 to provide protection for endangered whooping cranes.

Conservation action hunters age 16 and older are required to have a Nebraska hunt permit, Nebraska Habitat Stamp, Nebraska Waterfowl Stamp, Federal Migratory Bird Stamp, and a Harvest Information Program number.

Permits may be purchased at OutdoorNebraska.org.

Source: NGPC

By JOE DUGGAN / Lincoln Journal Star

Read the ongoing discussion at the Huntingne Forums!

Some farmers call them corn rats.

While Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh isn’t ready to equate whitetail deer with a vector of the bubonic plague, his agricultural constituents along the Missouri River holler that deer are death on profits.

So the senator has proposed legislation allowing farmers, ranchers and family members to kill unlimited deer on their properties, without permits and without seasons.

The bill (LB836) also would require a special “depredation” season every two years to encourage even more people to whack deer.

And it would establish a bounty, in the form of a $25 state tax credit, awarded to landowners for every deer killed on their lands.

More controversially, it would allow the use of spotlights to shoot deer at night, a practice employed by poachers but reviled by ethical hunters and safety advocates.

It’s just the latest indicator of how an animal once rare and revered in Nebraska has become a victim of its own adaptability.

With deer populations at historic highs, some see a whitetail less for its inherent value than its cost — in crop losses, motor vehicle damage and more rarely, human lives.

“I don’t mean to sound hard-hearted about this, but my gosh, we have so many deer in this state,” Lautenbaugh said Tuesday. “I’m not out to wipe them out, but at the same time, we just have an incredible overabundance.”

Others say the bill goes too far. Nebraska allowed unregulated deer killing more than a century ago, and it reduced once abundant herds to an estimated 50 animals.

It took about 50 years for the population to recover enough for regulated hunting, which uses scientific management to sustain hunted game populations.

People would be foolish to think they couldn’t decimate deer again, said Aaron Marr of Lincoln, who has hunted deer for 20 years.

Deer often gather in large groups in the winter, for example, which would make it possible for a group of gunners to slaughter scores at a time.

“We could go quickly from having an overpopulation to having very few deer in areas where that takes place,” Marr said.

When deer hit crops hard, game managers already allow landowners to hit back. They issue free depredation permits to kill deer or other big game causing crop losses, although the permit system carries more restrictions than Lautenbaugh’s proposal.

Representatives of at least two wildlife conservation groups have said they oppose the bill.

In recent years, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has used a number of management techniques to increase the deer harvest.

For example, in some areas, for every tag hunters buy, they get a free bonus tag that allows them to kill an antlerless deer. Because male deer mate with multiple females, reducing the population requires the harvest of does.

Nebraska’s deer population fluctuates annually, but in recent years, state wildlife biologists estimate it has peaked at about 375,000 animals before the start of hunting seasons.

In 2008, hunters set a modern record when they killed 80,500 deer. The numbers for 2009 have not been released, but a late corn harvest and heavy snow in December probably led to lower hunter success.

The senator did not consult with Game and Parks before writing the bill, he said, but he has since had discussions with the agency.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.

This is how it works.

You will see a link at the top of the forums called “Outdoor Journals”, this is where you can browse new entries, browse recently modified entries, browse most popular entries and search for entries.

Browse new entries – This will list all new journals entries.

Browse recently modified entries – This will list all recently modified journal entries.

Browse most popular entries – This will list the most viewed journals.

Search for journal entries – You will directed to the search page. The default search will show the newest entry from any journal. In the left column you will see a drop down list named “ShowCase Type”, click on this to filter your results by fishing or hunting journals. At this point you have many, many additional filters to use whaen searching the outdoor journals.

New Entry

How do you make a new entry to your journal? Click on your User CP in the forums navbar. On the left side will be your choices for the hunting and fishing journals.

Adding a new journal entry – Just simply add ad much information as you would like. Remember, you can mark one, two or all of your entries as private. You will see links to manage your current entries and add new ones!

Managing your journal entries – At this point you can preview, edit or delete existing journal entries. If your journal is marked private you will see that indicated in red lettering.

It’s that easy!

Future journals being designed now:

* Your Boat
* Your Decoy Trailer

This new feature will be released on Wed. 1/27/10.

Please contact a member of the Hunting Nebraska Management Team with any question you may have.

The need to increase the kill of growing herds is driving the proposed changes, said Kit Hams, the Game and Parks Commission’s big-game manager. Mud, snow and late corn harvest in eastern Nebraska limited 2009 deer-hunter success, he said.

Archery pronghorn hunters, however, bagged a record 163 animals in 2009. Elk hunters killed a record 138 animals.

Hams presented a snapshot of proposed changes to commissioners Friday. Highlights:

• White-tailed deer — Unfilled firearm permits would be valid for the Jan. 1-15, 2011, antlerless whitetail season; increase the size of the October antlerless unit to the eastern two-thirds of the state; increase the October antlerless season to 10 days from three days; reduce permit fee for October antlerless permits to $10 from $30.

• Mule deer — Increase antlerless permits and bonus tags in the Panhandle and north-central units; increase antlerless harvest in southwest and south-central grasslands; restrict antlerless harvest in southwest and south-central croplands; offer season-choice buck permits for specified units; no harvest allowed in small Polk County herd.

• Pronghorn — Increase buck-permit quotas; start an antlerless December season.

• Elk — Increase permit quotas; expand elk zones for landowner eligibility; begin bonus points on landowner bull applications; increase waiting period between cow permits from three years to five years.

Final recommendations will be presented to commissioners at their March 19 meeting in Lincoln.

Contact the writer:

444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com

Source – www.omaha.com

Article By: Sam Anderson PWT Angler

This is the time of the year that winter river walleyes are in their prime. The walleyes have all moved up to the staging areas right below the dams on the Mississippi and they are in open water. The walleyes like this area because the “hole” below the dam is a resting place and a feeding area. This area is high in oxygen and fish migrate to this area to rest before starting the spawning cycle.

In fact, many anglers have already started fishing the Mississippi. The Mississippi River from Prescott, Wisconsin down remains open year-round, and has a large population of both saugers and walleyes.

A river walleye unlike lake walleyes have to fight current all of their lives. Therefore, the walleyes in the rivers have adapted to be in areas that offer current breaks so they don’t have to fight the current all of the time. These current breaks are anything that diverts the current and allows slack water. The slack water areas are found below the dams where an eddy is formed by the water being drawn over the dam and rushing downstream causes a slack water area on each side of the dam. Other obstructions that cause slack water might be below wingdams, behind rocks, a depression in the floor of the river, a stump or fallen tree, or man made obstacles such as bridge abutments.

The key to locating walleyes in the river in the late winter starts with locating a series of obstacles and then allowing your bait or lure to present itself in a natural manner so the walleye can race from behind the obstruction to acquire the offering and then race back into the slack water area to digest his meal and await another

Look for breaks in the current. They may be behind islands, points, and below bars in mid channel. In strong current, walleyes group tight to structure. In softer current or low water periods, like winter, they often scatter, and hold on edges of barriers or current breaks.

Other spots may be structure like gravel or sandbars, shallow rocky shoals near drop-offs, wave-washed points, deserted sandy bottom beaches, or bottlenecks between two different landmasses. Riprap is also good, particularly where current hits the rock; such as on a windy point with deep-water access, or near a culvert where fresh water is filtering through a rock causeway.

Feeder streams funneling into a river represent yet other spots which fisherman should check out. The mouths of these tributaries often turn into fishing gold mines, especially after a heavy rain washes fresh food and fresh water into the river.

Depending on the force of the current and the water clarity, fish may be as shallow as a couple feet deep, or in the bottom of a washout hole, or river channel 15 to 20 feet deep. If the current is stronger than normal, the fish probably are hunkered in a slack water area. All anglers must learn that “current” sets the rules for location and presentation when fishing rivers.

What I have just described to you are “breaks and barriers”. A “break” is anything that will slow down or divert the current. Fish will be located behind such structure as rocks, wingdams, logs and stumps. A “barrier” is anything that will stop a fish from moving on, such as, holes or depressions in the floor of the river, a dam, or a break water structure for harbors, or the narrowing of the river into a channel. When fish are on the move concentrate on these structures. Fish will usually lay in ambush waiting for food to swim by. Usually fish (and large ones) will be in the warmer water less than 12 feet deep, chasing baitfish.

In search of walleyes in March and April I will begin by asking some local tackle and bait store owners where most of the walleyes are located. I want to concentrate on the most active bunch and they may be located up by the dam or right on the lip of the wash out hole down river from the dam. I eliminate a lot of searching by asking questions concerning the migration of the walleyes.

If the walleyes are concentrated at the dam I will fish them with a vertical presentation. The jig of choice here is at least a 1/4 oz. maybe even 3/4 oz. depending on the current. The important fact to remember is that I want the presentation to be as straight up and down, vertically as possible. If the jig is too light it will float off the bottom and I need to make contact with the bottom at all times. If the line that I select is too heavy the line will get a large bow in it and make my vertical presentation useless. I will probably go with the heaviest jig to allow me to make contact with the bottom and 8 lb. line to prevent the bowing in the line.

When the tailrace areas becomes crowded with boats, start moving downstream to holding areas. Flooded timber can be good at times. Try flipping a jig tipped with a minnow into cover. Use your MotorGuide bowmount electric trolling motor. The trolling motor is quiet and usually in stained water you can stand right over the top of the fish without spooking them.

When the particular structure is shallow don’t hesitate to use the Thill slip bobber method. Attach a 1/8 ounce Fuzzy Grub jig with a piece of plastic grubtail and a minnow to your slip bobber rig and allow the waves and wind to do the vertical jigging for you. If those walleyes are biting short, attach a stinger hook to your jig.

Vertical jigging is very popular, and the key to fishing a jig vertically in current, is boat control. Work these areas over with a controlled drift. The control comes from positioning your boat sideways into the current and using your trolling motors or a “drift sock” to slow down your drift and your presentation.

Another structural element that I key on, are the wingdams. In most of the pools on the Mississippi there are several wingdams either near the tailwater area or down river from the dam. When fishing a wingdam, I concentrate on the up current side of each wingdam or the flats between them. An angler should look for the boil line (disturbed water on the surface) that signifies the presence of a wingdam and check out the scour hole behind the wingdam to see if it is large enough to hold inactive fish. Wingdams hold fish all year long but I like to fish them in the early spring.

Fish are unusually spooky along wingdams and noisy gas engines will spook the fish. I prefer to use my bow mount MotorGuide electric motor, because it is quiet. The key element here is, to keep the bait in front of the fish. Point the bow into the current and “slip” down at about current speed. Keep baits in the strike zone longer by sweeping the baits across the structure allowing the bait to fall at a slow rate, naturally presenting the bait to the fish. It is essential; to slow down your drift with the electric motor as you go over the structure and watch your depth finder for “breaks and barriers”. You might have to run your big motor or a kicker motor in reverse to slow the presentation down even more if the current is increased. If the fish are shallow, you might want to anchor and use your bow mount motor to swing your bait and change your position on the face of the wingdam.

Well there are the spots you should concentrate on this late winter or early spring and you will find some of the best spots by a dam site.

We are excited to bring you up to speed on a new feature that will enable the members of the Huntingne forums to “log it and learn from it” using the Huntingne Member Journals. Here are a few screen shots of the journals in action…

Journal Control Panel

In this first image you will see all Journals that you have entered. You will notice that they are displayed in your User Control Panel for easy access. At this point you can either make a new entry, edit an existing entry or delete entries.

Journal entry

In this image you will see just a few fields you will enter specific information about your hunting or fishing trip. These fields are editable and you do not have to fill them all in, only the ones you want to log and keep track of.

Journal Postbit

In this image you will see some of my test journal entries. All members that have active journals will have a link in their postbit to their journals entries. Of course if you have them marked private the links will not show. As you can see the link will display a random picture of the specific journal entry, just click on it to view the entire entry. It can’t get any easier than that!

In this final image you will see a small snippet of a completed journal entry. We look forward to offering this valuable tool to the members of the Hunting Nebraska Community. Please look for more updates soon!