OUTDOOR NEBRASKA
PUBLISHED BY THE NEBRASKA STATE GAME, FORESTATION AND PARK COMMISSION FISHING SPECIAL
Why
Paul and Anne
Glen Foster
Glen Foster, supervisor of fisheries, parks, lakes, and recreation grounds has been with the commission for over thirteen years. Much credit is due Mr. Foster for the success of Nebraska's fishery program.
The cover and other art work in this issue is the work of Miss Ann Beard, a graduate of the Fine Arts department of the University of Nebraska. Miss Beard's work will add much individuality to subsequent publications of the commission.
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Outdoor Nebraska—August, 1943
What
By Schrader, Beard, GilbertMany are the fishermen who have excitedly called their neighbors to see a lovely, shimmering catch of fish only to be embarrassed by the immediate question, "What kind are they?" Such a question is most appropriate, as the chest expansion resulting from the catch of a five pound carp should certainly be quite different from that resulting from a catch of a five pound bass. However, there are those individuals who would probably throw us all off our course by calling both of them crappies. If only from the law enforcement angle alone, knowlege of the kinds of common fish found in Nebraska is important. For example, the size limit on the black bass is ten inches while on a crappie, sunfish or rock bass there is no size limit. It is therefore pertinent that the average fisherman be able to recognize the points of distinction between these fish. This can be accomplished by complicated scientific keys and scientific names so complicated that the average fisherman would prefer arrest rather than having to learn them.
The following diagrams have been devised in as simple and concise a manner as possible showing the most common differences between some of the common fish in Nebraska.
Group 1—Bullhead, catfish group: This group is characterized by having an adipose fin, barbels on the head, and skin without scales. If you will refer to the lettered diagram you will readily identify the adipose fin and barbels.
Group 2—The trout group: This group is readily identified by having the adipose fin and a fine covering of scales.
Group 3—The pickerel mooneye group: Their dorsal or top fin rays are soft (see diagram). The dorsal fin is inserted on the back of the body. These fish have jaws with teeth. They have no adipose fin.
Group 4—The soft rayed group: The fish in this group have no adipose fin. The dorsal rays are soft and the dorsal fin is inserted in the middle of the body.
Group 5—Crappies, sunfish, bass and spiny rayed group: The fish in this group have no adipose fin. The first half of the dorsal or top fin is spiny; the second half is soft.
Group 6—The perch group: This group is somewhat similar to group 5 and includes the yellow perch, wall-eyed and sauger pike, and fresh water drum.
The fish found in these groups are the most common fish taken by the average angler. Occasionally spoonbill catfish are taken in the Missouri but rarely on a hook and line. They are readily identified by a large ladle-shaped snout which is often times as long as the body of the fish. The sturgeon and gar are also found in Nebraska, both of which are a very long slender fish covered with large plate-like scales. The gar has a very long mouth, well filled with sharp needle-like teeth, while the mouth of the sturgeon is on the under side somewhat like that of a shark. The burbot or ling is also found in Nebraska and resembles somewhat a bullhead with the exception that it has a single whisker or barbel extending from the chin, and a continuous dorsal fin to the tail.
Occasionally inquiries come to the Game Department requesting identification of a new kind of fish possessing short, stubby legs and tree-like branches growing from the neck. This animal sometimes taken on hook does not belong to the fish group at all, but rather the salamanders or as it is often called the mud puppy.
If the patient angler will spend a little time studying these diagrams and become acquainted with one or two points of differentiation he will realize still more pleasure from fishing as he
(Continued on Page 8)
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Outdooe Nebraska—August, 1943
Outdoor Nebraska—August, 1943
7
GROUP 5.
The Spiny Rayed Group.
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Outdoor Nebraska—-August, 1943
WHAT
(Continued from Page 4)readily indentures that glistening beauty at the end of his line as a bluegill, pumpkinseed or green sunfish, whatever it may be.
An individual denning himself as a sportsman can hardly identify himself as such if he is not interested enough in wild life to acquaint himself with the common types that he takes so abundantly in order to prove to others that he is a sportsman.
CORNING, OR TEMPORARY PRESERVATION WHILE FISHINGSport fisherman, or other non-commercial fishermen, frequently bring in their catches in poor condition. Sometimes the fish must be discarded. This latter is especially true when the weather is warm, the fishermen a considerable distance from home or unaware of a method by which fish may be properly handled when refrigeration is not available.
Such waste is avoidable when this procedure is followed: Bleed the fish soon as caught by pulling out the gills completely, leaving no remnants. Clean the fish as soon as possible, scraping out all traces of blood or intestinal material, and washing the body cavity thoroughly. Thorough cleaning delays spoilage; if the body cavity is not thoroughly cleaned, spoilage begins sooner than if the fish were not cleaned at all.
Rub the belly cavity well with fine table salt, containing one tablespoon pepper per cup of salt. Rub salt into the flesh at a rate of about one tablespoon per % pound fish; and dust a small amount on the skin side. Place the fish in a basket or box. A loose packing of green leaves around the fish has been found useful in inland regions. Cover the container with several thicknesses of burlap. The burlap must not rest on the fish since there should be an air space above the fish. Keep the cloth well moistened with water, since evaporation of moisture lowers the temperature in the container. Treated in this manner, fish should remain in good condition for at least 24 hours when ice is not available. When rinsed thoroughly the fish so treated is ready at once for cooking in any way desired. If rolled in salt and packed away with as much of it as will cling to them, they will keep for about 10 days. (These fish should be freshened for about four hours in one or two changes of fresh water).
—Courtesy Fish and Wildlife Service.The outdoor girl on the back cover is Miss Lorraine Carr, Secretary of the Pittman-Robertson division.
Where
Catfish, trout and other warm water fish, annually stocked by the Game Commission, abound in the meandering streams and flowing rivers of Nebraska. Numerous state lakes and expansive reservoirs scattered over the .state add additional fishing pleasures for the lovers of outdoor Nebraska. The enclosed map will show you some of the more important lakes and streams stocked by the commission and producing good fishing at the present time.
SOME OF THE BETTER FISHING LOCATIONS IN NEBRASKA
TROUTCherry County: Entire Snake River, North Loup River west of Brownlee, Middle Loup River north of Whitman.
Brown County: Plum Creek and Pine Creek, Long Pine Lake.
Sioux County: Niobrara River, White River.
Scottsbluff County: Nine Mile Creek, Sheep Creeks, Spotted Tail Creek, Winter Creek.
Morrill County: Drainage Ditches.
Hooker County: Dismal River.
Dundy County: Rock Creek Lake.
Dodge County: Fremont Sand Pit No. 4.
Chase County: Champion Lake, Frenchman River.
Cass County: Louisville Sand Pit.
Garden County: Blue Creek.
BLACK BASSCherry County: Valentine Mill Pond, Cottonwood Lake near Merriman, Cody Lake.
Brown County: Long Pine Lake.
Cass County: Louisville Sand Pit.
Dodge County: Fremont Sand Pits, Dead Timber Lake.
Dawes County: Whitney Lake.
Wheeler County: Pibel Lake, Lake Ericson.
Sherman County: Loup City State Lake.
Adams County: State Lake near Ayr.
Kimball County: Kimball Reservoir.
Keith County: Lake Ogallala below Kingsley Dam, McConnaughey Lake.
Lincoln County: North Platte Reservoir, Sutherland Reservoir, Wellfleet
State Lakes, Jeffrey Canyon Reservoir.
Chase County: Champion Lake.
Dakota County: Crystal Lake near South Sioux City.
Dawson County: Johnson Reservoir, Midway Lakes.
Knox County: Niobrara Park Lake.
CKAPPIE, BLUEGHXS AND BOCK BASSDawes County: Whitney Lake.
Kimball County: Kimball Reservoir.
Cherry County: Valentine Mill Pond, Cottonwood State Lake near Merriam, Cody Lake, Shoup Lake.
Lincoln County: North Platte Reservoir, Sutherland Reservoir.
Cass County: Louisville State Sand Pits.
Dodge County: Fremont State Sand Pits, Dead Timber Lake.
Saunders County: Memphis State Lake.
Platte County: Lake Babcock.
Brown County: Long Pine Lake. Wheeler County: Pibel State Lake, Lake Ericson.
Sherman County: Loup City State Lake.
Keith County: Lake Ogallala.
Dundy County: Rock Creek State Lake. Richardson County: Verdon State Lake. Jefferson County: Alexandria State Lake.
Sheridan County: Walgren Lake. Knox County: Niobrara Park Lake.
BULLHEADSPlatte County: Lake Babcock. Saunders County: Memphis State Lake. Cherry County: Cottonwood State Lake near Merriman, Cody Lake.
Wheeler County: Pibel State Lake. Adams County: Crystal State Lake near Ayr.
Scottsbluff County: Lake Minatare. Chase County: Champion State Lake. Seward County: Blue River near Milford. Richardson County: Verdon State Lake. Jefferson County: Alexandria State Lake.
Sheridan County: Walgren Lake. Dodge County: Dead Timber Lake.
CATFISHNiobrara River, Elkhorn River, Calamus and North, South and Middle Loup Rivers, Big and Little Blue Rivers, Republican and Frenchman Rivers, Platte River.
Keith iCounty: Ogallala Lake, McConnaughey Lake.
Lincoln County: North Platte Reservoir, Sutherland Reservoir, Jeffrey Canyon Reservoir.
Dawson County: Johnson Reservoir, Midway Lakes.
PIKELincoln County: Sutherland Reservoir, North Platte Reservoir, Jeffrey Canyon Reservoir.
Keith County: Ogallala Lake, McConnaughey Lake.
Dawson County: Johnson Reservoir, Midway Lakes.
FISHING REGULATIONS
Open Season Size Daily Posses- SPECIES (Both dates inclusive) 1943 Area Open Limits Limit sion Limit Trout (all April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State No size 10 10 species) limit Black Bass April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 10 inches 10 10 (Large and Small Mouth) Crappie (Black April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State No size 15 15 (calico bass) limit or white) Sunfish Bluegill, April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State No size 15 15 Green and limit Pumpkinseed) Rock Bass April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State No size limit 15 15 Bullheads April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 6 inches 15 15 Catfish [Channel, April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 12 inches 10 10 Blue and Mud (or Yellow)] Catfish [Channel, Jan. 1 to March 15 Mo. River only 13 inches None None Blue and Mud & May 1 to Dec. 31 by Commercial (or Yellow)] permit Perch Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 Entire State No size limit 25 25 Pike [Walleye April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 12 inches 5 5 and Saugar (Sand)] Pike (Northern) April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State 12 inches 5 5 Freshwater Drum April 1 to Nov. 30 Entire State No size 10 10 (Sheepshead) limit Total Bag and Po ssession Limit 25 25 STATE-OWNED LAKESSpecial Fishing Regulations are in Effect at the Following State-Owned Lakes: Arnold Lake, Custer County; Blue River Recreation Grounds, Seward County; Champion Lake, Chase County; Cottonmill Lake, Buffalo County; Cottonwood Lake, Cherry County; Crystal Lake, Adams County; Duke Alexis, Hayes County; Dead Timber Recreation Grounds, Dodge County; Jefferson County Recreation Grounds; Loup City Lake, Sherman County; Memphis Lake, Saunders County; Pawnee Lake, Webster County; Pibel Lake, Wheeler County; Platteview Lakes (Louisville), Cass County; Rat and Beaver Lakes, Cherry County; Ravenna Lake, Buffalo County; Verdon Lake, Richardson County; Rock Creek Lake, Dundy County; Shell Lake, Cherry County; Walgren Lake, Sheridan County; Wellfleet Lake, Lincoln County; Fremont Sand Pits, Dodge County.
The Following Regulations are in Effect on State-Owned Lakes Only:Open daily from 4 a. m. to 10 p. m, from April 1st to November 30, inclusive, except on perch. Fishing fcr perch on State-Owned Lakes is permitted from January 1, 1943 to December 31, 1943.
Daily bag and possession limit: perch 25, all other game fish 15, 5 of which may be bass, and 5 of which may be trout.
Fishing devices other than regular lines attached to poles are prohibited. Each person is permitted to use not more than two lines with two hooks per line. Throw lines or floats are prohibited. Motorboats are not permitted. Digging or seining for bait on grounds is prohibited.
FISH STOCKED BY THE COMMISSION January 1, 1942 to June 1, 1943
County Trout Adams Antelope 10,200 Arthur Blaine Boone Boyd Brown 30,400 Buffalo 4,112 Burt Butler 5,300 Cass 5,288 Chase 5,350 Cherry 112,778 Cheyenne 1,600 Clay Colfax Cuming 4,000 Custer Dakota Dawes 83,660 Dawson Dodge 8,623 Douglas Dundy 23,740 Fillmore Franklin 2,900 Furnas Gage Garden 38,000 Grant Greeley 25,000 Hall Hamilton Hayes 600 Hitchcock 4,000 Holt 12,500 Hooker 2,300 Howard Jefferson 160 Keith 13,740 Keyapaha Kimball 23,600 Knox 20,000 Lancaster Lincoln 2,700 Logan 14,400 Loup 14,422 Madison 1,800 Morrill 14,100 Nance Nemaha Nuckolls Pawnee Phelps Pierce 900 Platte Polk 6,500 Red Willow 1,100 Richardson 500 Saline 325 Sarpy 10,000 Saunders Scottsbluff 219,550 Seward Sheridan 82,600 Sherman Sioux 226,084 Thayer Thomas Valley Webster 1,050 Wheeler 1,400 York TOTAL 1,035,282 Catfish 4,773 3,000 Warm Water Fish 4,300 55,063 4,500 4,000 4,000 3,000 12,000 5,100 5,040 17,454 41,736 50,125 2,600 2,300 3,885 9,000 19,100 5,000 32,600 63,830 262,328 6,930 250 5,000 2,750 2,180 29,500 1,500 12,700 52,960 3,833 2,000 3,008,421 106,266 84,519 4,500 2,000 14,470 1,000 11,100 28,615 9,000 4,200 13,900 3,000 700 1,000 7,500 4,700 8,980 4,950 8,000 4,000 137,319 500 4,500 1,300 3,912 612,940 2,000 3,500 6,920 100 38,680 51,980 1,000 2,500 7,000 15,100 17,280 48 914 2,000 500 2,500 1,860 13,000 2,000 2,875 150,200 5,885 13,860 36,000 2,000 2,500 5,750 8,500 500 7,980 19,845 11,290 3,565 8,000 17,100 4.974 1,000 26,244 90,400 6,700 71,441 9,920 37,130 3,000 6,000 1,000 8,000 11,300 1,000 1,000 1,200 8,820 5,200 11,500 290,160 5,343,882
Where to Stay
CHADRON STATE PARK— Modern Cabins: DAY Accommodations for 2 $2.50 Accommodations for 3 or 4 3.00 Extra Cots with linens 1.00 Extra Cots without linens .50 Cabins (Not Modern): Accommodations for 2 to 6—per day $1.25 to Accommodations for 2 to 6—per week 7.00 to All linens extra per bed or cot 50 cents each WEEK $15.00 15.00 1.00 .50 $3.00 15.00 NIOBRARA STATE PARK— Modern Cabins: DAY Small cabins for 1 or 2 $1.50 Small cabins for 3 or 4 2.50 Large cabins for 1 or 2 2.00 Large cabins for 3 or 4 3.00 Extra steel cots 75 Extra canvas cots 50 WEEK $ 7.00 12.00 9.00 15.00 2.00 1.00 PONCA STATE PARK— Modern Cabins: DAY WEEK Accommodations for 1 or 2 $1.25 $ 6.00 Accommodations for 3 or 4 2.25 10.00 Extra steel cots .75 2.00 Extra canvas cots .50 1.00 HAYES CENTER RECREATION GROUNDS— Modern Cabins: 3 room cabins DAY $1.50 WEEK $ 8.00
"LOCAL FISH MAKES GOOD or CARP FOR VICTORY
By Paul T. GilbertThe little colored boy with a rusty two wheeled cart turns slowly around at the impatient honk of the big Buick behind him. "Don't git a hurry suh ah want's to git some carp too." This little anecdote pictures well the success with which the Nebraska Game Commission's carp program is being received throughout the state.
From the Prince to the Pauper the carp is making itself at home as a substitute for meat on the tables of Nebraskans.
The members of this department were at somewhat of a loss when the government issued a request that Nebraska produce a million and a quarter pounds of carp for her own people. At this early date over ten thousand pounds have been produced by the Nebraska Commission and sold to the public at ten cents a pound. The old story of pounding a carp on a board and then throwing the carp away and eating the board is now most obsolete. People in Nebraska are finding the carp a nutritious as well as an appetizing substitute for meat when properly prepared. Before tasting that brown roasted carp which actually does smell very appetizing let us follow it back to its original home and become acquainted with the story, the climax of which is now before us as an edible delicacy.
To begin with Paul Todd, a tall
good-looking chap whose heart and
life experience has been centered
18
Outdoor Nebraska—August, 1943
around fish, their rearing and distribution, is located at North Platte and under
his able supervision Lloyd Winkelman,
George Janesovsky, Royce Ling and
Chas. Salisbury are starting early in the
morning on what will be an average day
for the salvage crew, but a most unusual
day for the carp. The equipment consists
of one large truck, a pickup, one large
transport tank truck, a barge eight by
eighteen feet, a two thousand foot net
and a pair of gasoline wenches. The
huge net is piled in the floating barge
and is laborously played out as the
barge makes a wide circle of the area
to be seined. The two thousand feet of
net, being set by hand under motor
power derived from two pair of strong
arms, takes a good part of the morning. In fact, if difficulties arise, as
they often do, a good part of the day
may be spent in this procedure. The
large gas wenches are then started and
with the help of willing strong arms
the huge net is gradually pulled toward
the bank in an ever decreasing circle,
trapping all the members of the finy
tribe that may have had the unfortunate fate of being in that locality when
the net was lowered above them. If
the net is not mudded down because of
heavy silt In the bottom of the lake and
if it is not caught and mangled by sharp
snags and submerged junk the circle
will be reduced to a point where large
and small fish of every kind will start
breaking water, thrilling the hearts of
nearby anglers unaccustomed to such
a sight. The game fish are then separated from the rough fish or carp and
made free to seek their original home
where they were hatched and reared befor being disturbed by man's curious
invention, the net.
Approximately eleven or twelve hundred pounds of the rough fish thus taken are placed in the large tank truck which is composed of a number of individual tanks filled with water, each tank having a hose connection through which oxygen or air, bubbles under pressure to keep the fish in as normal and undisturbed condition as possible. The old adage of the stage, "The show must go on," is most appropriate in salvage work; for once the fish are in the tanks, the transport must roll until it reaches its destination and the fish are placed in their native environment, the water of some other Nebraska stream or lake.
These carp at the present time are being hauled to the holding plant, located at the State Fair Grounds at Lincoln. At this plant the Game Commission has constructed large concrete vats which are filled with water and
(Continued on page 23)
HERE'S HOW
By Glen Foster and Ann BeardThis procedure follows the skinning of the fish. The skin is removed by cutting around the head of the fish and with a pair of pliers ripping the skin off from the head to tail.
1. Remove the head by cutting from B to A to I as is shown on the diagram. The pectoral fin is removed at the same time.
2. Remove the tail by cutting from E to F.
3. Slit the back of the fish from B to E cutting on both sides of the dorsal fin. Be careful not to cut too deeply or cut the back bone.
4. Grasp the dorsal fin at D and rip out to C.
5. Slit the belly from I to F cutting on both sides of the ventral and anal fins.
6. The ventral fin will have to be cut out. It does not rip out easily.
7. Grasp the anal fin at G and rip out as you did the dorsal fin.
8. Remove the internal organs by pulling them out through the slit that has been made in the belly.
The instructions given for cleaning a carp are to be used when the carp is to be immediately cooked. If the carp is to be transported some distance before being cooked then it should be carefully packed in ice after cutting off the head and tail and removing the internal organs. The fins and skin need not be removed until the fish is being made ready for cooking.
The most effective way of icing fish is to place the fish in a burlap bag along with large chunks of ice. The fish will absorb the melting ice water if allowed to stand in it and the meat will lose its fresh firmness and become soft and mealy. Use of a burlap bag allows the melting ice to drain and leaves the fish fresh and firm for cooking and serving as a delicious treat.
Instructions for Scoring a CarpThis procedure follows the cleaning of the carp. It is effective in cutting the small bones that lie between the ribs of the carp. The cuts in the meat allow the hot grease in which the fish is cooked to reach these small bones and crystalize them. The little bones then are rendered harmless and unnoticeable. The uncut rib bones hold the meat firmly in place while it is being cooked and then are easily removed when the fish is being eaten.
1. Start one-eighth of an inch from B at the top of the fish and with long strokes cut down the side of the fish. The cut should be parallel with the ribs of the fish as is shown in the diagram by the dotted lines and about as long as the lines show. The cut should not be too deep, just to the rib but not through it.
(Continued on page 23)
Around the Clock With the Fish Culturist
By The EditorThe top of the high cement walls of the inlet to North Platte reservoir was crowded with terrified fishermen. Far below them in a flat barge two men were slowly but surely being sucked into a whirlpool and falls created by the large gate above, allowing tons of water to boil over into the reservoir. Fellow fishermen on the banks strained hopelessly with ropes as the two sweat soaked fishermen braced themselves against the roaring fall, and as onlookers gasped, the barge was grasped as a feather and plunged into the depths by the force of the roaring water.
Fate, however, was smiling on these two members of the seining crew, for as the strong suction of the falls tore at them they were thrown to the outer rim of the whirlpool instead of into the pounding serge of the on coming water.
Alert crewmen on the walls of the inlet threw lines to their gasping colleagues in the water and soon the exhausted men were recuperating beside the wall of what might have been their bier. Such is but a leaf from the diary of Paul Todd and Melvin Barr, members of the seining crew.
As we loll beside a babbling stream, watching the antics of a fish tied securely to our stringer, little do we realize the work and the human stories behind the scene that finally made our catch available to us.
Lee Hudleson, superintendent of the salvage and distribution crew, has many trials and tribulations in saving fish for Nebraska. Superintendent Hudleson once was a proud coach of a salvage crew composed of twelve men. At the present time, with more difficult assignments than ever, a crew of seven men must carry on during the present emergency.
The wife of a member of the seining crew is quite used to saying, "My husband will be home sometime", but when, she never knows, for night and day winter or summer when there are fish troubles in Nebraska, the seining crew is there. It may be that you will see them on the Muddy Missouri, dropping long hoop nets into the deeper channels in order that they may trap catfish to be stocked above the many dams of the rivers and streams of Nebraska, which now make fish migration impossible.
The hoop nets resemble very much ''my lady's snood" or perhaps you would rather think of them as the well known wind-sock at your nearby airport, supported by numerous hardwood hoops which hold the net open at intervals throughout its length. At the point where each hoop is fastened the inside is opened with a slender throat which enables the hungry catfish to enter, but makes egress more difficult. At the slender end of this ten foot net a large sack of most odoriferous, decaying cheese is the enticer for the catfish.
The story is frequently heard that
the Game Commission is stretching nets
at the mouth of the Missouri river,
thereby detaining the migration of the
Outdooe Nebraska—August. 1943
21
catfish up its tributaries. The only nets
used in this river are the hoop nets
here described, which have at their large
opening a diameter of two and one-half
feet. Twelve to fifteen of these nets
are scattered over a five mile area so
that little obstruction is afforded by
them for the catfish.
Perhaps some winter day you may contact a seining crew on some snowswept reservoir, driving their trucks over ice fifteen to thirty inches deep. How anyone could plan or hope to seine an expansive reservoir with a two thousand foot net with such winter conditions taxes the imagination of the most imaginative. However, superintendent Hudleson and his crew have the art down to perfection.
After figuring out the area to be
seined, fifteen inch holes are chopped
through the thick ice by means of
heavy ice bars at intervals of about
seventy-five feet. One large square approximately eight by ten feet is chopped
in the ice and through this large hole a
seine is fed upon ropes which are passed
from individual hole to hole under the
ice by means of a long board. The
ropes from the two ends of the net
are joined at the opposite end of the
seining area and then begins the toilsome and over-hand continuous tugging
at the ropes by the members of the
crew, which will finally result in the
circle of the area to be seined. When
possible, trucks are used to assist in
pulling in the large net; frost bitten
hands and noses, frozen boots and trousers and even an occasional ice ducking
makes this a hazardous task. As the
ever decreasing circle becomes smaller,
fish begin flopping from the net in the
deep hole in the ice and finally as the
last pocket of the net is pulled up to
the hole in the ice, a shimmering,
splashing mass of fish greet the eye of
the surprised observer. Such a net full
of fish will average three to five thousand
22
Outdoor Nebraska—August, 1943
pounds. The game fish are then
separated from the rough fish and then
returned to their cold but welcome home
or else transported to waiting trucks
to equal habitats elsewhere, and in such
a case it is not uncommon for the weary
crewmen to drive the good part of the
night in getting the fish to their destination.
In passing, mention should be made that the original mud pack was probably made by the seining crew. For a great percent of the time is spent wading waist deep in the slimy ooze of temporary bayou and back waters which are slowly drying up under the lashing beat of the sun. May it suffice to say that almost five million fish were salvaged last year by the war diminished crew.
Hand in hand with the salvage crew go those energetic fish lovers, the hatchery men. Those patient but active culturists keep constant vigil over the spawning fish and those golden masses of shimmering eggs which will one day be pleasant fishing for the ardent angler.
A few miles south of Gretna, nestled in the trees beside the Platte river, Gretna State Fish Hatchery adds a spot of interesting beauty for the weekend picnicker. Gerhard Lenz, superintendent, with his men spend much of their time working with new techniques evolved by them for the rearing of catfish in Nebraska. The spawner catfish are placed in ponds three feet deep in which nail kegs floored with cement and sand are placed for the nest of the catfish. Here the fussy female deposits her eggs, chaperoned by the male, and immediately after a hatchery attendant removes a large mass of golden eggs and places them in the mechanical nurse which is composed of a number of troughs holding a series of fine wire baskets over which river water constantly flows. The eggs being cradled with a gentle rocking motion created by flat vanes moved by electric motor power. These eggs are hatched and after a complex feeding program are reared to fingerling size and stocked in the waters in Nebraska or traded to other states unable to produce catfish in this manner.
Journeying north to the sandhills we
find Valentine Hatchery, clinging tenaciously to the city of Valentine. Here
superintendent Jack Mendenhall produces most every type of fish stocked
by the Commission in his hatchery,
surrounded by waters famous in Indian
lore, such as the Niobrara and the Minnechaduza.
Outdoor Nebraska—August, 1943
23
This is the largest hatchery
in Nebraska and serves well the whole
northern half of the state.
Southwestern Nebraska finds itself well represented with a modern hatchery hidden away in the rolling hills north of the town of Parks. Superintendent Frank Weiss and the Rock Creek Hatchery are well known for the large and numerous rainbow trout. Here one may peer through many feet of cold, sparkling water into the blue grotto of one of the largest natural springs in Nebraska which produces water for one of the largest ponds in Nebraska. Superintendent Weiss and his assistants through the use of circular cement pools and natural ponds hatch the baby trout and rear them to the healthy eight to fourteen inch size so acceptable to the average angler. This growth is accomplished by much babying, medicinal treatment and feeding with large quantities of carp and the cooking of other complex foods.
The youngest of the hatchery division is the North Platte Pike Hatchery under the supervision of Ed Lake. This hatchery, located below the large reservoir, when in full operation will produce between three and four million wall-eyed pike in a year, to be poured into the neighboring reservoirs in an attempt to make Nebraska the mother of as many types of diversified fishing as her children have been seeking from other states in the past.
And as with pride as an angler we scale our beautiful days catch it is with pride as a Nebraskan that we remember the time, labor and efforts devoted by the men of Nebraska fisheries in producing such fish for our pleasure.
HERE'S HOW
(Continued from page 10)2. Every one-eighth of an inch along the body of the fish continue the cuts as described in 1.
3. Make the cuts that come on the second half of the body longer, as is shown by the diagram.
4. Turn the fish over and cut the same way on the other side of it.
Use a sharp knife for both proceedings.
"LOCAL FISH MAKES GOOD" or CARP FOR VICTORY
Continued from page 19)through which air is pumped continuously. Here the carp remain in an active and happy state until a would be purchaser says, "I want that big one."
Mr. George Neill, caretaker at the plant, seines out our fighting beauty, weighs it, and another fish is on its way to replace the meat being used by our boys across the big lake.
A small sign "Fish for Sale" is attached to the large sign at the entrance of the fair grounds which heralds the coming of another load of carp. As though it were gossip over the back fence, the news spreads and soon a line of vehicles from our little red wagon to our shining Buick are waiting their turn to buy a few carp and thereby saving a few precious points through the use of the now highly esteemed "Mr. Carp."
THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET
I never knew the fellow, Who lived across the street, We both lived there for quite a spell Before we chanced to meet. Just like a lot of other folks, Too busy to be friends, Too busy watching politics, And world financial trends. All filled up with office work, Great rush and worldly woe, You'd thought without my brilliant mind, The world just couldn't go, Until I saw this neighbor, Across the narrow way, Dustin' off some bamboo poles, In a sort of yearning way. Now I hadn't seen a bamboo pole, Since I was a barefoot boy, And the memories that it brought to me, Just filled my heart with joy. So I casually went across the street, With a sort of lingering wish, And I says "Howdy friend Did you used to like to fish?" "Did I?", he says, "I just was thinkin' I'd like to go again, But I'm all tied up with work and things, Just like all other men." Well before we got through talking, We had planned some fishing fun, And from that moment onward. Our friendship sure begun. We found that life's a heap more fun, If you're outdoors for a while, And you get a feeling deep inside, That you'd always like to smile. That's my neighbor across the street, We're buddies, don't you see? Cause fishin' made us human, Like we really ought to be. By Paul T. Gilbert.
