Fishing the SAND HILLS

by Mary Brashier

WHAT'S BEEN HOLDING you back from fishing the Sand Hills lakes?

There are plenty, you know-1,640 of 10 acres or more, and with a combined water area of 65,800 surface acres. A mere five probably have accounted for 75 per cent of angling visitation. So, although not all are fishable, you'll find lots of action.

The Sand Hills lakes are a great paradox. On a per acre basis, the fish producers are probably much more productive than the more highly lauded reservoirs. Some of the Sand Hills lakes are believed to support fish upwards of 1,000 pounds per acre.

But here's the paradox. The Sand Hills lakes are better producers because they're shallower; because MAY, 1961 3   they are shallow, they winter kill easily. Only 8 exceed 10 feet in maximum depth; the average is 3.2 feet. The deepest is Blue Lake in Garden County at only 13.8 maximum.

Fishing the SAND HILLS continued

In addition to the threat of periodic winter kill, summer evaporation rates are high, three to five feet annually. Add to this, varying degrees of alkalinity and unmarked and meandering access trails, and it's easy to see why only 170 Sand Hills lakes are classified as top game-fish lakes with good access.

Credit- for this Sand Hills lakes coverage goes to Bruce McCarraher's "bible", a study of gigantic proportions, listing not only the few lakes covered here, but the other 1,640 in the Hills. Bruce is a Game Commission senior fishery area manager at Bassett, and spent almost six years gathering the data condensed here.

But the 170 are birds of a different feather than their compatriots. The good lakes offer year-round sport because of the variety of fish they support. Angling there during the peak periods of spring and fall is as engrossing as at any reservoir-you don't hear about it as much simply because a lot less people do fish, to their loss.

At many, Sand Hills visitors share facilities equal to those of their reservoir counterparts. A number of the lakes are state-owned, with camping, picnicking, and other lake-side facilities. Overnight and restaurant accommodations are never far away.

What fish will be vying for your lure? Northern, perch, crappie, largemouth bass, and bluegill right now. Bullheads, perch, and bluegill in the summer; northerns, largemouth, crappie, and perch again in the fall. And it's no fluke that the state's champion bullhead weighed in at a hefty 3 pounds, 3 ounces, from a Sheridan County lake.

Two areas rate blue ribbons, for they host lakes within easy distance of each other. Brown County south of Ainsworth is one. The other is the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Within a 10-mile radius from the refuge headquarters on Hackberry Lake are 26 fish-supporting lakes having a combined area of 10,721 surface acres. About 14 are open or seasonally open to public fishing, and easily accessible.

In Brown County, Hofelt, Willow, Enders Overflow, Clear, and Long lakes are currently the most popular and offer the best fishing. Willow Lake is commercial; it accounts for about 40 per cent of the total fisherman use in the county, but anglers are overlooking good bets in the others.

Largemouth bass and bluegill are abundant and eager in Clear Lake, about 28 miles southwest of Ainsworth. They're good size, too, but still more angling is needed to harvest the fish on this private, but open to public fishing, lake. Access, as to all Brown County lakes, is by Sand Hill trail in good driving condition.

Enders Overflow is the deepest Brown County lake and is approximately 29 miles southwest of Ainsworth. It's private, but open to public fishing. No public facilities are available. Sand Hills trails reach it from the north and the south.

Enders Overflow is large-367 acres combined -and is one of the few Sand Hills lakes containing 4 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   walleye. The marbleyes were introduced in 1958, and have survived in small numbers.

Black bullheads, crappie, and northern are common; largemouth, bluegill, and yellow perch scarcer inhabitants of Enders Overflow. Bullheads and crappie reach a commendable size, although again, they're underharvested and consequently crowded.

Access to Hofelt Lake, about 13 miles southeast of Ainsworth, is good. The water lies two miles east of Highway 7, with a trail to the west edge of the lake. Submergent vegetation can snag a lure during the summer months, but the bluegill, crappie, bullheads, green sunfish, and largemouth are so alluring that it's easy to overlook the greenery. At present, the Game Commission is negotiating to buy this fine parcel of land for development as a public hunting, fishing, and recreation site.

Bass in Long Lake have averaged two pounds, with an occasional granddaddy at three. This Game Commission lake is easily approached by heading south on Highway 7 out of Ainsworth, then following state directional signs for 25 miles. Halsey is another starting point.

Arriving at Long, you'll find cottonwoods shading the picnicking and camping areas where fireplaces, tables, well water, and other facilities are located. Boats can be rented.

Rat Lake, approximately two miles northwest of Enders Overflow, has been noted in the past for its fine bullheads. Rat is privately owned but open to the public, and is reached by a trail that is in fair condition.

Willow Lake, about 34 miles southwest of Ainsworth, is a privately-owned lake open to fishing on a fee basis. Boats, bait, and cabins are available, and access is by a gravel road bordering the south shore. Willow boasts 314 surface acres, and contains largemouth, bluegill, green sunfish, bullheads, crappie, and perch.

Cherry County has the biggest and the best of the Sand Hills lakes, as is befitting the largest county. Carp are widely distributed, but control measures are going into effect in key spots.

Special angling regulations hold on the Valentine Refuge. Outboard motors are prohibited, as is the use of minnows or fish for bait. Picnic and camping facilities are located near the refuge headquarters which you can find on the west end of Hackberry Lake, 17 miles south on U.S. 83 and 13 west on State Spur 483 from Valentine.

Seven of the most accessible and best fishing lakes on the refuge are open to the public through the year except during the open migratory waterfowl season. Best fishing for pike up to nine pounds in Watts Lake is in the spring and fall, with perch and bullhead bags taking over from May throughout September. The perch go up to 2, bass to 2% pounds. Watts is just 200 yards north of the state spur.

Hackberry Lake, at 680 acres, is coming into its own as a sport-fishing water after renovation in 1958. Bass, pike, and bluegill angling will be good this summer, probably even better next year. Best area is the deep-water region of the eastern half of the lake. Again, the spur borders its west edge; Sand Hills trails are on the north.

Pelican Lake on the refuge can be reached by an oil road to within 100 yards of its west edge. A trail 5   also runs along the north shore. This lake was renovated in 1958 and will provide plenty of action.

Fishing the SAND HILLS continued

Dewey Lake is edged by a public camp ground, but was renovated recently and will not offer angling until 1963. Clear and Willow lakes are currently being renovated and will be restocked. Renovation of refuge lakes is done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service primarily for benefit of waterfowl. Indirectly, of course, anglers get their share.

Best bass, bluegill, and crappie fishing at Duck Lake on the refuge is from April to July. Excessive vegetation takes over during the summer and tangles some lines and tempers. Bass have been reported at four pounds. Access is by oil road.

Elsewhere in Cherry County, the Game Commission owns part of Ballards Marsh, approximately 21 miles southeast of Valentine. Access is by Highway 83, which borders the lake with a trail on the north shore. Perch and bullheads make up most of the fish.

Big Alkali Lake, 23 miles south of Valentine, is in the public domain, but ranchers control access. A trail through private land to the lake is maintained by the Game Commission on a lease basis from State Spur 483.

Big Alkali earns its name; it has nearly 5V2 miles of shore line and is the third largest in Cherry County. It also contains perhaps the greatest variety of fish of any Sand Hills lake: perch, bullheads, carp, crappie, golden shiner, northern, walleye, largemouth, grass pike, green sunfish, bluegill, and channel catfish. A private resort is located on the north shore where housekeeping cabins and boats are available for rent. The state also has a public-use area.

An oil road northwest out of Brownlee will take you about 14 miles to Bull Lake, with a trail in fair condition for the remaining two. Bull is private, but is open, and desperately needs more anglers. Bullheads, bass, bluegill, and sun-fish are found here.

One of the most accessible Sand Hills lakes in the state is Cottonwood, one mile east of Merriman and one-half mile south of Highway 20. Ownership is by the Game Commission, which has developed excellent camping and picnicking areas. A boat-loading ramp is popular; and a private concessionaire has cabins, boats, and baits.

Bluegill are abundant; bass, sun-fish, crappie, and pike are common; and four or five other species are found in lesser numbers. Pike angling is best during the early spring and throughout the winter months. Cottonwood is weedy at times, but if you know its secrets, you're "in."

Johnson Lake, 19 miles southeast of Valentine, has long been a gathering place for bullhead fishermen. The Game Commission owns part of this 96-acre lake, and access is from Highway 83.

Lone Tree Lake, 39 miles southwest of Valentine, sorely needs more anglers in the spring and summer months. Perch fishing through the ice has proven hot at times, but in the balance of the year, bullheads and perch fishing is slow. Lone Tree is private, and open to public fishing by permission. It is reached by a trail in fair condition.

In contrast, there's no stunting of fish in Medicine Lake, about 22 miles southwest of Cody. Growth rates of all species-bluegill, crappie, perch, green sunfish, bullheads, and bass-are good.

Medicine used to be one of the six most productive fishing areas in Cherry County. But, alas, it's closed to public fishing now because of abuse by a few.

Before a carp invasion, Rat and Beaver Lake, 34 miles southwest of Valentine, was perhaps the best fish lake in the Sand Hills, and still is rated as one of the top 10 game-fish potentials. Access is off Highway 83, and is assured by a Game Commission lease. Crappie, largemouth, perch, and bluegill are present.

Schoolhouse Lake is approximately 20 miles southwest of Nenzel, just south of the Nebraska 6 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   National Forest. Too few anglers stop here, although it has a reputation of productivity. It's private, but open to fishing, and is located along Highway 97. Bullheads, crappie, pike, and bass are the most abundant species.

There's a place to camp, too, at Shell lake, 14 miles northeast of Gordon, accesible by trail off Highway 27. Shell is the major angling lake in northwestern Cherry Country, with public-use areas maintained by the Game Commission.

Angling at Shell is on the upswing, after thinning of the bluegill and yellow perch some years ago. Bass, pike, rock bass, and crappies are also found in the lake.

Holt County lakes are usually characterized by a fairly stable water level, hence a number provide good fishing in all except drought years. Promising to be one of the better Holt County waters is Brunner Lake, 25 miles southwest of Chambers. It supports a fast-growing population of bass, northern, and crappie. Four-month-old pike have been measured at 16 1/2 inches, and that's no fish story. The lake is new; it was winter killed, and then restocked in 1960. Access is fair by trail from Highway 11; permission must be sought.

Goose Lake, 31 miles southeast of O'Neill, specializes in bullheads. It is managed by the Game Commission as a special-use area and does not have a developed recreation site. Access is fair, but watch for flooded meadows and trails in the spring.

Its access plus good fisheries environment bode fair to make Swan Lake, 25 miles south of Atkinson, an excellent public fishing area. Swan is one of the most easily accessible Sand Hills lakes in Nebraska, being located along Highway 11. Growth of fish after the 1959 renovation has been good, and this year anglers should start reaping the harvest. Dominant fish are northern, bass, bluegill, and crappie.

Seven miles southeast of Swan Lake, and easily reached by a Sand Hills trail east from Highway 11, is Willow Lake, private, but open to fishing. Nothing should stop Willow from developing into a top pikeangling spot. Good natural spawning habitat is available for the northern. Bass, crappie, and bullheads diversify angling.

Fishing potential drops off considerably the farther west you travel in the Hills. More often than not, MAY, 1961 7   the western lakes tend to be alkaline. An alkaline lake has its own characteristic fish and plant life that has become adapted to wide ranges of salt content. Unfortunately for the angler, alkalinity presents so much of a challenge to fish that they do poorly, or not at all. Bullheads and northern pike can take tolerable concentrations of salt, bluegill and bass must have lesser amounts.

Fishing the SAND HILLS continued

In some cases, though, the salt content ranges past the tolerable state—up to 448,000 parts per million in one barren little lake. The specific culprit is usually sodium bicarbonate. It is a limiting factor in fish production in most Sand Hills lakes. Potassium is another villain.

Black Steer Lake in Garden County is one of its few lightly alkaline lakes with fishing potential. Located about seven miles east of the Crescent Lake Refuge headquarters, it is fairly hard to reach by trail. Perch and bullheads are here.

The access road to Crane Lake, located one-half mile east of Island Lake on the Crescent Lake Refuge, is much better. Crane is open to public fishing except during the open waterfowl season. The lake is improving for fishing since its recent rotenoning, although a very few yet are fishing it. Bass, bluegill, and pike are inhabitants.

The strongest fishing lake in Garden County is Island Lake, also on the Crescent Refuge. Access is simple; the lake is located along the road from Oshkosh to the refuge. It once was overrun with carp, but was rehabilitated in 1958 and later stocked with bass, pike, and bluegill. It is a comer.

Only one lake in Grant County deserves mention, and it is a private lake open on a fee basis. Fry Lake can be reached by a good two-mile trail from Hyannis. Boats, baits, and cabins are available, and bullheads, Perch, crappie, and bass have been taken.

Sheridan County has more lakes than any other county in the Sand Hills. But, distressingly, it has only one really good fishing water. That is Smith, a Game Commission lake midway between Rushville and Highway 2.

Smith's a real jewel, though. Access is a cinch, for a blacktop meanders north out of Lakeside on Highway 2, and an improved gravel road leads due south out of Rushville. Once there and with your line wet, variety is the password. Bass, mean-jawed northern, bluegill, crappie, channel cats, bullheads, and perch pack the 222 surface-acre lake. Tree plantings enrich the area and camping is available. One stopover here leads to another.

Now you can see there are plenty of lakes to keep you happy this summer. Over 95 per cent of the catchable fish in the Sand Hills are unharvested. You know now where the good lakes are, how to get to them, which species to fish for when you get there, when to camp out, and when to rely on other accommodations. So pack your gear and come on to the Sand Hills. The fishing- is good.

THE END

WHAT KIND of SINKER?

9

THE EGG AND I

by Darlene Engle Technicians wade in and give nature big hand in multiplying pike numbers

THE OLD saying "Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow" has a lot of truth to it. So does "Mighty fish from tiny eggs grow", especially in the case of the hundreds of thousands of walleye and northern pike eggs that are transformed into battling lunkers. Both species are rapidly becoming established in suitable waters throughout the state, thanks in part to new cultural techniques developed by the Game Commission at its North Platte and Valentine hatcheries.

The cycle, from minute egg through hatching and rearing, is a fascinating story of how the Game Commission gives nature a helping hand in perpetuating the two species. Since it is almost impossible to match natural walleye spawning conditions at the hatchery, and difficult, too, with northerns, the department traps the fish in the wild to take eggs.

When the ice went out of the lakes and the first green tinges touched the hillsides in late March, the northerns moved into shallow marshy areas to spawn. That was the cue for fishery technicians to rig their traps in Watts Lake on the Valentine Refuge. Big hoop-type nets, known as fyke nets in the trade, were placed in strategic spots, and kept there until enough "ripe" northerns were taken and sufficient eggs stripped and fertilized. The walleye operation followed in early April at Maloney Reservoir near North Platte.

Northern pike spawning activities usually start when the water temperature is from 39° to 44° F. The pike move into the grassy, weedy areas along the shore line where there are submerged vegetation and incoming flows of water, and even out into the meadows that are under water. In these areas the females deposit their eggs, each usually swimming between two or more males.

Those fish that blundered into the 12 traps that were set out were retrieved each day by the collecting crew with a single net yielding 98 spawners on one occasion. At the base of operations on shore, 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   two live boxes, or dummy nets, one for males, the other for females, receive the live northerns.

After the fish are sorted, egg taking begins. Females are stripped by one man who gently presses on the abdomen of the fish, forcing the eggs into a small porcelain pan. Milt is then stripped from male northerns directly onto the eggs.

Once the fish are stripped, they are returned to the water, none the worse for wear. When the pan is a third full, water is added and the eggs washed. Washing is continued until the eggs become free.

After they are separated, the eggs are placed in trays and the trays into a 30-gallon holding drum. Each tray holds approximately a quart of eggs. The barrel holds 30 trays, or quarts of eggs. This might not sound like much, but there are approximately 66,000 northern eggs per quart.

When the eggs reach the hatchery the water temperatures in the barrel and at the hatchery are first taken. If they differ, they are tempered until they are the same. The eggs are transferred into clear plastic two-gallon jars, two to three quarts of eggs to each. Spigots run water through the jars, causing the eggs to gently and constantly tumble in a slightly whirling fashion. This keeps them from sticking and provides needed oxygen. The number of days it takes for the eggs to hatch depends on water temperature. If from 54° to 56° F., the hatching period will be seven to nine days.

When northern eggs are first placed in the jars they are a golden color, but as time passes the eggs grow darker, until they are "eyed" and become almost black. They then begin to hatch. After all the eggs have hatched the fry are placed in hatchery rearing ponds, where the attached yolk sac supplies food for several days. Once they become free swimmers, they start feeding on tiny plant and animal life.

Northern fry are held in ponds from four to six weeks until they are fingerling size, 1% to 2 inches, before they are stocked.

This year's northern pike program was a record breaker, thanks to the new (continued on page 24)

MAY, 1961 11

SAVE THAT COVER

OVER HALF of 1961's potential fall pheasant crop will never be hunted. It will be lost, wasted, largely because of inadequate and insecure nesting cover. This has been proved by an intensive Game Commission study in Clay and Fillmore counties which shows that only about 45 per cent of the spring hen population will succeed in bringing off broods, even though each hen on the average renests twice after her initial nesting attempt fails.

Many factors plague the hen during nesting. In some cases hens have nested up to six times without bringing off a brood. Too, predators and weather take their toll of nests. With better cover, however, fewer hens would be disturbed while nesting. Nor would weather or predators be as effective.

Obviously, what man does with the land normally has a far greater effect on pheasants than any other factor. Farming operations, for example, disturb or destroy hens and nests. Harvesting wipes out cover, leaving the birds vulnerable to a host of pheasant killers. The farmer, of course, isn't about to jeopardize his livelihood for a few pheasants. Nor should he. But he can dramatically enhance the status of ringnecks on his property by following proven practices beneficial to pheasants without affecting operations.

Alfalfa, of course, is the big culprit in the two counties studied. The peak of the hatch, usually the 12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   first or second week in June, often coincides with the peak of the first alfalfa mowing. Results of the investigation show that, while 30 per cent of all nests are established in alfalfa, only 5 per cent of the total chicks hatched come from this cover type. In addition, each spring about 15 per cent of the nesting hens are injured or killed by the mower.

Almost all of this nest destruction and crippling or death to hens occurs during the first cutting. Second and third cuttings result in little nest destruction. By this time, cover in other nesting types has reached sufficient height and density to provide better protection for nesting hens. If first cuttings could possibly be delayed briefly, much of this wholesale destruction would be avoided; a greater proportion of the hens would be successful in their first nesting attempt.

We're losing over half our fall pheasant crop. Here's way to cut loss by David Lyon Game Biologist

Roadsides, because of the cover left from the previous growing season, are highly attractive. The study shows that 35 per cent of the total chicks on the study areas are hatched in this cover type. Therefore, any practices which reduce or destroy cover in these areas are extremely detrimental.

One of the most common of undesirable practices is fall and spring burning. Spring burning not only liquidates badly-needed cover but destroys many nests as well. Some landowners traditionally continue this practice in the belief that they are destroying noxious weeds. Actually, they help rather than hinder the weeds. If left unburned, vegetation in these right-of-ways will revert to native prairie grasses such as switchgrass, Indiangrass, and big and little bluestem, which will crowd out weeds.

By burning regularly, the landowner annually assures himself a good weed crop. He burns to get rid of the weeds but he only creates a good seedbed for them. The weeds come back strong, so he burns again to get rid of the weeds—it's a vicious cycle.

Mowing of roadsides is another detrimental practice. Fortunately, it is not yet the problem in Nebraska that it is in some eastern states. If such mowing is to be practiced, it should be done after the last week in June. By that time most hens nesting there will have successfully brought off broods.

Winter wheat is possibly the best pheasant nesting cover in Nebraska. This is true, not because cover quality is better and therefore preferred by nesting hens, but because there is so much of it. Too, nests established in wheat are relatively free from predation and other disturbances. As a result, a much greater proportion of these nests are successful. The study showed that an average of 40 per cent of all nests are found in this type of cover. More important, 55 per cent of all the chicks are produced here.

It is not by chance that some of Nebraska's best pheasant populations are now found in the panhandle and the southwest. In some areas, winter wheat makes up almost 100 per cent of the total cultivated acres. However, wheat has one major drawback; it is not of sufficient height and density early in the nesting season to attract a larger number of hens. At this early date, cover in alfalfa and roadsides is better quality and draws more hens. By May, however, wheat provides as secure cover as any other.

There has been talk of developing perennial winter wheat. If this proves feasible, it would provide better early-season nesting cover and would compete favorably with alfalfa and roadsides in providing preferred nesting areas.

Hens also utilize fence rows and pastures. In some areas, these provide good cover, but generally are poor in quality and do not give the security needed for safe nesting. Fence rows are usually too narrow, making nests easy pickings for predators. Pastures are almost always heavily grazed. Cover here is too thin to attract the fussy hen looking for something a little better. Improving cover in these areas would mean plowing at a greater distance from the fence row, and limiting grazing in pastures to levels known to be good pasture management.

Miscellaneous nesting types may be thrown into a single category called "unused". Abandoned farmsteads, pot-hole edges, and dry sloughs are examples. These areas often provide excellent nesting sites but usually are small in area. They have greater value as loafing, roosting, and winter cover, and hence are important for pheasants in general.

Agricultural practices down through the years have steadily decreased the amount and quality of nesting cover. Land use will continue to intensify, but many practices can be modified so as to produce more desirable and less undesirable wildlife. This is advantageous to the farmer, and one thing he should not do is to destroy or impair nesting cover needlessly. One important land-use development, as far as pheasants are concerned, has been the Conservation Reserve phase of the Soil Bank. Its impact on pheasant populations is very marked in areas where substantial acreages have been retired. The Conservation Reserve, one of the best conservation programs of our day, should be continued and expanded.

It is impossible, of course, to obtain 100 per cent pheasant nesting success. But it is possible to assure greater production through sound land-use practices that all should follow. Ground cover protects the land as well as its wildlife. Winter and spring cover is especially critical. It shields both land and game through their period of greatest danger. Don't leave them naked—the better you clothe them, the better both will respond.

THE END MAY, 1961 13

POSTSCRIPT ON A SCOUT

THERE HAS NEVER been a man who could quite match Bill Cody. Cussed and discussed, yet hallowed by those who knew him and hope still to know him, he was the symbol and living legend of America's last frontier. He was the product of Nebraska's vast untamed plains, a Nebraska that gave a boy from Iowa the chance to prove himself a man. Bill took that chance, and the results proved amazing, even to him.

A lot of Nebraska rubbed off on Bill, and a lot of Bill rubbed off on Nebraska. Through the transition of belly-deep grasses and shaggy buffalo and proud Indians to steel rails, sod houses, and barbed wire, Bill was there, recording the hoorah and the romance of what had been, and promoting the even greater promise of what would be.

Because of his exploits, or maybe because of what he stood for, countless writers and publicity men sat down at one time or another to pound out a few thousand words about Bill. Miles and miles of newspaper copy were written. Over 1,700 books were and are being published, all extolling the brave deeds of Bill. That the scribes got carried away is no secret, and as a result Bill Cody has almost become a fable—a Galahad in western duds, a D'Artagnan with a Colt .45.

But Bill was real enough. Strip away the glitter and spangle of the circus, distill the tons of verbiage, and you have an honest-to-goodness frontiersman, a crack shot, a dead-eye hunter, a legitimate Indian fighter, and a man Nebraska can be mighty proud to claim as its own.

Bill came on the Nebraska scene after a fairly normal boyhood stint in Iowa, where he was born in 1846, and a more exciting stay in bloody Kansas Territory. From the very beginning, he was blessed by being on the spot where things were happening and happening in a big way. It seemed like all of America was on the move, and he was, too. The stories of his life become credible when you realize that, from the tender age of eight, he was smack in the middle of the big push West.

His Dad died when Bill was only 11; his legacy to the boy a heap of curiosity of what lay over the next hill, and the firm belief that at the end of one of those brilliant frontier rainbows lay a pot of gold with the Cody brand on it.

Young Bill's schoolroom had no walls, and stretched from the Missouri to the Rockies with nothing in between but an occasional Army post or way station. A prim schoolmarm didn't have much of a chance to pound in the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic when a boy had wanderlust in his eyes. Bill's preferred tutors were the bullwhacker who gave him the chance to see the untamed Platte and the purple haze of the mountains far to the sunset; the gunman who showed that a Mississippi yager rifle could make a boy mighty tall if he knew how to handle it right; the scout who showed him how to fork a snorting cayuse and stay sat once the horse bolted for high country; the mountain man who taught him how to spot sign of outlaw or friendly; the young Sioux brave who taught him how to speak the savage's language with a sign and a grunt.

Bill took to the West naturally. It kind of cottoned to the dirty-faced kid, too. In 1857 he joined up with the famed Russell, Majors, and Waddell freighting outfit and drove and cussed many a bull wagon to remote military outposts. He killed his first Indian after an ambush on the Platte in 1858. He 14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   swept along like a tumbleweed with the Pike's Peak or Bust gold rush of 1859, and tried his hand at panning in a high wilderness stream. He grabbed a mochila and rode hell bent for election for the Russell, Majors, and Waddell gamble on the Pony Express. He joined up with the Seventh Kansas Volunteers and fought for the Union. Other kids his age stayed home and did chores and went to school and plowed fields and drank sodas and courted girls and all the other things associated with what was considered a normal childhood.

by J. Greg Smith Dudes, badmen, all knew Bill was the genuine article, a man's man

No sooner had he traded his private's blues for a pair of buckskins than he was back in the thick of winning his share of the West again. In 1866 he guided General William Tecumseh Sherman around the wilderness lot. Later, decked out in a big sombrero, corduroys trimmed in velvet, and high-heeled boots, he climbed abroad one of Ben Holladay's outfits and drove stage with the best of them. In 1867 he took Custer's cavalry unit on a big swing through Indian country to impress the natives. After a short stint at town building, he was hired to do what came naturally—hunting buffalo for the Kansas Pacific. He earned $500 a month. For a 21-year-old without much learning, he was doing all right.

"Lucretia Borgia" was the gun, "Brigham" the horse, and with them Bill made history. And he wasn't just Bill anymore; he was Buffalo Bill, hunter, scout, and horseman. In 1868 he hired out to the Army again and helped Sheridan get tough with the Cheyennes. In 1869 he was credited with killing Tall Bull, chief of the Cheyenne dog soldiers during the Battle of Summit Springs. Then, at Fort McPherson near North Platte, he met Colonel E. Z. C. Judson, alias Ned Buntline, the sometimes soldier, wife collector, teetotaler, rioter, and among other things, author of many a blood-curdling dime novel. Bill was getting mighty close to the end of the rainbow he had been looking for.

Buntline's "Buffalo Bill, King of the Border Men" was the start of Bill becoming a national hero. But Bill was doing some things on his own that made his star shine brighter on the western horizon. Rich eastern dudes, hearing of his hunting prowess, asked him to be along when they hunted under Army auspices. Reporters accompanying these dignitaries spread Bill's name far and wide.

But nothing could match the press Bill received from the celebrated Grand Duke Alexis hunt in 1872 near present Hays Center, Nebraska. This was a real storybook outing. The young Russian prince and his entourage were colorful, but General Sheridan's boys put on quite a show themselves, what with all the brass, cavalry and infantry units, a regimental band, 100 Sioux Indians, and, of course, Buffalo Bill who was to make darn sure that the Duke got his share of buffalo and a taste of the West to boot. There were 500 in all, not counting reporters, and all were bent on having one heck of a good time. When the Duke got his first bull, everything stopped while the champagne was passed around. Bill was sure that the Duke got enough buffalo. Indians danced, the band played, buffalo stampeded. Bill, without realizing it, had staged his first Wild West show.

The next step—show business. Bill made his debut in Buntline's "Buffalo Bill" that same year. He wasn't much of an actor. He wasn't an actor at all. Nor had he planned to be one when the audience applauded him into saying a few words after the real actor was done playing him. Red-faced, and more MAY, 1961 15   scared than he'd ever been, he said a few words, but only loud enough for the orchestra leader to hear him. Then he lit out. Later, Buntline convinced him to come back from Ft. McPherson and play the lead in "Scouts on the Prairie".

Postscript on a Scout continued

Bill was a success from the opening curtain, not because he was an actor, but because he was himself. Audiences crowded into every theater he played, just to see the real article, an honest-to-goodness frontiersman. Bill was that and then some.

Buntline kept writing four-hour wonders and Bill kept acting. In between seasons, he returned to McPherson and scouting. He was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1872. He received a Medal of Honor that same year for bravery in an Indian showdown. He was chief scout for Miles on the 1874 Big Horn Expedition. And when he had a free moment, he guided hunting parties, for a fee, of course. He dashed out West to be chief of scouts of the 1876 Big Horn and Yellowstone expeditions where he was credited with killing Yellow Hand at War Bonnet Creek in northwestern Nebraska. His popularity soared after this encounter. Bill was showman enough to put the fight to good use. That winter "Buffalo Bill's First Scalp for Custer" premierred in the East, and the ticket buyers loved every minute of it. The plays rolled on, the money rolled in, and in 1878, Bill rolled out the welcome mat to his new Scout's Rest Ranch. Buffalo Bill's Wild West was on the way to becoming reality.

The idea of such an outdoor exhibition had long fermented in Bill's head. Then, because he was a patriotic cuss and complained that North Platte ought to have a Fourth of July celebration, he got his chance in 1882. His Old Glory Blow Out was a rip-roaring success, the shootingest, buckingest, ropingest celebration that ever hit town. If it was a success in a town that took such things naturally, what would it be to eastern folks? Bill rounded up scouts, cowboys, Mexican vaqueros, Indians, buffalo, mountain sheep, elk, bucking horses, emigrant wagons, and a stagecoach, and come spring shipped the whole caboodle to Omaha to show at the Fair Grounds.

No one had seen such a production before. Those that did see that first one saw history being made. Buffalo Bill's Wild West was here to stay, and as it boldly ventured out to the East and later on across the ocean, it became Nebraska's and the West's ambassador of good will.

With each season the show grew in size and popularity. Annie Oakley, "Little Sure Shot", amazed millions. Sitting Bull, Rain-In-The-Face, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Doc Middleton, Pawnee Bill, Buck Taylor, Captain Jack Crawford—all the heroes, bad guys, and good guys of the moment—appeared in Bill's exhibitions. His "Congress of Rough Riders of the World" featured 20 German, 20 English, 12 Cossack, and 20 United States Army regulars in full uniform. Six Argentine gauchos, 20 Mexican vaqueros, 25 cowboys, 6 pert cowgirls, 100 Sioux Indians, and the cowboy band of 37 mounted musicians rounded out the aggregation. Bill wanted authenticity, a true representation, not actors.

Where else could you buy a ticket and see the real mavericks perform for you, just as they had done in a showdown or Indian war out on the plains? Presidents, kings and queens, and just plain folks pushed in as one to see his exhibitions. On one occasion, four kings—of Denmark, Greece, Belgium, and Saxony—and the Prince of Wales fought off the Indians while Bill whipped the Deadwood stage team into a lather.

Asked if he had had four kings before, he said, "I've held four kings, but four kings and the Prince of Wales make a royal flush, such as no man has ever held before." Bill, the dirty-faced kid from the plains was rubbing shoulders with some mighty important dudes.

Bill was the idol of every boy from 6 to 60 who ever dreamed of playing cowboys and Indians; his show was an institution. But Bill was getting older now, and longed for the chance to live and enjoy the West he had done so much for. He had costly investments in a mining venture in Arizona and a land company in Cody, Wyoming, that needed tending to. Scout's Rest, where he had helped pioneer the transition from longhorn to Hereford and Angus, was costing plenty. The Wild West was losing money, too. But if he had it, his friends had it, and silver dollars were happily given to anyone from a down-on-his-luck cowboy to a ready-to-build church. Some say he helped build more churches in North Platte than anyone would dare count.

Mergers, bad deals, and old age joined up to bushwhack the old scout. In 1913 he lost his show at public auction, his name to Tammen and Bonfils of the Denver Post. Though nearing 70, he stuck to the road, figuring that rainbow of gold that had been so close so often would surely pay off to a man who had followed it so diligently. But it eluded him to the end, and on January 10, 1917, Buffalo Bill was no longer the man but the legend of the West. He died broke but proud.

Izaac Cody's legacy to Bill was curiosity and hope. Bill's legacy to Nebraska and the world was that and then some. "The Beef State" became a reality, in part due to Bill. The Boy Scouts got its name and was inspired by Bill. Irrigation farming was foreseen by Bill. So was dude ranching and touring. And what of entertainment? TV and movie westerns were originated because of Bill. Rodeos gained popularity after he first included one in his show. And there is so much more.

Bill was a man of vision, but invested in a future that was too far ahead. The bigness of the man was the bigness of the open spaces. His was the West as ours is the West, still big and busting at the seams and ready for doing. Scout's Rest is still ready for doing, the place where Nebraska can make Bill Cody live again. Being a showman and a westerner, he would be mighty proud of that.

THE END 16 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

TONY'S CATFISH

by Dr. John P. Merritt Italian's innocence converts toad prank into record catch OUTDOOR NEBRASKA proudly presents the stories of its reoders themselves in this new monthly series. Here is the opportunity so many have requested—a chance to tell their own outdoor tales. Hunting trips, the "big fish that got away", unforgettable characters, outdoor impressions—alt have a place here if they are authored by the readers. If you have a story to tell, jot it down—the story, not literary excellence, is the criterion—and send it to Editor, OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, State Capitol, Lincoln 9. Send photographs, too, if any are available.

THE TATTERED card pinned on his coat lapel informed the world that the man was:

Tony Picoli New York, U.S.A. "Thank You!

Tony could not speak English, consequently the card on his coat served to identify him. The "Thank You!" was an afterthought of the Italian who thought that courtesy pays, and that it might make Tony's visit to America more pleasant.

Tony's uncle had a small general store about a mile from the Missouri River. It and a Baptist Church nearby were the only two buildings left of the small town. The river had cut relentlessly toward the buildings, and the three or four other inhabitants had moved away to avoid being washed down the river. The little store was now within a stone's throw of the muddy water. People fished near the store, and when the need arose, bought additional grub for their picnic lunches.

One Sunday morning shortly after his arrival, Tony decided to try his luck fishing. His uncle kept a long bamboo rod in back of his store. It was rigged with a strong cord and large fish hook. The rod looked like a real fish-getter to Tony. All he needed was bait, and was pleased when one of the Sunday morning loafers offered an unusually large toad. The toad, of course, was much too large to be suitable for bait, but the too-generous prankster signified with his hands that Tony would undoubtedly catch the biggest fish in the river.

Tony tipped his hat, pointed to the "Thank You!" on his lapel label, took the rod, line, and toad, and started off for the river.

Two or three hired men from nearby farms and one or two others living in shacks along the river found the prank amusing. The man who had caught the big toad said he would go to Tony after an hour or two and tell him to come back home.

But no sooner had Tony dropped his bait into the fast water than the line twanged taut. Tony, caught off guard, was jerked into the river. Fortunately, he was a good swimmer, but he had to let go of the rod. He swam over to a small sand bar some 30 feet away, crawled out, and shook the muddy water from his curly hair. To his surprise, the fishing rod came racing by. He grabbed it, pulled with all his might, and landed a 55-pound blue catfish. The catfish was the largest ever caught in that region, according to the word of some of the old river fishermen.

When Tony got back to the store with his unbelievably big fish, his uncle explained to Tony in Italian that the boys had played a trick on him. Tony apparently was in a mood to enjoy anything. He scratched his head, thought a moment, then picked up his wet coat, went to the prankster, and laughingly pointed to the wet "Thank You!"

"Chiride ultimo, ride meglio"—he who laughs last, laughs best.

THE END The 78-year-old retired Omaha physician became well acquainted with the locale of this story during his early days of medical practice in Tekamah. MAY, 1961 17

FULL HOUSE IN FISH

by Orty Orr Nature deals too big a hand, none of them face cards. Ace is management

ONE SUMMER AFTERNOON, more years back than I care to remember, my brother and I were fishing a favorite hole, putting all the extravagant energy of youth into trying to creel a really big one, but getting instead only a few too-small bluegill for our efforts. As far as we were concerned, the pond was fished out of big fish. Well, not quite. We knew "Old John" was getting his share of keepers, but then he and a couple of his cronies had the patience of great blue herons. They waited interminably for a strike, but were ready to set a hook anytime.

Our fishing hole was an old mill pond that had long been a favorite of fishermen around town. John and his chums caught big bass and catfish just often enough to keep the rest of us coming again and again. By and large, though, the majority did no better than we boys. There was something wrong with the pond —too many small fish and a scarcity of big ones. Obviously, the population was way out of whack.

Since then, I've studied many lakes and ponds suffering from the same over population problem. The small fish varieties take up too much room, often crowding out the more desirable larger fish. Too, fishermen like Old John who keep coming back to a small pond day in and day out to take only the larger fish can upset the population balance. And balance only occurs when there are enough big fish to eat up enough little fish so that the little ones don't become too numerous and that all the fish make continuous good growth.

If the small forage fish become too numerous the growth will be slow because there is just so much food to go around. When the unbalanced condition develops, the big fish that remain are harder to catch. Not because they are wiser. Fish IQ is not so high as some would have us believe. Biologists say that one can catch and turn loose a bass a dozen times before the bass acquires learning. The big fish are harder to catch because they have an abundance of small fish for food whenever they wish. I must emphasize that seldom does over-fishing bring about unbalance in fish populations.

In the smaller lakes there are ways of making room for the fish anglers want. One of these methods is depopulation by seining. This sounds good in theory, but in practice is usually not so good. The risk of failing to achieve desired results is great because a very large part of the unbalanced population must be removed. Some think 75 per cent or more. This method, if it is successful, will permit fishing to continue without interruption and, at the same time, make room for the remaining fishes to grow. The risky part is that the reproductive potential of the fish that remain in the lake is an unknown quantity. If after all the advantage was still 18 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   on the side of the bluegill, for example, the original problems would be present again within two years.

Last March a depopulation attempt was made at 28-acre Verdon State Lake in Richardson County. The fishery problem there was an overabundance of crappie and bass. These two species usually are not involved together in overpopulation conditions, as often as some other species. The trouble started in the spring of 1957 after the lake was filled. Spawner-size bass, crappie, and bluegill were stocked. The spawn was too great and the 1957 year-classes of bass and crappie had grown to only 5 to 7 inches in four years. The object of this depopulation effort was to remove enough crappie and bass to a level that would permit growth and reproduction of the remaining fish. When fish are present in too great numbers the young are all eaten and new year-classes can not develop. To keep fishing good, it is essential to have annual succession of year-classes. A young, fast-growing fish population provides the best angling.

The Verdon Lake job was a long one. More than 20 hauls were made with a 1,000 by 12-foot seine. About 175 man-days were required and the cost of the job was approximately $3,000. The immediate results were the removal of about 52,000 crappie and 20,000 bass. This amounts to something over 2.500 fish per acre. Fishery technicians usually consider that only a few hundred adult fish per acre are adequate for good growth and reproduction. The future benefits of this work remain to be seen. If good balance is achieved, progress will have been made.

Another fishery management tool for making room for fish to grow is the removal of young from shore line areas. This is done in the early summer by spreading toxicant from a boat in a shore-line band several feet wide. Small sunfishes such as bluegill and green sunfish can be effectively reduced.

Fluctuation of water level can also be an effective means of controlling spawning of some species, especially those that strew eggs randomly in shallow water. These include buffalo, carp, shad, gar, and also nest builders such as bluegill. If water levels are lowered before the eggs hatch the exposure will kill the eggs.

The introduction of predator fish is often used as a management practice. This is done with the idea that enough predators are added to a population to eat down excess numbers of unwanted small fish. In small lakes this can be done successfully if enough big fish are added and the survival rate is high. Consider a 10-acre pond that has too many bluegill. If 100 yearling bass per acre are introduced there will be a good growth of bass and probably a significant reduction of bluegill. The big problem is where to get the yearling bass. Bass are not usually held to yearling size because growth is poor where large numbers are held together over the winter.

Other good predators are the northern pike, walleye, channel, and flathead catfish. Again the problem is stocking enough of these fish to insure survival in large numbers. Most of these predator species must be stocked as fry or small fingerling. When these are stocked into established populations it is believed that mortality is very high and the effect of predator control does not operate.

The management practices that have the best chance for long-term fishing improvement is either the draining of a lake and restocking or removal of undesirable fishes with a toxicant and restocking. In either case a year or two of fishing will be lost while waiting for fish to grow to desirable size. Where there is room, where fish do not have to compete intensively for food, growth can be rapid. Northern pike, prime predators, grew to 19 inches and 1.5 pounds in five months in the almost new Burchard Lake in Pawnee County.

Since few of Nebraska's larger lakes can be drained, the practice of removing undesirable populations with toxicants is the best management tool. The method is relatively expensive, and a year or two will be required to give fish time to grow to catchable size, but the chance for long-term population balance is good.

Fisheries management has come a long way since I fished that mill pond in Kansas. No one thought much of such things as population balance then. Now, instead of wondering why a pond or lake has gone bad and facing the almost helpless task of doing something to improve it, trained fisheries technicians have the tools to work with, tools that will help assure good fishing long into the future.

THE END MAY, 1961 19

WHITEFRONT INQUEST

Here shooting of another kind nets birds for study

LYING FLAT ON the roof of the abandoned shed, the two waterfowl technicians glassed a flight of whitefronts nervously trying to settle on a pond about a half mile away. A third biologist inside the shed stood poised over the ominous black box and T-shaped handle of an explosive detonator. Two wires led from the box through the grass down to the edge of the pond where a series of four cannon-nets waited to snare the unsuspecting geese. From this initial operation, they hoped to solve some of the unanswered questions about this prized bird.

They and many other Nebraskans were concerned over the status of the geese. Many believe that the whitefronts have been gradually diminishing. The problem seems especially prevalent in the Central Flyway states, of which Nebraska is a member. However, little is known about the species.

The captain of the three-man team was George Schildman, a Game Commission biologist from Lincoln. He was selected last winter by the Central Flyway Council to co-ordinate the necessary research to formulate a management program on this important game bird. With him that morning were Harvey Miller, federal waterfowl biologist from Lake Andes, South Dakota, and at the detonator, John Sweet, state waterfowl biologist from Stuart.

The geese finally settled into the shallow water of the muddy pond close to Lexington and slowly worked their way out onto the shore close to the nets. After a final check through binoculars, Harvey signaled John to spring the trap.

A resounding blast rolled across the open countryside and echoed back through the shed. The flock of geese erupted from the placid waters and dispersed in fright—all except the 51 caught in the nets.

George, John, and Harvey jumped in their station wagon and sped to the nets to rescue the geese 20 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   and other waterfowl before they drowned or were injured. George untangled birds from the nets and passed them on to John to be weighed and banded. Band number, sex, weight, age, and the number of breast spots of each goose were recorded by Harvey.

Banding records are sent to Washington for correlation and evaluation. From these, game officials hope to learn much more about the whitefronts. Schildman will use this and other observations in preparing a long-term management program for the species.

Waterfowl hunters can be most important participants in this census and banding program. If you down a whitefront with a band on its leg, send the band to the Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington. State where and when the bird was killed, any unusual actions or markings it displayed, and your complete address.

With a significant number of these hunter reports the statisticians will be able to estimate the number of whitefronts that are killed annually in the United States and the per cent of these geese in the waterfowl hunter's bag.

From past observations, it has been established that the whitefronts from the Central Flyway nest in northern Alaska and the northern Yukon east to the Mackenzie River in Canada. The western regions adjoining these nesting grounds are utilized by a supposedly different population of the same subspecies of geese which migrates to China and Japan for the winter.

Another type of whitefront breeds in the central arctic region of North America and winters in California and western Mexico. A third type nests in western Greenland and travels to England, Ireland and western Europe for the winter. A fourth group spends the summers in the arctic regions of eastern Europe and western Asia, then winters in southern Europe, Asia Minor, and northern India and Burma.

Banding should also disclose where large numbers of these birds go during the winter months. Records show about 61,000 birds were in the Central Flyway in the spring of 1961, but only about 40,000 were counted that year in the known wintering areas.

During the northern migration in the spring, virtually the whole Central Flyway whitefront population is funneled through Nebraska. Therefore, this state at the present time appears to be the most logical place to sample the total population in the flyway. This is one of the reasons Schildman was selected to co-ordinate the whitefront program.

Once the trio of technicians had banded the 51 netted whitefronts, they reset the nets and headed back to the abandoned shed to wait for the next flock of geese.

Banding operations continued through the balance of the spring migration. Ultimately, 101 whitefronts were banded, and the information sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service. When a significant number of bands are returned by hunters, the job of compiling the information will begin. Eventually, it will provide the basis for a sound management program.

The flock winged over the shed and slid into its picturesque V-formation. One day, the men hoped, the secrets of these great birds would be known, secrets that will assure the whitefronts' future for years to come.

THE END MAY, 1961 21

PART ONE NEBRASKA'S GAME FISH

RAINBOW TROUT 6

This tail-dancing fighter is a real prize in the angler's creel. Sometimes called coaster, steelhead, or red-sided trout, the rainbow is easily recognized by the black spots on the tail fin, a prominent horizontal red band on the side, but lacks the black blotches found on the brook trout's back. The popular fish is not a native, being introduced here from the Pacific Coast. Feeding mainly on May flies, the rainbow includes caddis flies, stone flies and their larvae, small mollusks, and small fish in his diet. An appreciable amount of terrestrial insects are utilized during the summer months. In late February to early April the cold-water fish ascends the smaller streams to spawn. A single female may produce 3,000 eggs. The period of incubation lasts about 50 days, and the fry grow to a length of 6 to 12 inches in about 16 months.

BROWN TROUT 4

Cavorting on a fly line with bottom-hugging hard runs, the brown trout, sometimes called German brown, brownie, spotted trout, or loch leven, is the most important self-sustaining trout here. He is easily distinguished from other trout by the absence of spots found on the tail of the rainbow and the black blotches on the back of the brook trout. The brown is most plentiful in the panhandle and is also found in several waters in the northern part of the state. This prize feeds more actively in the early morning and evening. May flies along with other terrestrial and aquatic insects, insect larvae, minnows, worms, mollusks, small crayfish, and small fish are eaten. The brown ascends streams to spawn from October through December. Eggs are deposited in saucer-shaped nests in a gravel bottom. Eggs hatch in 48 to 52 days. Fry may reach a length of 7 to 10 inches in 16 months.

BROOK TROUT 1

Although he rises beautifully to a properly presented fly, the brook trout is most often taken here with live bait. This is unusual since his natural foods generally consist of insects, including caddis flies, two-winged flies, and May flies. The brook trout, sometimes called speckled trout, native trout, brookie and char, is easily identified by the vivid white leading edges of the lower fins, and the dark mottling effect on the back and dorsal fin. Introduced in the early days of fisheries management, the brookie is on a self-sustaining basis only in a few isolated areas of Monroe, West Hat, Beaver, Dead Horse, and Larrabee creeks in the panhandle. Spawning takes place from September through November. Eggs are deposited in redds or nests in or close to the headwaters of the stream. Each female will lay 200 to 2,500 eggs. These hatch in about 50 days under normal conditions.

SMALLMOUTH BASS 3

The gamiest fish that swims, has the vigor of a trout, has the strength and bold leap of a salmon—that's the smallmouth. Sometimes called black bass, Oswego bass, bronzeback, and red-eyed bass, this fighter is frequently confused with its more popular largemouth relative, although the mouth is smaller and the upper jaw does not extend beyond the pupil of the eye. He is golden-green with faint wavy olive-colored blotches on the sides and back, fading to a gray or bluish-white on the belly. Although the bulk of his diet is made up of minnows, small pan fish, and larger insects, the smallmouth may be found feeding almost exclusively on crayfish at times in the fall. When the water temperature is a little above 60° F., the smallmouth will spawn in saucer-shaped nests constructed by the male on a gravel, coarse sand, or rock bottom. The male .then remains at the nest to guard the eggs during the 3 to 5-day incubation period.

LARGEMOUTH BASS 5

Possibly the best-known game fish on the North American continent, the largemouth is at home in a majority of the state's fishing waters. He is often called black, green, slough, or lake bass. His upper jaw extends well beyond the eye when the mouth is closed, making him easy to identify from the smallmouth. Although the diet is usually considered to include mainly minnows, sunfish, crayfish, insects, and frogs, the most important item in some areas is the gizzard shad. Like its smallmouth relative, this bass generally spawns during May, depositing eggs on rootlets of submerged plants or often on the mud bottom. After about 3 to 6 days, the young hatch and may attain a length of 3 to 5 inches by the first winter.

22 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   WHITE BASS

A most popular game fish when found in plentiful numbers, the white bass is the only member of the bass family found in Nebraska. Others commonly called bass are actually sunfish. Sometimes called silver bass, striped bass, silver fish, or streaker, this aquarian is dark gray to black on the back with silvery sides and a white belly. He sometimes reaches a length of 18 inches, and the state record now stands at 4 pounds, 8 ounces. During the latter part of April and through May, the bass spawns over rock reefs or a gravel bottom. A large female may produce 650,000 to 970,000 eggs in one season. The bulk of the diet consists of insects, crustaceans, and fish, especially perch, bluegill. gizzard shad, minnows, and crappie.

BLUEGILL

This fish, sometimes called sunfish, sun perch, bream, or blue sunfish, is the real meat fish in the angler's creel. He is a resident of practically every stream, lake, or pond in the state with the largest populations and the largest fish being found in clean waters with an abundance of aquatic vegetation and a sand or gravel bottom. One of the most vividly-colored fish, the bluegill is named for the gill covers that are sometimes bright blue. Food consists largely of insects, their eggs, and larvae. This popular pan fish spawns in shallow, saucer-shaped nests on a sand or gravel bottom in shallow water. A female may lay 61,500 eggs in several nests during the breeding season. Due to a high survival rate and a lack of predators in some ponds, bluegills may become so crowded that few of the fish are over three inches long.

WHITE CRAPPIE

This popular fish, especialy around large reservoirs, is a well-known gamester in Nebraska angling circles. Sometimes called crappie, silver crappie, and bachelor, this easy-biting fish is found in most of our lakes, ponds, and the larger rivers. Usually found with his black relative, the white crappie is often the more dominant of the two, especially in the more turbid or muddy waters. Silvery olive shading to green or brown on the back with several vertical dark bars on the sides, the white has six spines in the front part of his dorsal fin. This crappie eats large quantities of insects, but depends more on minnows and small fish after maturing. The nest is built like the rest of the sunfish family. Eggs are laid in water from 3 to 8 feet deep.

BLACK CRAPPIE

Having a strong preference for clear water, the black crappie, sometimes called calico bass, crappie, or speckled crappie, has been taken at most of the lakes, ponds, and streams in Nebraska. This crappie has 7 or 8 spines in the front part of the dorsal fin. Also, the black does not have distinct vertical bars along the sides. Strictly carnivorous, this fish feeds almost exclusively on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. In the winter he feeds entirely on minnows, small fish, and a few insects. The male builds his nest from May to June. From 20,000 to 60,000 eggs are laid by the female who then leaves them to be guarded by the male. The young will reach 2 to 3 inches the first year.

FRESH WATER DRUM

The most noticeable feature about the fresh-water drum, soometimes called croaker, grunter, grinder, or sheepshead, is the unusual sounds he produces. Some contend the noise is made by a scraping of bones in his throat, while others believe it is a transfer of air between the air bladders. This peculiar fish feeds over rock reefs and bars on small fresh-water mussels, crayfish, snails, minnows, small fish, and other aquatic animals. Specimens from other states have reached 50 pounds, but the Nebraska angling record stands at 19 pounds. The body is silvery in color, strongly compressed, and highly arched at the head.

23

SPEAK UP

Send your questions to "Speak Up, OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, State Capitol, Lincoln 9, Nebraska Beaver Getting Bigger

"A Speak Up not too long ago mentioned the GS^-pound beaver the 13-year-old Arlington boy took this winter. This must be a good year for them. We trapped a whopper, too, an 80-pound beaver measuring 85 inches." —George Goff and Hank Pisocka, Hay Springs.

Novices and Nonresidents

"It seems to us that the Game Commission can handle the game situation in this state effectively, and we certainly do not feel that the Legislature should have any voice in game at all. From our own observations we know that the game is well protected, especially in areas where there are Soil Bank acres. Also we know that hunting won't exhaust the game numbers, one reason being that there are many hunters that will not get out of their cars to hunt. Game animals don't just walk out to the road to get shot. We noticed this past season that with the heavy influx of hunters, the birds moved into the pastures and stayed. As a result we have plenty of birds left.

"As for the hunters coming from out of state, we really enjoyed them and they, in turn, invited us to come to their state to hunt. In fact, the out-of-staters came and asked to hunt, which is more than some locals did. These sportsmen usually left their cars in the yard and walked into the fields. As a result, they came in with more game.

"So we say, let the out-of-staters come and hunt, and keep the Nebraska Legislature out of Game Commission business." —Mr. and Mrs. Don Johnson, Oconlo.

Cause to Brag

"I would like to brag about my boy a little, and incidentally, the fine hunting and fishing you can still get in Nebraska.

"His name is Dan, he's 16, and he started off last summer spearing carp, changed to bow and arrow, and got about 30 that way. During the hunting season he shot 48 ducks, 4 Canada geese, 30 pheasants, and 6 quail. He also got numerous rabbits and squirrels. To top it all, on December 31, the last day of deer bow season, he shot an 87-pound buck in Seward County near the Blue River Wayside Area with a bow and arrow. This was his first hunt with a bow.

"So it still pays to buy a hunting and fishing license. — Anton Tesar, Dorchester.

Editor Cries Help!

"I live near the Niobrara River in Boyd County. I have heard people say it is the swiftest river in the world. Is this true?"—Ronald P. Liewer, Butte.

We have searched lots of literature for the answer, but to no avail. Seems this is a very hard property of a river to measure and none of the few that have attempted it can even agree on methods. It involves volume output, cross-section, surface current, velocity at different parts, and other engineering complications.

The Pawnee name of the Niobrara, Kitskakis, means Running Water, or Swift Water. This, however, probably refers only to the rivers in its narrows; and other Indians had different names for it. We'll throw this open to our readers. Does anyone have a clue?—Editor.

THE EGG AND I

(continued from page 11)

cultural techniques mentioned here. Of all the thoussands of eggs that were taken, 85 per cent were hatched successfully.

No sooner were the northern stocked than it was time to collect walleye spawners. The lake temperature is from 44° to 52° F. at this time. Walleye do not spawn in grass and weeds as northern do, but in shallows close to shore where the bottom is gravel and rocks and the water free from silt. In natural spawning, the female swims through the area depositing her eggs, followed closely by the male who fertilizes the eggs. The eggs are left to hatch on their own. In reservoirs, they are sometimes exposed and destroyed because of water fluctuation and unsuitable spawning habitat. This is one reason why the Game Commission must step in to aid in the spawn.

Both trap and gill nets are used for collecting walleye in suitable areas at Maloney. Normally, gill nets are set at sundown and are run about every hour until around 1 a.m. By this time the walleye activity has diminished.

The gill nets ran out about 250 feet from shore and were staked down at both ends. The net is six feet deep and hangs vertically in the water. Fish swimming into these nets are caught and tangle themselves even more when they try to escape.

Gill netting is continued each evening until enough eggs have been collected to fill the hatchery batteries. Once the eggs are fertilized, washed, and separated, they are placed in the same type 30-gallon barrels used for northern pike. In this case, there are approximately 125,000 walleye eggs per quart, nearly double the number of northerns. They are left there approximately 24 hours, going through the washing and hardening process. The walleye eggs are then put in the plastic jars, and placed on the batteries, going through the same hatching procedure as the northern. After the eggs hatch, the fry are counted, measured, and planted, 100,000 to each one-acre rearing pond. Walleye sac fry are almost constantly moving, where 24 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   the northern pike generally lie dormant most of the time.

From here on the two procedures coincide. When they are approximately two-inch fingerlings, the fish are stocked in the reservoirs at 100 or more per surface acre. Walleye attain a length of 7 to 10 inches their first year, 14 to 16 inches in the second, and 18 to 20 inches the third year. Northern grow much faster at first, may reach 14 to 18 inches the first year in good waters.

Nebraska's record walleye topped the scales at 16 pounds, 1 ounce; the record northern pike, 25% pounds. These and the other big pike now being caught make it easy to see why Nebraska is fast becoming known for its northern and walleye angling provided through intensive management and cultural practices like these.

THE END

THE BORDE POCKET CAMP STOVE

Outdoor Elsewhere

Mother Love Deadly

ALBERTA . . . Much sentiment has been expressed about the wonderful mother love exhibited by wild animals, but it looks like it may be to the youngsters' disadvantage, at least in the case of mallard ducks. Studies in Alberta, Canada, show that mortality is greater in broods accompanied by a hen than among those broods that are orphaned shortly after hatching.

The reasons lie in difference in the behavior patterns of orphaned and female-attended broods. Broods accompanied by a female scatter widely to feed and are usually noisy. Such scattered individuals are often picked off one by one without notice. When obvious danger threatens, the hen often herds the whole brood to the grass and brush on shore, making them even more susceptible to predators.

Orphaned broods usually stick close together, remain quiet, and seldom leave the water until able to fly. They exhibit more common sense as a result of depending on their own ability to escape danger rather than counting on the protection of a hen.

Fishy Story

CALIFORNIA . . . Two Portola brothers were nabbed for having too many trout when a warden smelled something fishy—literally. The men had been hunting, but also had a fishing rod in their truck. They denied that they had been fishing, but the warden's nose led him to 62 trout in a hidden icebox. Each paid $210.

Have a Light, Bub?

PENNSYLVANIA ... A Gordon Lake walleye fisherman took home a fine 24-incher recently. While cleaning the fish he found a cirgarette lighter in its tummy. It lit the first flip.

No Tall Story Here

WASHINGTON, D. C. . . . United States fishermen took 4,975,000,000 pounds combined of fish and shellfish in 1960—about 250 million pounds less than in the previous year. The value of the catch, estimated at 350 million dollars, was about 1 per cent greater than in the previous year. Increased landings of tuna in California, salmon in Alaska, and shrimp in the Gulf States, and higher prices for shrimp were responsible for the gain in value.

Notes on Nebraska Fauna

KILLDEER

by Wayne Tiller Trig black-and-white dress of this noisy plover is an aid, say some, to his insect-destroying prowess. Look for him in plowed fields or pastures

THE CONTINUOUS, shrill kill-deeah, kill-deeah, kill-deeah of this Nebraska migrant immediately tags him to the observer. Other less common names for Oxyechus vociferus include kill-deer plover, noisy plover, chattering plover, and killdee.

A true plover and a member of the Charadriidae family of shore birds, the killdeer is one of the easiest of Nebraska fauna to identify. The four horizontal black bands on his front—two on the head and two on the chest—separated by three white bands, give the bird an immaculate formal appearance. The remaining part of the bird is olive-brown above and pure white below.

When in flight the killdeer's wings exhibit a white "V" stripe above, and are pure white below. The tail is medium-long and rounded with a golden-red rump patch; the bill is slender; and the legs are lead-gray.

The killdeer is migatory and limits his winter distribution to an area bordered by California, Arizona, Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, and Bermuda, south to Venezuela, Paraguay, and Chile. In the spring he is one of the earliest arrivals to the Nebraska countryside, where a number breed.

Frequently in their eagerness to move to the summer nesting regions, killdeer flocks encounter freezing nights and periods of snow which they endure surprisingly well.

After the final cold thrusts of winter subside, the killdeer may be found north to central Canada. In this summer breeding range he prefers a habitat of mud flats, muddy lake shores, and moist places, but may also turn up in perfectly dry locations many miles from any pond or stream.

He is fond of freshly turned soil, and is most frequently seen on uplands in pastures, fields, and 26 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   vacant lots in towns and villages. Several individuals may be seen feeding with robins and flickers on open grassy stretches of a golf course or city park. While feeding they may be in loosely associated groups of a dozen or more, but they do not form the compact flocks that other plovers and waders do.

Classified by many biologists as a bird of great economic value, killdeers are considered exceedingly useful since they destroy great quantities of noxious insects. Included in their diet are mosquitoes, fever ticks that spread cattle fever, crane flies that are destructive to wheat and grasses, grasshoppers, caterpillars, horseflies, and various kinds of weevils that attack stored grain and cost farmers millions.

The stomach contents of nine birds taken in different parts of Nebraska from May to September reveal the local food habits of the species. The nine birds had voraciously consumed 258 locusts and 190 other insects, and only one had taken a few wasted kernels of grain.

With this kind of appetite few people can contend that a brood of young killdeer and their parents could do anything but relieve a farm of an enormous quantity of insects every day.

While satiating their daily food requirements in the spring, a pair of breeding killdeer will also be searching for a suitable nesting spot, usually near water in a pasture, cornfield, garden, woodland clearing, or on a gravel bar. In the proper area they will select a shallow depression which may or may not be lined with bits of grass, weed stems, bark, shells, and stones.

Four light buff or chocolate-colored eggs that are spotted and blotched with black and dark brown are laid in the spring. The heaviest intensity of blotching is consistently at the larger end of the egg.

Although the nest is safely concealed, and the dark blotched eggs blend remarkably into their surroundings, the nest is also fearlessly guarded by both parents throughout the 26-to-28-day incubation period. No bird can display a more persuasive imitation of severe injury when its nest is threatened.

The flushed bird flutters a few feet from the nest, falls flat on the ground, spread out as though hopelessly crushed, and cries piteously. If approached she revives sufficiently to limp away with one or both wings dragging as though broken, sometimes almost rolling over, and often hesitating to gasp and pant as if totally exhausted.

Similar antics are displayed when a brood of young birds accompanied by their parents is approached unexpectedly. The flightless young leave their birthplace soon after emerging from the shell and are helpless little creatures, clothed in mottled down and mounted on two slender, ridiculously long legs.

At the first warning from a parent that danger is near, the chicks squat flat on the ground with their necks outstretched, instantly fading into the surroundings. They will usually stay in this position until the parent birds have successfully distracted the attention of the intruder and often until the adults have returned to the area.

After taking wing to avoid the intruder the continuous chattering usually attracts additional killdeer and other birds—all equally as noisy. Such pandemonium usually ends with the whole neighborhood being thoroughly aroused until the intruder has departed.

Returned to feeding, the killdeer move along erratically, individual birds running four or five steps, stopping and bobbing the heads, taking a few more steps, stopping and bobbing. Some observers think this vertical movement of the head and the resulting flashes of the black-and-white throat bands, frighten the insects into moving and betraying their position to the waiting bird. Thus, this is a behavior of the killdeer associated with hunting food.

In flight the bird is graceful yet swift, darting erratically from one side to the other, following an unpredictable course. Because of its flight characteristics, the killdeer has been pursued as a game bird by amateur hunters and other hunters who should know better. This unsporting activity at one time reached such alarming proportions it was forbidden by federal law.

This amusing bird should be protected at all times by Nebraskans, not only because the shooting of it is killing for the mere sake of killing, since the meat is inedible, but it is exceedingly beneficial in keeping down insects. The killdeer is truly a most useful and entertaining bird.

THE END MAY, 1961 27

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