[Chad]

From Daryl...

One of my "speeches", #31 I believe, is that Nebraska may not have the amount of water that some of our neighboring states have, but Nebraska is truly where "east" meets "west" and "north" meets "south". We have a very diverse geography and a diversity of fish & wildlife. One thing I LOVE about the NEFGA fishing contest is that it requires participants to catch a diversity of fish! Perfect! Before the contest started I made the bold prediction that such a contest could be won by fishing public waters only. I still believe that is a possibilty but there surely have been some fantastic fish caught from private waters entered in the contest as well.

Another one of my speeches is to be versatile! Versatility is the hallmark of an expert angler; the ability to go anywhere, fish for anything and be successful; the ability to adapt and adjust to conditions. Again I love the NEFGA contest because it will reward those anglers who are the most versatile.

Lastly, I know nothing that gets people's attention, nothing that can be a better recruiting tool, than pictures of fish, big fish. Already we have seen pictures of some fantastic NEBRASKA fish (emphasis added intentionally!). Sure, we have our challenges, sure I wish certain fisheries were in better condition, but I learned a long time ago that "the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence". What a great demonstration of some of the fishing opportunities we do offer in Nebraska. What a great way to encourage more folks to get off the couch and experience some of the great outdoor recreational opportunities (fishing especially!) that we have. And what a great way to develop and encourage the anglers we currently have to keep them hooked!

GO FISH!

Daryl Bauer
Lakes and Reservoirs Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
daryl.bauer@ngpc.ne.gov

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