20 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018
Story and photos by Jeff Kurrus
Current Favorites
Squirrel Hunt
I can't remember a time in my outdoor life that was more
fun than walking pine needle-covered ATV trails through
the hardwoods during the late afternoons watching for the
slight movement of a squirrel in the trees above me. When I
saw one, I'd scoot against the closest cover I could find and
wait out my quarry, knowing that there was a good chance
the squirrel would eventually lose patience, or its fear, and
emerge from behind the limb from where it had been hiding.
Wearing head-to-toe camouflage and using either a 20-gauge
or .22-caliber rifle, the goal was to bring two squirrels back
to the house – just enough for dinner and to entice me to go
again in a few days.
Tip: Hunting squirrels with a .22 is a good way to
improve your rifle shooting skills for big game seasons.
Hand-grabbing Frogs
While Nebraska's laws do not allow our family to carry
on our "gigging" pastime like we did when I was a kid, they
provide a better option that we hadn't even thought about
on our Mississippi River backwaters: hand-grabbing frogs.
Luckily, my daughter has grown up in Nebraska, and only
chooses a net when the bullfrog is nestled against a rocky
dam. We will catch frogs on rod and reel until sunset, and
then use a cordless, high-beam spotlight to find and catch
frogs on the edges of ponds and sloughs. The frogs freeze in
the bright light, and the hunt only ends when the batteries in
our lights go out.
Tip: Use a flashlight to scan shorelines for eyes, then
Oldies but
Goodies
Try these six fall
activities ... again.
S
ometimes we simply forget. We either
get so caught up in the daily trials of life
that we don't remember the good times
we had, or we get stuck in a routine and stay
there.
This fall let's do something different ...
or something all too familar. Each of the
following activities are ones I have enjoyed
in years past. The only problem I have is not
having enough time to accomplish them all.
