Nebraskaland

Nebraskaland May 2020

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1243260

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12 Nebraskaland • May 2020 By Jeff Kurrus DIVIDE AND CONQUER When bank fishing, my dad has always wanted to keep more than a 6-foot distance. It's been a joke of ours forever, me complaining that he never wants to fish beside his son, then him turning this same comment around when I choose to move away from him when we're fishing together. Because we have practiced social distancing for many years, we have learned its advantages. When we start fishing, I don't want him working the same habitat that I am. If I'm fishing riprap, for example, he shouldn't be. Most bodies of water have various habitats throughout, including emergent and submergent vegetation, timber and riprap. There are also subtle and stark contour changes along with these habitats as well as many other possible structures in a waterbody. If one were to spend much time thinking about where to start, it could drive an angler crazy. Yet as we all know, each time you fish you're adding memory and skills to your growing repertoire of ideas on how to fish that lake or others like it. Fishing with a partner just makes it that much easier. "I'll go this way," one of us will say, and each will watch the other as we fish. One fish doesn't raise much of an eyebrow, yet when those numbers start to increase, a quick phone call always occurs. We discuss habitat, lure and color, and retrieve speed. Do we ever fish beside each other from the bank? Yes, there have been a handful of times, but it was always predicated on the fish or a juicy piece of family gossip. We can talk later. It's time to fish now. So during this time of social distancing, take advantage by spreading your crew out across a lake. Learn the area twice as fast, and always remember that when one of your friends or family has caught a fish, you're catching it, too. As long as you remember how they did it for the future. FISHING AT VALENTINE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS IN THE FIELD

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