Nebraskaland

48 Nebraskaland • June 2025 MIXED BAG The photo doesn't quite say it all. Then again, it does. My son, Eli, and I were fl y-fi shing for carp on a creek that feeds the Platte River outside of Louisville. Using mulberry imitations and a nine-weight rod has become a summer pastime for our family. On this particular day, I eyed what I thought to be a big fi sh feeding on the surface, scooping up every mulberry it could fi nd. Because of the fi sh's wariness to onlookers, especially those with fi shing tackle in their hands, I kept my distance but was able to make a nice cast feet away from the fi sh. It turned immediately and engulfed the mulberry, bending my rod double and stripping line as this species once again proved it's one of Nebraska's most ferocious fi ghters. "E," I called to my son, "get the net. Better yet, take this fi sh." I extended my arm to hand him the rod. "No," he said. "No?" "I'm not touching that fi sh." His eyes were huge, seemingly convinced that the carp was a freshwater shark. "Then take the net." "No," he repeated, the thought of being even closer to that fi sh raising even more red fl ags in his mind. Meanwhile, the fi sh continued to make its runs up and down the steep- banked creek. "You have to do something," I said. "Take the rod." This time, my tone must have changed, as he took the rod from me and fought the fi sh for the next few minutes. I slid down the bank, net in my hand, and after several failed attempts fi nally scooped up the fi sh. "Eli, hold the fi sh so I can get a photo." Curiously, this step took no convincing. He gladly pulled the fi sh from the net and smiled. Later that day, when our family got back together, Eli turned to me. "Dad, can you show Mom my fi sh?" "Your fi sh?" "My fi sh," he said with a grin. Then, "Dad, are you going to turn my fi sh in for a Master Angler Award?" "Your fi sh?" I repeated. "My fi sh," he said. And, after talking to Tony Barada, division administrator for the fi sheries division for the Nebraska Game and Parks, Eli might be right. "Who had the rod in their hand when the fi sh was landed?" Tony asked during a recent conversation, his smile coming through the phone. "Eli did." "Well, we don't have a defi nitive policy on this issue," Tony answered. "Having handed many fi sh to kids through the years, I always thought of it as their fi sh." "He defi nitely claims it's his fi sh," I said. "That Master Angler Award is the fi rst thing you see when you enter his room." Tony laughed. "Who was it more meaningful to? That's the way I determine it." The photo easily answers that question. Case closed. Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov to see the species qualifi cations, including the length and weight requirements, for a Master Angler Award. WHOSE CATCH IS IT ANYWAY? By Jeff Kurrus Eli Kurrus holding the Nebraska master angler carp he caught while fi shing in a creek that feeds the Platte River in Sarpy County. photo " Curiously

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