Nebraskaland

16 NEBRASKAland • APRIL 2017 Exploring Nebraska One Post at a Time By Renae Blum Consider this your invitation to hit the road this summer and get lost in some of Nebraska's most interesting places: The Great Park Pursuit is just around the bend. The premise is simple. Each summer, organizers select 20 sites around the state – usually state parks and recreation ar eas, national monuments and trails – and place an engraved post there. Participants can visit as many of these sites as they wish between May 1 and Sept. 16, locating the posts and making an etching with pencil and paper to prove they were there. You then mail in these sheets of paper to enter a drawing for dozens of prizes, including free cabin stays, an iPad, gift cards, magazine subscriptions and an outdoor recreation package worth $1,500. The more pieces of rubbings you submit, the more chances you have to win. The Great Park Pursuit is free and easy to sign up for. More than 16,000 Nebraskans have participated in the Great Park Pursuit since 2008, forming teams of friends and family members to go on adventures with. Participants often comment that it's a great way to find out about places in the state that they didn't know were there, and to learn more about what Nebraska has to offer. You're encouraged to take your time at each site, enjoying whatever you find there – horseback riding trails, campgrounds, swimming areas, playgrounds, historical exhibits and more. Negpp.org has ideas for more than a dozen activities you can do with your kids at a location, including making leaf and flower pressings and identifying different kinds of animal tracks. Teams can be made up of individuals, families, friends, coworkers, youth organizers or any other group you belong to. Register your team and get started at negpp.org. Watch the Great Park Pursuit Facebook page for clues on where to find the traveling "bonus" post, Parker the Frog. ■ By Brian Robinson Anchoring your boat is not only conducive to catching fish, but it is also a good skill to master for boat control and safety reasons. Here are a few ways to improve your anchoring technique. First, let's get to the equipment. I use a 20- to 25-pound Navy anchor for my 21-foot walleye boat and it works well in most applications. The metal fluke style anchors also work well. I like to have 100 feet of rope because the general rule is to use enough rope to cover three times your depth. If you are in 20 feet of water, you will need about 60 feet of rope. The most important part of this setup is a 3-foot piece of log chain between your anchor and main rope. This essential piece keeps the anchor weighted down at an angle that will cause it to catch on the bottom. The next important consideration is where you attach the rope to your boat. Attaching at the lowest part possible is the best place, which is usually the bow eye, where you connect it to the trailer. I use a heavy carabiner on my main rope that will easily attach to the bow eye. Then I tie off using a cleat up on top of the gunwale. It is an easy tie-off point to manage, but my contact point is still low to the water, preventing excess movement in the wind. If you use these tips for strategic anchoring, you will be amazed at how much better your boat control can be during a variety of weather conditions and maybe how many more fish you put in the boat. ■ Kyley Petersen of Malcolm makes an etching at a Great Park Pursuit post. Participants in the summer program can win prizes for making etchings at posts and mailing them in. Anchoring the Right Way PHOTOS BY BRIAN ROBINSON Navy anchor with 3-foot log chain between the anchor and rope The metal fl uke style anchor PHOTO BY ELISHA PETERSEN

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