April provides a significant dilemma for those who enjoy hunting and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Just about the time hunters are hunkered down inside the wood line trying to converse with a wily spring gobbler, they remember that striped bass season is in. Splitting the difference so to speak is one strategy; hunt in the early a.m. and get out on the water for some trophy striper fishing during the rest of day. That sounds like a plan. Now, only to fit in the other life requirements such as family, work and “honey-do” tasks. The family we can take fishing and hunting as for the rest, they have to wait while the gobblerockin’ good times of April roll on. 

     Virginia’s 2006 spring gobbler season opens on April 8 and continues through May 13. Hunting ends at noon each day, from April 8 through April 29. Then, from May 1 through May 13, hunting hours are from one half hour before sunrise until sunset, each day except Sunday. Spring gobbler season means only bearded turkeys can be harvested. One turkey can be taken per hunting day with a combined 2005-06 license year total of no more than 3. If you harvested any turkeys during the 2005-06 fall season in Virginia, these count against the combined license year total. For additional information, call the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries at (804) 367-1000 or visit their website at;  www.dgif.virginia.gov Information on Maryland’s 2006 spring gobbler season can be obtained by visiting their website at;  www.dnr.state.md.us

     Big post-spawn striped bass are thrilling anglers and charterboat captains across Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Lower Potomac River waters. The strategy is typical spring big rockfishing; hug the channel edges, troll shallow and way back outside of the boats wake. These fish are feeding on the move while traveling the upper water column, most often within 15 feet of the surface. Keep the heavy trolling gear in the shed until next fall, and enjoy the more direct contact and less rigging that the spring trophy rock season provides. Anglers are in for a big change this year as the spring, 2006 striped bass seasons for Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) requires rockfish to be a minimum of 33 inches. The Maryland and PRFC spring trophy recreational fishing seasons for rockfish run from April 15 through May 15. For information on Maryland’s 2006 striped bass seasons, visit their website at;  www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries . Information on the PRFC striper seasons can be obtained by calling 1-800-266-3904

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