Now is the time of year when a lot of us are getting our arms limbered up and trying out the casting techniques we have been keeping under wraps for most of the winter.

We can now hone our skills on the crappie and perch while getting ready for the opener.

I guess you could compare it to baseball’s spring training. I also kind of look at it as preparation for the opener, but instead of throwing out the first ball, it will be the first lure.

Don’t get me wrong. I like catching a nice mess of pan fish or perch as well as the next guy, but it seems like the walleye opener actually makes the fishing season officially here.

I will be going on the Governor’s Opener again this year and will be starting over with a new governor. It seems all are a little different and each wants things handled a little different.

Arne Carlson was not much of an outdoors person but he was supportive of our DNR and knew what our lakes outdoors recreation and woodlands meant to the state in terms of tourism. Gov. Carlson also made himself available to the general public.

Gov. Ventura was the showman; he would appear spontaneously for radio interviews but had such an enormous group of people surrounding him that he almost seemed surreal. I guess everybody wanted to see the man, but having all the bodyguards kind of kept the general public at bay and still let you see and definitely &uot;hear&uot; him.

Now it will be Gov. Pawlenty’s turn to help bring in another fishing season.

So far, he seems to be doing all the right things as far as most Minnesota outdoorsmen are concerned. He has selected Gene Merriam as the head of the DNR, someone who actually knows which end of the fishing rod you point towards the water.

Gov. Pawlenty also said there would be a first ever Governor’s Deer opener this year. Although he won’t be very popular with the PETA people, it shows that he is going to make an effort to support the outdoors activities Minnesota’s Sportsmen cherish the most.

The Minnesota DNR reminds anglers to take a moment to review the 2003 Fishing Regulations before the inland fishing season opens May 10.

Regulation booklets include special and experimental regulations, regulation changes, and new information about exotic species, catch and release, and fish identification.

“We made a number of changes this year and anglers need to make sure they are aware of the regulations before they fish,” said Linda Erickson-Eastwood, program manager for the DNR Division of Fisheries. “Besides that, the regulation book contains excellent information to help anglers protect their resource and enjoy their time on the water.”

You should get a booklet when you purchase your 2003 fishing license.

As it is in every other year, I seem to be a little behind in my preparation for the upcoming fishing season. I always seem to think I have a lot more time than I actually do.

This year I am going to make a real attempt to show my Grandsons the art of catching night crawlers. Nothing makes a day of fishing more fun for a kid than actually getting to use the bait they have had a hand in catching, at least that’s the way I always felt as a young fisherman.

I have talked of some of those &uot;crawler hunting&uot; experiences in past articles. When I do actually take the kids out I know I will probably be as excited as they will, but I have a feeling the reflexes will be a little slower than they used to be.

There is a lot more to &uot;crawler hunting&uot; than just picking them up.

There is the ground preparation. Knowing where to water and when to water is important. Water too soon and it will be wasted. The right amount of water and the timing is everything.

There will be flashlights to check and then, when all the preliminaries are done, there will be teaching the &uot;sneak&uot;, and &uot;gentle pull.&uot; The &uot;grab and jerk&uot; method is no good and will kill the crawler, and a dead crawler in the worm box spells disaster.

Ah, there is so much knowledge to share and so much information for those young little minds to absorb. Experience is the best teacher, but I’ll be there to coach them through it. Of course, if my sons are around, they will be there to remind me that my cat-like reflexes are slightly less than cat-like.

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Keep our troops in mind; they are still over there serving our country.

Dick Herfindal is the Tribune’s outdoors columnist. His column appears Sundays.