I took the neighbor kids to Carvins Cove the other evening for a little bluegill fishing. And I mean LITTLE bluegills.

We caught plenty, especially Davin. Most were the size of the one Davin is holding in the top picture.  I was joking that they were pickling size. I’m pretty sure Beck wanted to keep some to try it.

Beck managed to catch one of the smallest fish I’ve ever seen landed using hook and line. I kid you not this fish was not 2 inches long. (Yes, that is blue fingernail polish on two of Beck’s fingers. Why? Simple: Beck being Beck.)

I was hoping to get some pictures for my piece on Free Fishing Days, which ran in The Roanoke Times. Didn’t get anything that really worked, but we had fun.

If you are reading this, chances are you already have a fishing license. If you don’t, try to take advantage of the Free Fishing Days offering. If you have fun, which  you should if you go about it the right way, hopefully you’ll join the rest of us for whom fishing is a year-round passion.

Of course, also keep in mind that every day is a free fishing day for kids 15 and under. Get them out there!

If you caught my column in today’s Roanoke Times, you know that Virginia’s turkey hunters have set a new spring gobbler season record.

Smashed the record in fact.

Dave Simmons, pictured here with his sons (hunting partner Noah, also pictured below, and photo bomber Willie) contributed to the total with a final day bird, killed in Franklin County thanks to the calling of Dave’s best friend (and cousin) Travis Ferguson.

Bob Ellis with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries was kind enough to share the preliminary total for the season (you’ll have to read the column!) with me yesterday. The agency plans a full release today, and after I get it I’ll break down the numbers in more detail.

Chris Vess sent me this shot of his son, Adam, with his youth day gobbler.

“He gave us a great hunt while coming a long ways and strutting right up to the decoys,” Chris wrote. “I will never get tired of watching a kid smile when they have a successful hunt. At this stage in my hunting career, this is what its all about,.”

Well said, Chris. Thanks for sharing the shot, and congrats to you guys on a great hunt.

I know not everyone got skunked on youth day because a couple friends have posted pictures on Facebook.

No one has emailed me a shot yet. So, the first shot I get goes up here on top of this post.

Now, who hunted?

How did it go?

(Update: Justin Mosby just sent me this shot of his daughter Audrey and him after their hunt. Can you have a hero shot without a dead critter? Absolutely. The hero here is Justin for taking his little girl. Here’s what he wrote: “Taking my daughter, Audrey, has been a tremendous experience for me.  Rarely do I hear much about the need to increase the number of young ladies in the field of hunting, shooting and firearms safety.  It has been a great opportunity for my daughter and me to bond and relate when in so many other matters of her life, we don’t.  This is our second year in the field.  Shortly after arriving home, she was right back in her pink summer dress. “

You gotta love a surprise snow two days before spring turkey season opens!

On the bright side, a couple years ago it snowed on youth day. Tomorrow’s weather for youth day looks pretty decent.

My little hunting buddy Beck Hansen wants to go turkey hunting this spring, and we’ll make it happen. Not tomorrow. I’m out of town for a wedding. The way I look at it, I’ve got a bunch more Saturdays left to take him. I’ll do my hunting during the week when I can squeeze it in.

For those of you who may have missed it, here’s my turkey season preview from today’s Roanoke Times.

Good luck to all of you who get out tomorrow morning. Be safe, shoot straight and have fun.

Check out this big boy!

Three-year-old bird with an 11-inch beard.

No, I didn’t kill him.

A car got him on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday.

He was still fairly fresh when I spotted him on a bike ride Saturday afternoon.

I stopped to slide the carcass off the road and to take this picture. Then I yanked the beard off.

I gave the beard, a real dandy, to my little hunting buddy Beck, who was thrilled.

I hope I can put a gobbler or jake in front of him this season. It won’t be Saturday as we’ll be out of town. We’ll have time later in the season.

What are everyone’s plans for youth day? And for the general opener on April 13?

My buddy Freddy McGuire headed down to Tennessee last weekend with his daughter, Abby, for that state’s youth spring turkey hunt.

Anyone who knows Freddy, and knows little Abby, won’t be surprised to see this shot. That girl, who graduated from a .410 to a 20-gauge this season, is a chip off the old block, at least in the hunting department! Fortunately she got her mama’s good looks!

It’s hard to believe our youth day is just around the corner. I hope those of you taking youngsters out on April 6 are on birds!

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has released its list of staff-recommended changes to its hunting and trapping regulations.

The staff will present the changes at a board meeting on March 21. Those proposals approved by the board — and this could include proposals made by board — will then go out for public comment. The board will take a final vote later this spring.

The list of proposals is long. Really long. All told, the new regulations language and the rationale for the suggestions take 81 pages. You can find the document HERE.

So, I’m not going to be able to cover all of them here. Just a few highlights.

Remember that post I wrote with the headline “Is it time to pull back the deer throttle?” Well, guess what? The DGIF staff thinks it is.

The proposals call for a reduction in firearms season doe-hunting days in 19 counties, while increasing the doe days in only one county.

The Earn-a-Buck requirement is also being dropped from several counties, including Franklin and Patrick.

Roanoke County still keeps its Earn-a-Buck designation. Importantly, the county is being added to those with a two-deer-per-day limit. Hallelujah! I can now kill the first doe I see during a rut hut, and I don’t have to quit for the day!

On the Earn-a-Buck program, the DGIF staff is revamping the rules to try to eliminate some of the confusion. The rules will now apply on a county-specific basis. For example, if I kill a buck in Roanoke County, I have to have killed a buck in Roanoke County before I can kill a second buck in Roanoke County. That Roanoke County buck won’t count against me when I go hunting in Bedford County. At the same time, killing a doe in Roanoke County doesn’t fulfill my Bedford County EAB requirement.

Make sense?

Another proposal would allow holders of an apprentice license to hunt on designated youth deer and turkey hunting days.

Take a look at the proposals and let us know what you think.

Congratulations to the Franklin County High School air rifle team.

The 13 shooters took the title at Air Force JROTC national championship match over the weekend at Anniston, Ala.

The Eagles topped 163 other teams. You can read Duncan Adams’ full story from The Roanoke Times HERE.

The shooters use Crossman Sporter class air rifle, shooting at targets 10 meters away from prone, kneeling and standing positions.

Kudos to the Eagles and their coach, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tracey Carter!

McCreery Mann sent in this shot of his daughter, Sarah, with her first deer. This was actually a buck that had already shed its antlers. Sarah, who is 8 and from Rich Creek in Giles County, shot it during late muzzleloader season. Here’s her dad’s story:

“One evening after school we went to the Blueberry Farm on Powells Mountain where we have some land leased.  Sarah always wants to go hunting with me every time I go.  Well that evening we were driving through the fields in my truck and we pulled into the edge of the woods where we were going to walk to a ground blind and hunt.  Then Sarah screamed and pointed as the deer walked out of the woods and into the field. Fortunately,  Sarah’s loud gasp didn’t scare the deer.

I didn’t even have my gun out of the truck and I struggled finding my muzzleloader caps in my backpack.  The deer didn’t walk out of shooting distance and Sarah shot and dropped the deer.  She was so excited but I believe I was more excited than she was!  It was the best day of deer hunting I believe I had ever had!  I know it was her best day!”

Congratulations, and thanks for sending in this super shot. Sarah’s smile is worth a thousand words!