According to my calendar, spring arrived in Michigan March 20. Officially, this means winter is no longer with us. But as you know, that is not necessarily so.

Our weather tends to do as it pleases, and although we've been told parts of Michigan had one of the very mildest of winters on record, there could still be a few surprises.

Sportsmen are more likely to ignore official seasons, unless they pertain to fishing or hunting. Those, of course, are set by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), so it pays to keep tabs on what they say you can or can't do, and when.

In years past, the DNR had fairly simple rules and regulations. No m o r e , though. Now if you want to spend some time fishing or h u n t i n g , you'd better be an avid reader of the DNR printed guides or make sure you go afield with your attorney, who may be able to keep you properly informed.

Right now, I have five different DNR guides, which are supposed to cover every kind of fishing and hunting through the 20052006 seasons. Maybe you've memorized everything in those but, come April 1 (April Fool's Day), there are all new ones to guide you.

On that same date, none of your fishing or hunting licenses from last season will be useful, either, so be prepared to buy a new batch of licenses. Word has it that they will all cost more than your previous licenses and some of the new guide books may contain new reading material for you to think about.

Last year's Inland Trout & Salmon Guide contained 40 pages in an 8.5-by-11-inch format. That made it too bulky to carry with you while fishing, but anybody with close to a genius mind should have no problem remembering what was in those printed words.

Should you have no interest in trout or salmon, you're lucky. Fishing for panfish, bass, pike, and walleyes requires only a license for warmwater fish, so it costs only half as much as an "All-Species" fishing license. Rules for that cheapie license also come in a smaller, 8.5-by-5.5inch guide. Fold it in half and it will fit in your fishing jacket.

In fairness to the DNR, it should be pointed out that the original idea was to give anglers as many fishing opportunities as possible. For example, there are now portions of some streams where you can fish for trout or salmon all year. Some are catchand release, while others are open to catch-and-keep, if you wish. On April 1, other rivers open in their lower reaches but inland streams and trout lakes must wait for the April 29 opening day.

As for hunting, you can chase and shoot rabbits until the last day of March on your old license. But if you intend to go turkey hunting, you will need a new license plus a permit, if you were lucky enough to have your name drawn.

All of this is explained in one of the DNR's "simplified" rules and regulations guides. So get ready to do a lot of reading first.