Youth Mentor Trout Day; ‘Mentoring’ not what it was
Youth Mentor Trout Day has a way of sneaking up on those who might enjoy it most. On Saturday, April 6, kids age 15 and younger, if accompanied by a properly licensed adult mentor, can fish for trout in any of the hundreds of stocked lakes and streams (except for special regulation waters) around the state, even though the general trout season doesn鈥檛 open until April 13.
The Fish and Boat Commission launched Youth Mentor day several years ago to rekindle interest in fishing among kids and families. Some confusion about rules, and loopholes within rules, clouded the earliest mentor events but the commission has continually tweaked the regulations in an effort to make the day both fun and fair.
Any youngster under 16 can fish on April 6 as a mentored youth. It is necessary, though, for each eligible youngster to obtain either a Mentored Youth Permit or a Voluntary Youth Fishing License. These can be acquired at any licensing agent, or from the Outdoor Shop on the Fish and Boat Commission web page. The Mentored Youth Permit is free, and the Voluntary Youth Fishing License costs $2.90. Although a fishing license has never been required for youths younger than 16, the commission does suggest that adult mentors consider buying the Voluntary Youth Fishing License for their young apprentice because the cash-strapped agency receives a reimbursement of $5.00 from the federal government for every license sold in the state, and the Voluntary Youth license is counted for that payment.
Kids fishing on Youth Mentor Day can keep two trout of minimum 7-inch length. Adults who mentor them may fish on that day but must immediately release all trout caught.
Adult mentors must possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license for 2019 and a current Trout/Salmon Permit.
One of the loopholes that really has no regulatory remedy surfaced when several adults abused the Youth Mentor Day privilege by taking just one kid fishing. In some cases, one kid had a half-dozen or more 鈥渕entors.鈥� Obviously, these adults used the system to get an early start on the trout season and had no real interest in the kid鈥檚 experience. There still is no clear rule governing the ratio of mentors to youth, but the Fish and Boat Commission reminds participants of the spirit of the event. It is intended to be a day of one-on-one fishing, when an adult shares enthusiasm and knowledge with one or two young potential anglers.
There is no shortage of places to take a kid fishing on Youth Mentor Day. In Fayette, good options would be Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park (upstream from Dinner Bell Road and the Delayed Harvest special regulation section), Georges Creek, Mountain Creek, Dunlap Creek Lake, and Virgin Run Lake. Dunlap Creek Lake is open to fishing year-round, but it is scheduled to be stocked with rainbow trout on Friday, April 5, so that might be a good choice. Some popular streams like the Dunbar Creek 鈥渂ait鈥� section, Big Sandy Creek and Dunlap Creek are not scheduled to be stocked until after the Youth Mentor event.
In Greene County, Whiteley Creek near Kirby and the entire Dunkard Fork drainage system around Ryerson Station State Park are great options. Greene County streams generally have slower currents, which are easier for kids to fish.
Special youth opportunities are an admirable gesture on the part of the Fish and Boat Commission. But youth mentoring was considerably less accommodating when I got interested in trout fishing in the mid-1960s. Back then, streams were crammed with anglers on opening day, and legal fishing time for the start of the season was 5:00 a.m. A kid had to wade out into (in our case) Laurel Hill Creek鈥檚 icy-cold, surging flow in the predawn darkness with the rest of the eager throng. Laurel Hill is known for its slimy, slippery rocks, and If you fell in, well, your teeth chattered until your own dissipating body heat warmed up your jeans, sodden inside hip boots (which were leaky anyway). It seemed to take forever for the sun to crest Laurel Ridge and cut the chill.
The first time my dad and my uncle took me up there we camped out somewhere along the creek and I actually caught three trout by casting a spinner into a big, deep hole. To be frank, I almost couldn鈥檛 believe I caught those fish, on the big day, the first day of the trout season. But I did, along with all the seasoned anglers around me. I鈥檓 fortunate that they took me along, and I鈥檝e never stopped fishing since.
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.