Mar 25, 2017 By Ben Moyer for The 5 min read

Kids and fishing; the two go together so naturally that we often forget that fishing with kids merits special considerations.

A little planning on the part of adults can make a child’s early fishing experiences a rewarding springboard to a lifetime of angling.

The Fish and Boat Commission’s Mentored Youth Trout Day offers a great opportunity to share fishing with a child or adolescent. I can only imagine how excited I’d have been had there been such an event when I was a kid first heading out for trout fishing on Laurel Hill Creek with my dad or uncle. As it was, I was sleep-deprived for weeks approaching opening day, when kids stood shoulder-to-shoulder with weathered stream veterans, waiting for the 5 o’clock start time. Kids were at a distinct disadvantage then in the icy April darkness. Maybe someone’s kid nearly washed away in the pre-dawn gloom because the Fish Commission later changed the starting time to a more reasonable 8 o’clock.

The Mentored Youth Day allows a licensed adult angler (over 16) to take one or more youths, under 16, trout fishing on stocked waters (not including Special Regulation Waters such as Fly-Fishing-Only or Delayed Harvest) on Saturday April 8, a week before the general season begins. The adult mentor must possess a fishing license and trout stamp. The mentored youths must have either a Voluntary Youth Fishing License or a Mentored Youth Fishing Permit.

Both the Voluntary Youth License and the Mentored Youth Permit are available on the Fish and Boat Commission’s website. The Voluntary Youth License costs $2.90 but the Mentored Youth Permit is free. The Commission offers the voluntary license because, since it is a paid license, it qualifies Fish and Boat for a $5.00 federal reimbursement to be used for fishing education and fisheries conservation.

Although mentoring adults can fish for trout on April 8, they cannot keep any fish. Youths, however, can keep two trout caught that day.

Enough of the administrative details. Let’s talk fishing.

Even though mentors are permitted to fish on this special day, depending on the age and skill of the accompanying youth, it might be better for adults to plan not to fish. With beginning kid anglers, it takes all your concentration to keep them baited, untangled and dry. An adult who drags a 4-year old to the lake, then abandons her to fish himself is abusing this mentor-day privilege. It’s important to remember the spirit of the event–helping kids learn to fish and enjoy it enough to want to go again.

Although all stocked trout waters are open to mentor/youth teams, if you’ll be taking younger kids or beginners, it’s better to skip the streams and fish a lake or pond. The challenges of stream fishing–current, variable depths, snags, and overhanging vegetation–are tough for a kid to overcome. It’s better to let those stream skills develop later and work on the simple experience of catching a fish from still waters.

We have several local destinations that will be heavily stocked by April 8 and provide the right setting for fishing with kids. Dunlap Creek Lake, Virgin Run Dam, Laurel Hill Lake, Kooser Lake and some of the Westmoreland County Park lakes around Greensburg are excellent choices.

Keep an upbeat but relaxed attitude when fishing with kids. There’s nothing serious or competitive about this. It’s about the experience, getting out with kids and allowing them leeway to fail without criticism, while maximizing their odds of success.

Equip the kids with spin-cast gear if you have it. The push-button technology is easiest for kids to master. And be mindful of the rest of their rig. Too often you’ll see kids trying to fish while handicapped with the wrong tackle–a hook that’s too large, a sinker that’s too heavy and line that’s kinked and brittle.

Six- to eight-pound test line is about right for kids to fish with. It’s not too light to handle but strong enough to land trout. Tie on a simple hook, No. 8 or 10 are good sizes for stocked trout, and a bobber big enough to enable kids’ casting. Worms are good bait for kids because they stay on the hook better than salmon eggs or processed baits.

Make sure to set the bobber so the bait sinks to a depth likely to attract trout. Ask other successful anglers how deep they’re fishing if it helps your youngster hook up with a fish.

Take along some snacks or plan to grill hotdogs as part of the day. Even if the fish are biting, kids’ attention spans can lack the determination we expect from ourselves. It’s fine if their attentiveness strays. Let the kids fish as long as they’re interested, but don’t force it. If they want to eat a sandwich or toss around a football, so be it.

Finally, I think it’s important to prepare any fish the kids keep as a ceremonial meal. Sooner than later is better, so they associate the meal with the outing.

Include the kids in cleaning and cooking the catch, then talk up their catch while the family shares the food. This is a subtle but powerful way to “set the hook,” and encourage your kids to fish again.

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Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.