With some pleasantly warmer days over the past couple of weeks and the official arrival of spring, most anglers are certainly getting ready to return to the water sometime soon.

I have enjoyed the good weather on several successful outings for smallmouth bass on the Juniata River. The opening day of trout season is now two weeks away on Saturday, April 5. The annual Mentored Youth Trout Day, however, is next Saturday, March 29.

Mentored Youth Trout Day was created several years ago to provide an opportunity for an adult mentor to introduce a young person to trout fishing without being subjected to the crowded atmosphere that often occurs on some waters on a typical opening day.

All stocked trout waters in Pennsylvania are included in the program, and fishing hours will be from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any young angler under the age of 16 is eligible to participate but must be accompanied by an angler 16 years of age or older who possesses a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and a trout/salmon permit.

The youth angler must have either a Mentored Youth Fishing Permit or a Voluntary Youth Fishing License. The Mentored Youth Fishing Permit is free, and the Voluntary Youth Fishing License costs $2.97. Either of these can be obtained at any fishing license issuing agent or online at huntfish.pa.gov.

You will need to furnish the child’s address, social security number, date of birth, height and eye color to acquire the permit.

Both the young angler and their mentor are permitted to fish on the youth day, but only the young angler is permitted to keep two trout 7 inches or longer. All other general fishing regulations apply during Mentored Youth Trout Day.

Additional information about the Mentored Youth Trout Day program is available on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website, FishandBoat.com, or on page 21 in the 2025 Pennsylvania Summary of Fishing handbook that comes with your fishing license.

In the spirit of the event, the PFBC requests that adult mentors not use the opportunity to accompany a child to get an early start on trout season.

The PFBC also discourages youth organizations from using the day as an opportunity to get a large group of youth fishing with minimal adult supervision.

The ideal situation is a one-on-one between the mentor and the youth, but the adult mentor is permitted to oversee more than one young person. Young anglers should be capable of fishing on their own, with limited assistance from the mentor. A mentor should be within a reasonable distance of the young person when the youth is actively fishing. Six feet is recommended.

Having many years of experience as a fishing guide and a trained fishing instructor for both kids and adults, I’ve had the privilege of introducing hundreds of novice anglers of all ages to the wonderful sport of fishing.

One of the most important tips I would pass on to anyone looking to mentor a budding young angler is to keep it fun. Make your No. 1 goal for the day that your student will want to go again. This is especially true with kids because some have notoriously short attention spans, and the younger the child, the shorter the amount of time they are likely to stay focused on any activity.

Don’t prolong the day once they begin to lose interest. That will only discourage them. Call it a day and try again later.

If possible, have a short practice session with your youngster before the actual day on the water. Set up some targets and do a little casting practice in the backyard with the equipment they will be using.

For older kids, show them how to tie a couple of basic knots and how to rig whatever baits or lures they will be using on youth day.

These preliminaries will build interest and involvement for the fishing day, not to mention some appropriate familiarity and proficiency with their tackle.

This might sound too obvious, but one of the best ways to keep a young angler interested is to catch something. Since you shouldn’t have to contend with the usual opening day crowds, finding a spot or two that will produce some fish should not be too difficult. Not every kid will be super excited about going fishing for the first time, especially if the weather isn’t the best. But nothing will excite a first-time like a fish tugging on the end of their line.

Before the fishing day, I also like to discuss with my young anglers whether they want to take home some of their catch to eat.

If not, we’ll agree to get some photos and release the fish. After all, photos tend to be lifetime memories, while a couple of dead fish tend to be just a couple of dead fish.

And introducing the youngster to the ethics of catch and release is another plus. If the child wants to have a fish dinner, I explain that I expect them to help or at least watch cleaning the catch.

Trout are one of the easiest fish to clean for the table, and being responsible for taking care of the day’s catch is a good habit to instill.

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Walt Young is an outdoors commentary columnist for the Altoona Mirror.