Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today unveiled the waters which will be included in the 2014 statewide expansion of the popularMentored Youth Fishing Day program.
“Think of this as a holiday gift for kids,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. “The pilot program this year was such a huge hit with anglers and their friends and family that we decided to expand the program statewide in 2014. Adult anglers from across the state now will have a special day to fish with the children in their lives in advance of the traditional opening day of trout season.”
The Mentored Youth Fishing Day pilot was launched in 2013 on the Saturday preceding the regional opening day of trout season and was immediately popular with adult anglers and the kids in their lives. More than 3,700 adult anglers registered 5,110 kids for the fishing opportunity.
“We expect to see an even higher level of involvement and enthusiasm this year since anglers have been sharing their stories about the great time they had in the pilot program,” added Arway.
For the 2014 fishing season, the first Mentored Youth Fishing Day will be held on 12 waters on March 22, the Saturday before the regional opening day of trout season in 18 southcentral and southeast counties, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m. The waters include:
County and Water
Adams - Orrtanna Pond - Pond 1
Berks - Antietam Lake
Berks - Scotts Run Lake at French Creek State Park
Bucks - Levittown Lake
Cumberland - Children’s Lake
Cumberland - Doubling Gap Lake at Colonel Denning State Park
Dauphin - Middletown Reservoir
Lebanon - Lions Lake
Lehigh - Lehigh Canal, Section 08
Montgomery - Deep Creek Dam at Green Lane Park
Perry - Little Buffalo Lake at Little Buffalo State Park
Schuylkill - Locust Lake
The second Mentored Youth Fishing Day will be held on 29 waters on April 5, the Saturday before the traditional opening day of trout season, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m. The waters include:
County and Water
Allegheny - North Park Lake
Butler - Harbar Acres Lake
Cambria - Lake Rowena
Centre - Cold Stream Dam
Clearfield - Janesville Dam
Clearfield - Parker Lake at Parker Dam State Park
Columbia - Briar Creek Lake
Elk - Twin Lakes
Erie - East and West Basin Ponds at Presque Isle State Park
Erie - Upper Gravel Pit
Fayette - Dunlap Creek Lake
Fulton - Cowans Gap Lake at Cowans Gap State Park
Huntingdon - Whipple Lake at Whipple Dam State Park
Jefferson - Cloe Lake
Lackawanna - Eston Wilson Lake
Luzerne - Lake Frances at Nescopeck State Park
Lycoming - Little Pine Lake
McKean - Hamlin Lake
Mercer - Buhl Lake
Monroe - Hidden Lake
Pike - Lily Pond
Potter - Lyman Run Reservoir at Lyman Run State Park
Somerset - Laurel Hill Lake at Laurel Hill State Park
Tioga - Hamilton Lake
Union - Halfway Lake at RB Winter State Park
Warren - Chapman Dam Reservoir at Chapman State Park
Washington - Canonsburg Lake
Westmoreland - Mammoth Lake
Westmoreland - Twin Lakes Number One Reservoir (Lower)
To participate in the program, adult anglers (16 years of age or older) must possess a valid fishing license and trout/salmon permit and be accompanied by a youth. Youth anglers must obtain a free PFBC-issued permit, which will be available beginning Feb. 1, 2014, atwww.GoneFishingPA.com or at any of the more than 900 licensing agents across the state.
A survey of participants in the pilot program found that 89 percent of the registered youth fished that day; a majority of mentors were family members; and more than 80 percent of the mentors said they were satisfied with the experience. All total, the kids and their mentors fished 7,727 hours and reported releasing 4,405 trout and harvesting 1,183. Nearly 80 percent of the mentors said they usually fish the opening day of trout season. However, more than one-third of respondents said that they do not typically take youth out on opening day.
For more information about the Mentored Youth program, visit www.GoneFishingPA.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: Eric Levis, Press Secretary - 717.705.7806
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