With far too many youngsters tied to their cellphones and TV games, it would be nice to give them a lifelong sport that gets them outside and into the great outdoors.

And what a better time to do it is this weekend (March 30) for the Mentored Youth Trout Day that runs from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

On this day, youths get a jump start on fishing trout-stocked waters before the statewide opener April 6. And the odds of them catching fish is better and helps maintain their interest in the sport.

When my son was a youngster and there was no Mentored Youth Day, I took him to a local farm pond where he caught and released loads of small largemouth bass and sunnies that kept his interest and inspired him to fish. Then we transgressed to trout fishing and on his first opening day of trout season he was excited to catch a trout before I did. And in subsequent days on local streams, he often out-fished me.

For starters, and to make youngsters feel like an adult angler, the fish commission says youth anglers need a Mentored Youth Permit or a Voluntary Youth Fishing License from any licensing agent and they must be accompanied by a licensed adult angler to participate in the program. With this license or permit it entitles the youth, 15 years old and younger, to take a total of two trout with a minimum length of 7 inches. Adult anglers are prohibited from possessing trout on that day.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission offers this guidance for mentors:

• Youth should be capable of fishing on their own, with limited assistance from the mentor.

• Mentor should be fishing within a reasonable distance of actively fishing youth.

• This day is for mentors and their youth, and not designed for large groups of youth fishing, with minimal adult supervision.

Of note, Special Regulation Areas are not included in this program and it’s unlawful to fish in waters designated as part of the Mentored Youth Fishing Day Program.

The Mentored Youth Permit is free, whereas the Voluntary Youth License is $2.97 ($1 cost plus $1 issuing agent fee plus 0.97 PALS transaction fee). Adult anglers, however, need an annual fishing license and current trout/salmon permit. The youth permit, or youth voluntary license, can also be obtained online by going to HuntFishPA.

LEASER LAKE

From recent field reports, Leaser Lake was reportedly stocked with larger than the average size trout stocked. The reason, it’s surmised, is so the muskies at Leaser don’t feast on them as they would smaller trout.