For math teacher Bryan Black, spending time fishing creates great memories. Once, it even inspired the name of his first child.
“One of my favorite memories was fishing the Madison River in Yellowstone Park years ago. I caught a very nice-sized wild brown trout. The funny part of it was my wife was at home pregnant with our first child. It was a girl, she was due soon – it was crazy that I was out there fishing in the first place – and the name we picked out was Madison,” Black said.
With spring in full swing, most people think about warm weather, flowers, and school soon coming to an end, but not everyone considers the opportunities in fishing that come with this season.
Starting in the middle of February, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocks over 3 million trout in streams, lakes, and rivers all around the state. That provides plenty of opportunities for people to have an enjoyable and memorable experience in the outdoors.
Senior Luke Dullmas, who started fishing through a camp experience with his cousin two years ago, said fishing is an enjoyable, relaxing experience that more teenagers should try.
“I think more people our age should fish more because it’s a very tranquil hobby,” Dullmas said. “I don’t know about other people, but to me just hearing the sounds of the water and feeling the cool breeze you get enhances the experience.”
Senior Brayden Klingensmith started fishing with his dad when he was younger. He views it as an activity that more kids should get into.
“I think it is important for more kids to get out and go fishing because it is a dying hobby,” Klingensmith said. “It is something that is looked down upon – until you try it for the first time and realize how much enjoyment it can bring.”
Klingensmith also acknowledged how fishing can help with decreasing stress.
“Fishing relates to stress relief and relaxation in a multitude of ways. The first is it is something that can help take your mind off of what is going on around you and give you a few hours to enjoy the outdoors and to have that feeling of excitement when you catch the first fish of the day,” Klingensmith said. “The feeling relates to solving a problem that has been bothering you for a long time.”
While Dullmas sees fishing as an opportunity for enjoyment, he also sees the hobby as an opportunity to learn.
“Fishing definitely teaches you patience and that good things come to those who wait,” Dullmas said. “Even if you don’t catch anything, it’s important to just relax and have patience while you listen to the water.”
Klingensmith also finds fishing to be a way to learn patience.
“There is a good chance that you will not catch a whole lot on your first time. But if you continue going and learning new things relating to it, then you will realize the fun it brings,” Kingensmith said.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Waterways Conservation Officer Michael Johnson, who focuses on the local waterways in Allegheny County, believes that the patience learned from fishing is a valuable life skill for teenagers.
“I think in the world we live in, we have a lot of multitasking and do not focus and pay attention to a single subject,” Johnson said. “Fishing teaches patience, which is a wonderful thing to learn, especially for younger people. … Mentally, after all of that patience, if you finally catch that big fish you have been waiting for, it gives a significant sense of accomplishment.”
Black, who has been fishing for 43 years and is a member of fishing clubs such as Trout Unlimited, Tri-County Trout Club, and the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association, views fishing as an opportunity for younger generations to promote conservation efforts in their communities.
“Environmentally speaking, fishing can help young people promote clean water efforts for the fish and for us,” Black said. “Understanding that we need clean, fresh water is really important, and I think if more kids get out there they will be able to see that. Naturally reproducing trout cannot survive without our efforts to conserve local waterways.”
Black also thinks fishing can be highly beneficial to teenagers’ mental health and awareness.
“I think fishing would benefit teenagers because it can help relieve some stress and anxiety. Just putting down the technology and enjoying time outside while you can hear the creek run and see wildlife can help someone out mentally,” Black said.
With the significant benefits that fishing can offer to young people, Johnson sees an opportunity for more schools and institutions to promote fishing and getting outdoors by designating more time for recreational activities.
“I think schools, if possible, need to work on making more time for students to get outside. School curriculums are tight. If you ask a teacher or principal how much free time they have, it would likely not be a lot. Although challenging, making the time for kids to be able to get out and go with a trained professional would be the number one thing that schools can do to get more kids in the outdoors,” Johnson said.
Students would reap the benefits, he said.
“If you are the best student but do not do anything else other than school work, it can leave a sense of unfulfillment. There is a reason why the state of Pennsylvania pushes us to create more state parks and conserve more bodies of water, and that is because it has been proven that recreational activities promote a more positive lifestyle for everybody.”
Black said fishing leads to many friendships because it forces people to be open to different groups of people.
“Fishing has really helped me branch out and make a lot of new friends from different areas that I would never expect it from. Some of them are in their early 20s, and some are in their 70s and 80s. When you are out there and you have friends to go with, it gives you a sense of comradery that otherwise you do not have,” Black said.
For teenagers who are interested in starting to fish but do not know where to start, Black suggests that they talk to people who can teach them.
“The best thing you can do is ask someone who does know how to fish what to do and where to go. A big part of fishing is learning from others,” Black said. “You can also look into local fishing clubs to give you a place to start.”
Klingensmith agreed.
“The best way I can say is to find someone who you are already close with like family or a significant other who has fished and spend a day with them learning,” he said. “Not only will you explore a new hobby but you will also have a new competition: who is the better fisherman?
Throughout his career as an officer, Johnson has seen that many teenagers think of fishing as only an activity for older people.
“Some kids may consider fishing to be ‘uncool,’ not a fun activity, or strictly for old people, but that is entirely untrue. Fishing provides teenagers and young adults the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and what it has to offer,” Johnson said. “It also gives people a chance to connect with others and have a fun time in the outdoors.”
