A Report on the 2013 Mentored Youth Trout Day

Carl Richardson PA Fish and Boat Commission July 2013

Introduction: 2013 Mentored Youth Trout Day...... 1 MYT Pilot Details ...... 3 Evaluation measures ...... 5 MYT Planning and Implementation ...... 6 Target Audience ...... 6 Fish Management: Water selection, stocking rates, stocking logistics ...... 7 Stocking ...... 8 Regulatory ...... 9 Community level support ...... 9 Promotion and Publicity ...... 10 MYT Registration System ...... 11 Tagged Fish Contest ...... 13 Staffing ...... 14 Site Reports ...... 14 Angler Counts ...... 14 MYT Feedback ...... 15 Post-Program Survey of Mentors...... 16 Results and Conclusions ...... 19 Communication and Promotional Effort Results ...... 19 MYT Registration Results ...... 20 Participant characteristics ...... 21 Registration Conclusions ...... 22 MYT Site Reports ...... 23 On-site conclusions ...... 25 Mentored Youth Trout Day Results ...... 26 MYT Participation conclusion ...... 27 Effort, catch, and harvest ...... 27 Conclusions on MYT Effort, catch, and harvest ...... 28 Tagged Fish Contest ...... 29 Tagged Fish Contest Conclusions ...... 30 Mentor Fishing Experience ...... 30 License buying history ...... 30 Prior experience on opening day ...... 31 Mentor Experience Conclusions ...... 32 Opinion and Attitudes on MYT ...... 33

iii

Mentor opinions and attitudes ...... 33 Conclusions about mentor attitudes ...... 34 Public feedback ...... 35 Conclusions on public feedback ...... 35 PFBC staff opinions and attitudes: Results and Conclusions ...... 36 Evaluation of the MYT in achieving objectives ...... 38 Bibliography/References...... 40 Tables ...... 43 Figures...... 46 List of Appendices ...... 49 Appendix A: Mentored Youth Trout Day Logic Model ...... 50 Appendix B: Temporary Regulation Change, as Published in Pennsylvania Bulletin ...... 52 Appendix C: MYT Press Releases Issued and Examples of Media Coverage ...... 55 Appendix D: Public and Media Relations Report ...... 84 Appendix E: Mentored Youth Trout Day Registration...... 86 Appendix F: Mentored Youth Trout Day Site Plans ...... 90 Appendix G: Angler Count Procedure & Site Report ...... 92 Appendix H: Site Summary ...... 97 Appendix I: Post MYT Survey Instrument ...... 101 Appendix J: Post MYT Survey e-mail invitation ...... 112 Appendix K: Summary of Post MYT Survey Results ...... 114 Appendix L: Staff After Action Review Results ...... 141

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Introduction: 2013 Mentored Youth Trout Day

Most often, parents or guardians are instructors and mentors to young anglers and hunters

(Duda M.D., 2010). The role of a mentor is that of long-term development and socialization. An

instructor can teach someone to fish, while a mentor helps him or her become an angler. That is,

while proper instruction is important, it alone doesn’t guarantee that the individual will become

an angler. This is especially true if a mentor or other social support is absent (Duda M.D., 2010).

Mentored opportunities differ from educational programs significantly in that mentored experiences extend beyond the instructional period. Mentors plan and discuss the trip with the apprentice before, during and after. An instructor typically only has contact with the young angler during the presentation (Responsive Management, 2011).

In the mid 1990’s the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and other state wildlife agencies took steps to provide special mentored opportunities for licensed junior hunters.

According to Keith Snyder of the PGC, the first hunts in Pennsylvania were special waterfowl hunts at the Middle Creek and Pymatuning Wildlife Management Areas In 2005, the PGC obtained necessary legislative approval for youth under the age of 12 to participate in special hunts through the Mentored Youth Hunting Program. Since then, additional mentored youth and/or junior hunting opportunities have been added. A total of 12 days of youth and mentored youth special hunting opportunities were offered in the 2012-2013 license year in Pennsylvania.

For the past 20 years or more the idea of providing an early opportunity for youth anglers prior to the trout season has been discussed several times within the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat

Commission (PFBC). While generally supported within the agency, the concept of special youth opportunities never moved beyond the discussion phase.

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Sparked by no specific discussion, PFBC education and outreach staff conducted an informal survey of state fisheries agencies in August 2010. The purpose was to determine whether similar mentoring or pre-season opportunities for youth anglers existed in other states.

While youth hunting opportunities are widespread in the country, staff could not find similar opportunities for youth anglers. However, many states had special youth-only locations available in-season. Should such a youth-only early opportunity occur, it would not only be a first in the PFBC’s history, but also throughout the county.

In early 2012, PFBC Executive Director John Arway and Area Fisheries Manager Mike

Kaufman discussed the concept of a special mentored youth fishing day and some of the steps needed to implement the concept. While the idea had been discussed several times previously, it now had the support needed to become a reality.

Staff from several bureaus entered the discussion and in the months that followed planned for the Commission’s first special youth fishing opportunity. This opportunity would later be called the Mentored Youth Trout Day (MYT) and 2013 would serve as a pilot held on a limited number of waters in a specific area of the state.

The results from this pilot would be used in making decisions about future opportunities.

This report details the 2013 MYT pilot, including details in planning and implementation as well as measures used in assessment and evaluation the pilot program.

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MYT Pilot Details

Purpose of Pilot

Starting with a pilot enabled the PFBC to determine the assets needed to plan and carry

out such an opportunity on a smaller, more controlled scale. The pilot provided an opportunity to identify potential changes to existing processes, particularly stocking logistics. The smaller scale pilot test simply provided the opportunity to develop and test a program before applying widespread management changes, or enacting regulations necessary to establish the MYT statewide.

Evaluation of the pilot was not limited to PFBC operations, but it also included measures to qualify and quantify mentor and youth outcomes. While results of the pilot may show operational feasibility, if the desired participant outcomes are not achieved, there would be little value in moving forward. In terms of participant outcomes, the pilot’s purpose was to:

• Determine the level of support for special youth/mentor fishing opportunities. This includes the support of potential participants, and other external and internal audiences.

• Gather information about program participants, in relation to their attitudes and experiences with the 2013 MYT as well as other fishing behaviors.

Objectives and program measures for the pilot were written based on this purpose. While both are detailed elsewhere within the report, the objectives fall into these categories:

1. Quantifying the level of participation; program registrants, actual participants and their fishing experiences 2. Demographic characterization of the youth and adult mentors 3. Identifying participant’s satisfaction and factors contributing or detracting. 4. Determining the participant’s fishing experience, in particular previous participation in traditional trout opening day.

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MYT Objectives

The University of Wisconsin Evaluation Model was used to plan, design and implement the many aspects of developing and delivering the MYT (Taylor-Powell E., 1996) (Taylor-

Powell & Henert, 2008). Taylor-Powell & Steele (1996) also described evaluation methods.

Other sources used in the planning and evaluation include the Best Practices Guide to Program

Evaluation for Aquatic Educators (Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, 2011) and the

Best Practices Workbook for Hunting and Shooting Recruitment and Retention (National

Shooting Sports Foundation, 2007). The MYT logic model is found in Appendix A.

Specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives for the MYT were prepared by Bureau of Boating and Outreach (B&O) staff. The objectives defined desired participant outcomes, rather than agency outputs. Outputs are described as the count of things produced, while outcomes are the measurable results or consequences (Recreational Boating and Fishing

Foundation, 2011) and (Taylor-Powell E., 1996). An example of an output would be the number of posters or brochures produced, or the value of staff and volunteer time or the amount of media coverage. An example of a desired outcome of the MYT is that mentors would be motivated to register and take a youth fishing on that date. The objectives are organized by short, medium, and long-term outcomes. The specific objectives are outlined below.

1. Short-term (by completion of the program) a. Potential mentors will visit Commission’s MYT home page for program details. b. Mentors will register youth (including children outside of their household). c. Commission will gain earned media to expose its recruitment efforts to other audiences beyond targets. d. Fifty percent of the registered mentors and youth will participate on March 23, 2013. e. Staff will observe positive mentor/youth interactions and angler behavior.

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2. Medium-term (in the 6 months post program) a. Commission will gain an understanding of adult anglers’ motivation and attitudes on these topics: i. Experience on March 23, 2013. ii. Opening day of trout season participation. iii. Barriers to opening day participation. b. Effort and catch rates will be determined, as will their impact on participant satisfaction. c. Operational feasibility of MYT program expansion will be assessed. d. License purchasing patterns of mentors will be determined.

3. Long-term (more than 6 months post program) a. Commission will expand the MYT program to provide similar opportunity to larger audience. b. Commission will take action-finalizing rulemaking to establish MYT or similar program. c. Participants in 2013 MYT will continue participation in future MYT days and similar programs. d. Adult mentors participating in 2013 MYT will purchase fishing license on annual basis in future years. e. Commission will track youth participants to determine participation and influence future license buying habits.

Evaluation measures A key component of evaluation is determining whether the stated purpose and/or

objectives of a program are being met (National Shooting Sports Foundation, 2007). That is, did

the program achieve the desired and expected outcomes? Output measures/counts are important

in the evaluation of agency operation and activities, and they are based on counts of items

produced, reports of staff activity or other records. They are a measure of Commission action

and activity. Measures of outcome focus on the participants, and are derived from information

provided by the participant.

Specific MYT measures and methods used are detailed in the Planning and

Implementation portion of this report. Taken in their entirety, the result of these measures aid in

determining performance in meeting program objectives, and places where improvements may

be needed. The results of these measures are detailed in the Results and Conclusion portion of this report. 5

2013 MYT Report

MYT Planning and Implementation

Target Audience The primary target audience for the Mentored Youth Trout Day is trout anglers in the 18 county regional opening day counties, s and the children in their family/household. A review of

2012 PFBC fishing license and trout/salmon permit purchase records shows that anglers living in the 18-county area accounted for 30% of the 2012 trout/salmon and Lake Erie combination permit sales (177,000). In addition, half of the top 10 counties and several of the top 5 counties in sales were in this area.

A 2007 survey of Pennsylvania trout anglers indicates that children are their most common companions when trout fishing (37%). This study also found that children are present in 43% of the trout fishing households in Pennsylvania (Responsive Management, 2008).

Assuming that the distribution of these households is similar across the state, it can be estimated that 76,000 resident anglers in the 18-county regional trout opening day area have children under age 17 in their household. These anglers would represent 43% of the 177,000 trout/salmon and

Lake Erie combo permit sales in this area.

However, looking at how often youth accompany trout anglers, only 34% of them had taken a child fishing in the 12 months prior to the survey. Parental avidity has been shown to influence youth participation. Children who come from a household where a male father or guardian fished were three times more likely to fish later in life (US Fish and Wildlife Service ,

2007).

The benefits of taking youth fishing also extend to the mentors. The 2007 survey of

Pennsylvania’s trout anglers showed that 98% of those adults surveyed would go trout fishing more if asked by a child (Responsive Management, 2008). Of that number, 84% indicated that

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being asked by a child to take them fishing was a strong encouragement to go trout fishing more

in Pennsylvania.

Fish Management: Water selection, stocking rates, stocking logistics Designated in 2007 as part of the regional opening day of trout season program, the 18-

county zone in southcentral and southeastern Pennsylvania was selected as the location for the

MYT pilot. A list of waters in this area was generated by querying the PFBC Fisheries Database

for Class 1 (20 acres or less), 2 (20-50) and smaller Class 3 (50-100) lakes. Waters in these categories were selected because utilization of stocked trout is thought to be generally higher on smaller waters (less than 100 surface acres)

At the request of the District Waterways Conservation Officer (WCO), Muddy Run

Recreation Lake was added to the list for consideration. Because Muddy Run is nearly 100 acres in size and is currently open to year-round fishing it was initially excluded from consideration.

However, the WCO believed that because the water is such an opening day destination and park facilities were present, Muddy Run should be considered.

In addition, Section 08 of the Lehigh Canal was added to the list, even though it’s not an

impoundment at the request of the Area Fisheries Manager. Staff reviewed this list and narrowed

it down to 12 waters by selecting those which also had one or more of these conditions present:

• Willing partner in landowner or property manager. • A history as destination for opening day of trout. • Parking and public access. • Proximity to population center.

The list of twelve waters was circulated among field staff from the bureaus of Law Enforcement,

Fisheries and Boating and Outreach. Staff reviewed and provided feedback on the list. A

finalized list was approved by the executive director on November 28, 2012. A total of 12

2013 MYT Report waters in 10 counties were selected for the program in 2013. The average size of waters selected was 25.9 acres.

MYT Water County Acres Antietam Lake Berks 13.6 Children's Lake Cumberland 8.9 Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane Montgomery 25.0 Doubling Gap Lake Cumberland 4.0 Lehigh canal, sec 08 Lehigh 26.0 Levittown Lake Bucks 19.8 Lions Lake Lebanon 7.0 Locust Lake Schuylkill 51.9 Middletown Reservoir Dauphin 11.1 Muddy Run Recreation Lake Lancaster 97.8 Scotts Run Lake Berks 22.5 Waynesboro Reservoir Adams 23.0

Stocking The trout for these waters came from four PFBC hatcheries: Bellefonte, Benner Spring,

Huntsdale and Pleasant Gap. Each water received a pre-season allocation plus, additional fish, on average 400 per water. Because production is at maximum capacity, this increase resulted in a corresponding reduction of in-season and/or fall allocation. A complete listing of MYT waters, stocking dates is found in Table 1.

Since the stocking schedule was established prior to final selection of the MYT waters, change orders for dates were needed in two instances to ensure the MYT waters were stocked prior to 3/23/2013. Additional trucks were added in two instances, to accommodate the date changes and the additional fish. The additional cost for these truck trips was estimated at approximately $700. Stocking of MYT waters started on March 5 and continued until March 22.

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Regulatory Acting under the authority of 58 Pa. code §65.25 (relating to temporary changes to

fishing regulations), the Executive Director established the 2013 Mentored Trout Day as March

23, 2013. The temporary change of regulation was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on

January 5, 2013 (43 Pa. B. 114) and is presented in Appendix B.

In addition to identifying the program waters, the temporary change set forth these regulations:

• A starting time of 8:00 AM and ending time of 7:30 PM. • Youth anglers must have been registered with the Commission and accompanied by an adult angler in order to participate • Anglers 16 years of age or older (adult anglers) were required to possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and current trout/salmon permit, and be accompanied by a youth (less than 16 years of age) who had registered with the Commission. • The minimum size for trout was 7 inches and the creel limit was two trout per day (combined species). • Other Commonwealth inland regulations applied.

It was unlawful for adult anglers to fish in waters designated under the MYT program without a

valid fishing license and trout permit, and without being accompanied by a registered youth.

Community level support Managers/property owners of candidate waters were contacted, requesting their approval

and support for including their respective water in the MYT. These contacts were made by B&O

staff. In addition, these partners were solicited for assistance in registration, promotion and staff

support on the MYT on March 23, 2013.

Regional staff from the B&O informed cooperators in the PFBC Cooperative Nursery

Program of the MYT at the regional cooperator in-service meetings. The promotional flier and

FAQ were made available to those in attendance. Cooperators were also solicited for support

and assistance with registration, promotion, and on-site support on March 23, 2013.

Additional contacts were made with local sporting, fishing and related organizations.

Contact was made by local commission staff, regional education staff as well the Executive

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Director. Approximately 28 organizations were contacted and solicited for their support for the

2013 MYT.

Promotion and Publicity Initial promotion followed the October 2012 Commission meeting. The meeting summary press release made mention of the Mentored Youth Trout Day, and was issued on

October 2, 2012. From that date until March 23, 2013 the following activities were performed to generate interest and facilitate registration:

• A MYT landing page was created on the PFBC website in November 2012 and included a map of MYT waters, link to frequently asked questions, and a link to the registration page. This landing page was populated with pilot program details and a registration link as each was finalized.

• Published November 10, 2012, a brief mention of the MYT was included in the 2013 Pennsylvania Fishing Summary. Since details were yet available to the public, was more of a preview. More than 1 million copies of the summary are published each year.

• A press release was issued on December 26, 2012 announcing the waters, and included information on registration and the temporary regulations in place.

• Approximately 10 posts were made to PFBC social media sites, during the period December 27, 2012-March 23, 2013

• On the evening of January 23, 2013 the PFBC held a special evening event at the Harrisburg Headquarters as part of the quarterly Commission meeting. The purpose of the event was to draw attention to the MYT and included presentations on trout fishing basics, MYT details, and opportunities for youth to be involved in cold-water conservation. The presentations were captured by Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) and rebroadcast several times in the weeks that followed.

• A single page promotional item was included in the March/April issue of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine. This issue had a mail date of February 24. This page was also reprinted as a promotional flier.

• Information on the MYT was included in the February 28, and March 20, 2013 e-mail blasts that were sent by the PFBC.

• Promotional posters that also satisfied requirements of temporary regulation posting were produced. More than 800 posters were shipped to local WCO and partners on

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March 4, 2013, with instructions to post at each location and other high visibility areas.

• Information on the MYT was also placed on the Office of Administration’s Employee Bulletin Board and promoted via 2-mail blasts, March 6 and March 20. All employees and contractors (73,000) on Commonwealth wide network (CWOPA) receive the bulletin board updates.

• An interview with the Executive Director was aired by WHTM 27 news on March 17. This interview promoted the MYT and 3/30/2013 opening day.

• A PFBC press release was issued on March 18, promoting the MYT and included information about the tagged fish contest. (Note: The tagged fish contest was an element added in early March. See page 13 for details on the contest)

• Paid advertising ran in four daily newspapers in the southeast region. This advertising promoted the MYT and the March 30 regional opening day.

• On March 21, 2013, the PFBC press office sent invitations sent to media, informing them of the opportunity to cover this event. These were sent to media contacts in the area.

While the ultimate measure of effectiveness of these efforts are the results from MYT registration, where possible, the audience reached for these efforts was quantified. Web analytics and CisionPoint were used to determine audience reached through earned and paid media. Press releases, some examples of resulting media and media analysis are in Appendix C and D.

MYT Registration System A web-based system for registration was developed using FormRouter, through the

PFBC’s website. In addition to capturing information on registered youth, the system was also used to gather information on the adult mentor including address, e-mail address, Pennsylvania

Automated License System (PALS) customer identification number (CID) and/or date of birth

(DOB). The PFBC assumed until proven otherwise, that the mentor who planned on fishing with the youth would be the individual completing the on-line registration form for the MYT.

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The web-based registration page went live to the public on December 19, 2012. Links to

this web form were included in the December 26, 2012 press release, and on the MYT landing

page. A screen view of this registration page is found in Appendix E.

The youth’s address and date of birth and mentor’s e-mail address were required fields

for entry. Following submission of the form, FormRouter auto-generated a confirmation e-mail.

This confirmation e-mail served as registration documentation. When this e-mail was not

received, mentors contacted the PFBC. In these instances, the Commission manually generated

confirmation e-mails and sent to the address provided.

As an alternate method to the on-line system, printed registration forms were produced

and 6,000 were distributed among the MYT partners on March 4, 2013. Paper forms were also

available on-site the day of the MYT program to accommodate walk-up participants. Data fields on the printed form matched those of the on-line system, and a copy of this form may be found in

Appendix. Upon receipt from the field, data from completed forms was manually entered by

B&O staff into the web-based registration database.

Participant registration data entered through the on-line form was copied into a duplicate

Microsoft Access database. The Access database was used for data management purposes with selected data exported into Microsoft Excel for statistical analysis.

Using the date of birth (DOB) information provided on the registration form, descriptive statistics were developed that characterized the age of registrants. Mentor address information was used to produce counts of county of residence and to develop GIS-based maps of the location of mentors.

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Adult CID and DOB were compared to customers in the PALS database. This database

contains records on more than 1 million license buyers and their transactions since 2007. The

PALS was queried to determine fishing license transaction history.

Adult contact information, particularly the e-mail address was used to administer the

post-program survey. Specifics on the post-program survey may be found in that section.

Tagged Fish Contest The Commission and Cabela’s Inc. partnered to provide a tagged-fish contest opportunity

on March 23 at each of the MYT waters. Tags were redeemable for a prize package consisting of

a $20 Cabela’s gift card and a Zebco rod/reel combination. Mentors 18 years and older, were

eligible to redeem the tags from fish caught during the MYT. In order to qualify for the prize, redeeming anglers had until March 27, 2013 to submit a completed redemption form. Contest rules and tag redemption forms were contained in several e-mail blasts and were featured on the

PFBC’s MYT landing page. Printed contest rules and redemption forms were also made available at each MYT water.

Two weeks prior to stocking, approximately 360 trout were tagged with floy tags and held in separate rearing units at PFBC hatcheries. On the morning of distribution, 30-tagged trout per water were loaded on stocking trucks, along with the remaining allocation and stocked in MYT water. A return rate between 20% to 30% was expected.

Completed forms were mailed by the anglers to the PFBC Headquarters in Harrisburg.

Information from redemption forms submitted was entered in an Excel spreadsheet, including angler contact information, CID, and where the fish was caught. Only those forms properly completed and with a postmark prior to March 27, 2013 were eligible to receive a prize.

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Following the redemption period, information on tagged fish caught was submitted over the

phone or via e-mail. Using the information provided, the overall tag return rate was calculated

Staffing At least one PFBC staff member was assigned to each water. Most waters had additional

staff and/or volunteer assistance scheduled. These individuals processed walk-up/paper

registrations, conducted counts and provided assistance to anglers. In addition, staff at some

locations took photos and conducted media interviews.

Site Reports The lead staff at each site was required to submit one site report form to the PFBC

Headquarters immediately following March 23, 2013. The site report form is found in Appendix

H, and includes fields for recording staff, volunteer and partner effort, angler counts (see below),

weather observations, tally of the number of times staff provide assistance, public feedback

trends, and media observed.

Information from the 12 site reports was entered in an Excel spreadsheet and was used to

prepare a narrative site summary, which is found in Appendix H.

Angler Counts Angler counts were conducted using a standardized method developed by Greene

(Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission , 2013) and is found in Appendix G. Staff scheduled to at one of the 12 waters were provided a copy of the procedure and participated in a briefing the week prior to March 23, 2013.

Counts of anglers were conducted three times at three-hour intervals beginning at 8:00

AM. The interval was set at three hours as earlier creel survey work done on angler use on stocked trout waters showed an average trip length of 3.61 hours on opening weekend, and 2.67 hours after the opening weekend (Greene R, 2005). Hand-tally counters were used to count anglers as staff moved along the perimeter of the water. Data from the counts was entered in an

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Excel spreadsheet and the total, mean, and median number of anglers per water as well as for all waters in total was calculated.

MYT Feedback Public feedback

Feedback from public came through direct conversations with staff or electronically.

Electronic feedback occurred via e-mail or Facebook. For those asking specific questions a copy of the Frequently Asked Questions was provided, along with a link to the MYT landing page.

Direct conversations occurred in person and/or over the phone. Both were sorted into themes and counted. This evaluation effort was qualitative in nature, and only trends were noted.

Staff present at MYT waters on March 23 also recorded trends in feedback received.

Feedback was categorized as positive, neutral or negative and counted based on proportion received by staff. This information was recorded on the Site Report form, and entered into site summary spreadsheet for analysis.

PFBC staff feedback

A facilitated After Action Review (AAR) took place on April 12, 2013, with key staff from several different bureaus and levels taking part. Questions asked by the facilitator were intended to determine what went well, and what didn’t for each of the topics listed below.

• Site selection • Promotion • Registration • Capacity building/Partnerships • On-site activities • Law Enforcement/Regulatory

Feedback from staff on each of the topics listed was recorded, as were recommendations for any future MYT or similar event.

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Post-Program Survey of Mentors A post-program survey was administered to a sample of the adults registering youth for

the MYT day. Sampling methodology was based on methods described in Taylor-Powell &

Steele (1996), Alreck & Settle (1995), RBFF (2011), NSSF (2007), as well as Dillman (1978,

2008).

SurveyMonkey (www.surveymonkey.com), was used in the sampling effort. This

included sampling instrument design and deployment using e-mail invitations, response tracking,

and summarizing data. It’s important to note that when non-probability sampling is used, and/or

all members of the population don’t have access to the internet, on-line surveys can produce inaccurate results (Duda & Nobile, 2010). However, Duda & Nobile also identify factors necessary to obtain a valid sample using the internet as a mechanism for collection. These factors were present in the Commission’s sampling and include:

• Sample population is a closed population. • All members in the sample have equal access to internet. • Responses are tracked to determine if any significant differences exist between those responding and those not responding.

The survey instrument (Appendix I) was designed based on Dillman (1979, 2008) and

Alreck & Settle (1995), and includes a mixture of recall, forced-choice, ranking and Likert rating

questions. The instrument was structured such that each category of respondent faced no more

than 30 questions and required less than four minutes to respond. The types of questions asked

were organized into these categories:

• MYT participation: participate or not, motivations, relationship w/youth • MYT fishing: effort, party size, catch and harvest rates • Attitudes about MYT experience: satisfaction, contributors and detractors • Participation in trout opening day: history, frequency of taking youth, barriers • Attitudes about MYT components and conditions, future MYT ideas • Fishing habits: avidity, license purchase patterns • Demographics: age, gender, location

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A draft of survey questions and possible responses was reviewed by several PFBC staff.

Questions were edited to reduce ambiguity and sampling bias. Survey questions were entered

into SurveyMonkey (SM) and three separate tests of the instrument were conducted using PFBC

staff and family as test subjects. Testing included the e-mail invitation system, determining time

needed to complete, response tracking and reminder e-mail delivery. Questions were edited as a

result of testing to ensure that total time needed to complete was 4 minutes or less.

Adult e-mail addresses from the registration database were scrubbed, duplicates and opt-

outs removed and re-formatted for import into SM. This resulted in 2,816 usable e-mail addresses, or for 75% of all the mentors.

The invitation e-mail was sent on April 8, and included a unique link to the instrument, tied to that e-mail address. This ensured that only one response for each e-mail, and the link

would not work if the e-mail was forwarded to another address. This reduces sampling bias and

prevents multiple responses from individuals or groups.

A three-issue complimentary subscription to Pennsylvania Angler and Boater was

provided to those responding by April 13. Dillman (2008) suggested that incentives may

increase response rate by 10%. Information on this incentive was included in the e-mail

invitation and on the survey instrument. Fields were included in the survey to capture mailing

information and were imported into the Commission’s magazine subscription system.

A reminder e-mail was sent to all non-respondents on April 12, approximately 24 hours

prior to the deadline to receive the incentive/reward. By midnight on April 12, 1,219 mentors

had already responded to the survey.

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When the survey closed on May 14, 1,523 mentors had responded, resulting in a response

rate of 54%. This rate far exceeded the expected response of 30-40%. As a result of this

response rate, the Commission obtained information from 41% of the population of mentors.

While the variance in survey results may be calculated for responses to individual

questions, public opinion surveys often refer to the margin of error (MOE) of the survey. From

the calculation below, a sample of this size resulted in a variance of the proportion of 0.0.256, at

the 95% confidence interval. This results in a margin of error of 2.56%. (Dillman, Smyth, &

Christian, 2008). Where

( ) = ±1.96 × ( (0.5 × 0.5 ÷ 1)

푉푉푉 푝 = �( ) × 100 푛 −

While the response rate was high,푀푀푀 comparisons푉푉푉 푝 were made between the characteristics of

those responding and the entire mentor population. If a non-response bias was present, one

would expect the results from the sample would differ from that of the population. Questions were included in the survey on age, license buying history, and where respondents fished on the

MYT. Responses to these survey questions were compared to data collected from all mentors at registration, and through PALS analysis. Survey results on location fished were compared to the total from angler counts conducted on-site by staff. No significant differences in these factors were observed between those responding and the population of all MYT mentors, or the angler counts.

Responses to survey questions were collected and analyzed with built-in SM analytics, and that summary may be found in Appendix K. All response data was also imported into

Microsoft Excel for further statistical analysis. Using built-in formulas, Microsoft Excel was used to generate descriptive statistics, where applicable.

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Results and Conclusions

Communication and Promotional Effort Results

Paid advertising

Paid advertising ran from March 18 to 23, in four daily newspapers at a cost of $3,500.

These ads promoted the MYT opportunity and the upcoming opening day of trout. Combined circulation of these papers is nearly 147,000.

Earned media

Approximately 87 stories were carried by media outlets from October 2012 to April 2013.

Analysis using CisionPoint (www:cisionpoint.com) estimates the potential audience for these reports at 68.5 million. Forty-four stories were carried by media outlets in March. The majority of coverage was in daily newspapers and their respective websites. The detailed media/pr report

is found in Appendix X, along with several examples of MYT coverage.

E-mail blasts

The Office of Adminstration’s Employee Bulletin Board e-mails are sent to 73,000

addresses in the Commonwealth-wide network (CWOPA). This includes addresses for all

Commonwealth employees and contractors. The Commission e-mail blasts were sent to 207,500 recipients. The MYT was mentioned in two of these e-mails blasts, which included a brief overview of the MYT and links to the MYT landing page. Spikes in registrations were observed after both of these types of blasts.

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Website Visitation

For period December 2013-March 2013 the monthly average of unique visits to the MYT landing page was 13,945. For the month of March, the MYT page was the 8th most popular page

on the PFBC website, with 32,159 unique visits. Pages with higher visitation that month include

the trout-stocking schedule, interactive maps, and summary of fishing laws and regulation.

Communication/Promotion Conclusions

The primary goal of promotional efforts was to drive registration. While discussed in further detail below, the registration totals exceeded staff expectations. Coverage of the MYT opportunity was not limited to the counties where the opportunity took place. Articles appeared in statewide publications and from the western third of the state. While limited in scope, interest in the MYT was widespread as evidenced by the coverage in the 2/3 of the state with no MYT waters.

Electronic media proved high return for minimal effort. Website visitation and registration entries spiked in the days following the PFBC e-mail blasts and the OA Employee

Bulletin Board postings.

The social media outlets provided a direct connection to friends and followers, but also expanded to include their friends and followers, creating an audience much larger than those directly contacted. Further, the same message can be reposted or shared with minimal effort, keeping it in the daily mix of information received.

MYT Registration Results For the period December 19, 2012 to March 23, 2013, 5,017 entries were made using the on-line registration system. The majority of registrations occurred during March, with 76% of them made during the period March 1 to March 23. The median registration date was March 16,

2013 MYT Report

with the peak occurring on March 22. On this date, 664 registrations were submitted, which is

14% of all the entries. On March 23, 223 registrations were submitted to the on-line system.

Several staff reported observing adults registering on- site, using portable devices. The last registration received from a mentor, using the on-line system was submitted at 4:48 P.M., only two hours prior to the 7:00 P.M. closing time.

From March 23 until April 5, 2013, 132 paper registration forms were received in the

Harrisburg Headquarters. Paper forms accounted for 2.5% of the registrations.

Eliminating duplicate entries, a total of 5,111 youth were registered for the 2013 MYT, by 3,760 mentors. An estimated 1264 mentors registered more than one youth.

Registered youth were eligible for a one year promotional subscription to the

Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth (PLAY) newsletter, limit one per household. Since some of the registered youth were already receiving PLAY and the majority had more than one youth registering, 2,413 new PLAY subscriptions were generated.

The Commission was contacted less than 10 times by registering adults that experienced problems with the on-line system. In those cases, the confirmation e-mail did not arrive at the specified account or the mentor’s e-mail was incorrectly entered. Staff experienced two

instances where the mentor lacked access to the internet and PFBC staff performed the entry

manually, and sent the registration confirmation via US Mail.

Participant characteristics The median age for youth was 8.9 years (mean 9.0) and for the adults it was 42.3 years of

age (mean 44.1). Youth ages ranged from 10 months old to 16, while the mentors ranged from

16 to 85 years of age. Gender information was only available from mentors responding to the

survey, and 94% were male.

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Mentors provided addresses from seven states, with 99% providing a Pennsylvania address. Other states include New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New York, and North

Carolina.

Thirty-one Pennsylvania counties were represented, with 51% of the mentors coming from five counties. Lancaster and Berks Counties accounted for 26% of all mentors.

Montgomery, Cumberland, and York counties rounded out the top five counties, with 9%, 8%, and 7% of the mentors from those counties respectively.

Thirteen counties outside of the 18-county regional trout opening day area were represented. They include Carbon, Monroe, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Columbia, Bedford, Blair,

Luzerne, Northumberland, Snyder, Somerset, Centre, and Fulton. The distribution by county of all adults registering youth is found in Figure 1.

Registration Conclusions The on-line registration system provided valuable information about the youth and adult registering them. More importantly, it functioned as designed, with no issues. Adults were willing to take the time to complete the on-line form, and judging by the number carrying a printed version of the confirmation e-mail on March 23, compliance was high.

The volume of information gathered and its value to the agency, in terms of recruitment, retention and marketing, speaks to importance of capturing information on individual participants. In any future efforts, requiring registration of at least the youth should be a high priority.

The age distribution MYT adults is similar to that of PALS data in that median ages fall in the 40-45 years old age range. MYT participants were predominantly male (94%) while males comprise approximately 80% of the license buying population in a given year.

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MYT Site Reports On-site activities

A total of 43 PFBC staff reported time spent on-site at one or more of the MYT waters.

Of those, 20 were Waterways Conservation Officers (WCO), deputies (DWCO) or their supervisors. The 23 other PFBC staff were from the Bureaus of Boating and Outreach, Fisheries,

and Administration, and the Executive Office. Including Law Enforcement personnel, PFBC

staff were on-site for a combined 329 hours. The main purpose of staff presence was to provide

assistance to MYT participants and while BLE staff also had to conduct law enforcement

responsibilities.

Of the 28 organizations solicited to assist with on-site support, 10 groups provided a total

of 30 members on-site for the MYT. These individuals were also available to provide support to

participants.

Each site had a PFBC staff person assigned to a lead role that arrived on-site prior to the

8:00 A.M. start. They reported that all sites had anglers on-site upon arrival. Other staff arrived

later in the day. Law enforcement staff, either the district WCO, DCWO or supervisor

frequented each site throughout the day. While they did not have an aggressive presence, they

did issue several citations for glaring offenses including not wearing a life jacket under

circumstances when it was required and exceeding the creel limit.

At 8:00 A.M., air temperatures were in the upper 20° Fahrenheit to low 30° Fahrenheit,

with one water reporting skim ice in a secluded cove. Water temperatures were reported to be in

the upper 30° Fahrenheit to low 40 ° Fahrenheit. Other observed weather conditions include

light winds, no observable precipitation, with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. Despite the

2013 MYT Report unseasonably chilly weather, staff reported that anglers were in good spirits, were well prepared, and looking forward to the day.

PFBC staff were available to assist anglers and provide loaner fishing tackle upon request. However, a total of 5 rods were loaned across all of the MYT waters, and terminal tackle

(hooks, bobbers, sinkers) was provided 123 times. Staff were solicited for angling assistance only 45 times and they provided unrequested assistance in another 102 instances. Staff reported that they offered assistance at least 60 times, and that assistance was refused.

Angler Counts

Results from each of the angler counts can be found in Table 2, and the total of all counts was 4,258. At the first count of the day, 2,089 anglers were reported, resulting in a median angler density of 9.5 anglers/acre. The mean count per water of this first count was 174 anglers.

Children’s Lake had the highest angler count at 8:00 AM with 295 anglers, while Waynesboro

Reservoir had the lowest count with 87 anglers.

Angler count at Children’s Lake dropped dramatically at the 11:00 A.M. count, where only 87 anglers were counted, less than 30% of the earlier count. While other waters reported lower counts at the 11:00 A.M. count, Antietam Lake reported an increase, from 128 to 137 anglers. During this count 1,287 anglers were counted across all MYT waters. Median angler count at this time was 123.5 anglers, at a median density of 6.1 anglers/acre.

Scott’s Run Lake had the highest angler count at the 2:00 PM count, with 135 anglers reported. Waynesboro Reservoir had the lowest count at that time, with only 26 anglers counted.

The total number of anglers counted at the afternoon count was 882 anglers across all MYT waters, with median of 79 anglers per water. Angler density dropped overall at the 2:00 P.M. count to 4.4 anglers/acre.

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While no counts were conducted after 2:00 PM, staff reported that new groups of anglers

were arriving as late at 5:00 PM. A few anglers remained until at least the official end of 7:30

PM. Most staff left their respective site by 6:45 P.M. or when angler counts dropped to less than

10 and/or no new anglers arriving.

On-site conclusions Angler counts at 8:00 AM suggest that the brisk weather was not a deterrent to

participation. While similar angler counts were not conducted for trout opening days on MYT

waters, observations by staff indicated that some waters experienced angler densities comparable

or higher than would be expected for the trout season opening day.

As expected smaller waters such as Children’s Lake (8.89 acres) experienced higher angler densities early in the day, while larger waters such as Muddy Run Recreation Lake (97.81 acres) had the lowest angler densities at that time. Doubling Gap Lake, while the smallest at 4 acres, had the second highest angler density at 8:00 AM with 25.8 anglers per acre.

Staff provided very little assistance to anglers. Based on direct observations and lack of requests for assistance staff concluded that the MYT participants were independent, skilled anglers. Staff interaction was similar to that of a sports show, where occasional, casual and brief contact was made with participants. Excluding the time law enforcement officers spent, the value of PFBC staff time was estimated to be slightly more than $11,000. Using the total number of anglers counted as a measure of the audience reached on-site, the cost per person, per contact was $2.58. In comparison advertisements were purchased in four daily newspapers for a week in the southeast region, at a cost of $3,500 were viewed by a potential audience of 147,000, or approximately $0.02 per contact. If the purpose of having PFBC staff in the field is to gain exposure for the agency then paid advertising and/or earned media is a more cost effective

2013 MYT Report

means. If the purpose of PFBC staff on-site is to increase visibility in the community, then staff

participation in other outreach activities may prove to be more cost effective.

At future opportunities, the role of any of staff on site should be that of an ambassador or greeter. In that way one staff person can visit multiple sites, further reducing costs and staff resources needed per water.

Mentored Youth Trout Day Results MYT Participation

While angler counts were one important measure of actual participation, questions about participation were also included in the post-MYT mentor survey. A significant majority (89%) of the adult mentors responding to the survey indicated that they took the youth they registered fishing that day, with 96% of them serving as the mentor.

Of the 11% that did not take the youth fishing that day, 32% of them indicated that the weather or schedule conflicts were the primary reason. Other reasons include no location close to home (14%), illness (8%), and mentor did not purchase a license (3%). Few indicated that the youth lost interest (1%) or they forgot about it (0.6%).

From the results of the mentor survey, 72% of the mentors that took youth fishing were parents or guardians, while 20% were grandparents. While the grandparent may not have been the registering mentor, staff observations reported that that several multi-generational groups were present. Family friends represented 6% of the mentors. The smallest percentage of mentor

(1%) reported that they were members of the same club/organization as the youth or family.

Only a small number (2.7% ) reported that they fished more than one water on MYT.

One mentor reported that their party fished a third water.

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MYT Participation conclusion The reported participation rate of 89% and the results from angler counts exceeded staff expectations of participation in the MYT. Assuming that the survey respondents are representative of the larger group, it can be estimated that at least 4,500 youth participated in the

MYT. Relying only on the angler counts, 4,248 individuals were counted participating on March

23.

This high rate can be indicative of the level of interest and support for the idea. Compare this to angler education programs where the majority of those registered do not participate, with larger events such as the Family Fishing Festivals experiencing participation rates as low as 40% of registrations. That is, of those completing registration prior to the event, 60% of them do not participate in the event. The most significant difference between these two programs is that the

Family Fishing Festivals are aimed at beginners and the fishing license requirement is waived for those 16 years of age and older during the program. Conversely, the MYT was aimed at active anglers who already possess or are required to possess a license. The latter group has more invested in their participation, and therefore more likely to follow through.

Effort, catch, and harvest Since a creel survey was not conducted, responses from the post MYT survey were used to quantify effort, catch and harvest. Estimates are based on responses from at least 1,200 mentors.

The median fishing party size was one mentor and two youth. Slightly more than half the parties had two or more youth. Only 18 parties had more than 6 youth (1.6%). The mentor reported that they fished 7,727 hours, with youth anglers fishing 59% of that amount, or 4,286 hours. The mean time fished by youth was 3.4 hours while the mean for mentors was 2.4 hours.

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Mentors reported that the youth caught and released 3,025 trout, and 1,327 trout were caught and kept. The mean number caught and released per youth was 2.6 trout, with the mean number of 1.1 trout kept. This equates to youth angler a catch and release rate of 0.71 trout per hour and a harvest rate of 0.40 trout/hour.

Mentors reported that they caught and released 1,380 trout, and caught and kept 516 trout. Mentors accounted for 31% of the total trout caught and released that day, and 28% of the trout harvested. Based on reported catch, a total of 1,843 trout were harvested by mentors and youth during the Mentored Youth Trout Day

Assuming that responses to questions about effort catch and harvest from the 1,200 +/- respondents is representative of the population, the results can be used to estimate effort, catch and harvest for the MYT. Youth participating in the MYT fished an estimated 15, 462 hours, caught and released 11, 824 trout and harvested 5,048 trout. While mentors fished an estimated

8,414 hours, caught and released 4,207 trout and harvested 1,402 trout. In total, 6,541 trout were harvested.

Conclusions on MYT Effort, catch, and harvest Staff expected to see effort, catch and harvest rates on the MYT comparable to estimates during the regular trout season. The most recent study was only conducted on stocked trout streams, but still provides some measure of comparisons (Greene R., 2005). In that study, the mean trip length for anglers fishing on stocked trout streams after the opening weekend was estimated at 2.67 hours. The mean time fished by mentor anglers during the MYT was 2.4 hours, slightly less than the average trip in-season. However, the mean trip length for the youth on the

MYT (3.4 hrs) was comparable to the mean trip length on trout opening day of 3.6 hours.

Greene (2005) also provides insight into average harvest and catch and release rates on stocked trout streams during the season. In this study, catch and release rate for all species was

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determined for opening day, and during the season. The overall catch and release rate for the

MYT was 0.61 fish per hour, which compares to the catch and release rate of 0.62 fish/hour

estimated by Greene (2005) on opening day.

The mentor harvest and catch and release rates were below that of opening day and

regular season estimates of those measures. The number for MYT youth only were above the

catch and release rates for opening day and comparable to those rates during the regular season.

Based on the reported results of the 2013 MYT angling effort and catch, the angling

experience compares to that of the standard opening day, but with slightly shorter trips. With the

exception of the trip length, this was within staff expectations.

Tagged Fish Contest Of the 360 fish tagged and stocked for the contest, anglers returned 71 tags for a return

rate of 20%. The tags were returned by 65 different anglers, and 66 tags were eligible for and

received the prize package. The remainder of the returns (five) did not meet prize eligibility

requirements. Of those responding to the survey, 93.1% reported that no tagged fish were caught

by any member of their party.

Tags were returned from 10 of the 12 waters, with no tags returned from Muddy Run

Recreation Lake and Levittown Lake. Antietam Lake had the highest return rate, with 43% of

tags being returned (13). Antietam together with Waynesboro (11) accounted for 1/3 of the tags returned.

Anglers were asked in the post MYT survey about the significance of the tagged fish contest in the enjoyment of their day. The results of this question and others related to the contest are found on pages 33-34.

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Tagged Fish Contest Conclusions The overall tag rate of return was within expected range of 20-30%. It’s important to note that staff reported that at six of the waters they observed adults directing effort at tagged fish that were visible. Some of the adult anglers were observed catching and releasing numerous untagged fish, to remain under the creel limit of two trout per angler in order to keep a tagged fish if caught. This became problematic at three waters, as these adults were so aggressively trying to catch tagged fish that they crowded out youth anglers or conflicts with other adults resulted.

Mentor Fishing Experience Since the MYT opportunity was designed to reach experienced anglers, several measures were used to determine their history as a license buyer and angler, particularly on opening day.

The results of analysis of PALS data and the mentor survey provided this information.

When asked to self identify their fishing habits in the survey, 55% indicated they fish 20 or more days each year, 22.8% fish from 10 to 19 days, and 12.4% fishing from five to nine days. Ninety percent of the anglers surveyed fish five or more days each year. It’s important to note that the results should be viewed as days fished for all species, not just trout.

The remaining 9.2% identified themselves as returning to fishing (6.2%), haven’t fished since a child (1.4%), and 0.4% said they don’t fish.

License buying history Angler customer identification Numbers (CID) were found in PALS for 3067 (81%) of the 3760 adults completing youth registration. Having a CID in PALS is an accurate measure of license buying activity since PALS became active. That means that at least one fishing license was purchased by the angler since 2008. It’s important to note that any adult could complete the

MYT registration for the youth and did not need a valid fishing license to register. That’s why

2013 MYT Report mentors were also asked about their license buying history in the survey. This section present results from both.

In terms of current license year, registrations were completed by 2,775 anglers who held a valid fishing license for 2013. A 2013 annual license was held by 81% (2,249) of these anglers, while 12.5% held multi-year and 6.6% held lifetime licenses. The multi-year anglers included 7.5 % who purchased a three-year, and 5.0 % a five-year fishing licenses.

Reviewing PALS for purchasing history of 2596 mentors with CID numbers (excluding lifetime licenses) showed that 92% of the them purchased a license in 2012, 85% in 2011, 82% in 2010, 69% in 2009 and 66% in 2008. Comparable results were obtained in the survey, with

90% stating they purchased in 2012, 86% in 2011, 81% in 2010 and 79% in 2009. The survey did not ask about purchasing history beyond 2008, in order to maintain survey brevity.

Prior experience on opening day Mentors were also asked about the experiences on the opening day of trout season. No distinction was made between the early or statewide opening day in this question. With 95% of the sample responding to this question (n=1,441), only 22.3% (317) indicated that they don’t fishing the opening day of trout season.

Those anglers were then asked for the reasons why they don’t fish trout opening day, and multiple responses were allowed. Of them, 80% (254) identified that it was too crowded/too much competition from other anglers as their reason for not fishing opening day of trout season.

Bad behavior of other anglers was identified by 38%. Only 15% indicated that they had no interest in fishing opening day, while 5% indicated that there were not enough fish to catch.

Reviewing responses for the 1,120 anglers that fished opening day of trout season shows a range of participation from the low of 75% fishing in 2009 to a high of 85% of them fishing opening day in 2013. These anglers were also asked which years they took youth fishing on the

2013 MYT Report opening day and 36% of them indicated they did not take youth fishing on opening day during the period 2009 to 2013.

Mentor Experience Conclusions The majority of the adults registering and mentoring youth were experienced anglers. A larger proportion of these anglers are avid, fishing more days than the average number per angler

(six) in Pennsylvania (US Department of the Interior, 2011) However, their effort is comparable to that for trout anglers as reported in Greene (2005), where 68% of the trout anglers surveyed fish 10 or days each year. In addition, the majority of them fish opening day.

The overwhelming majority of those who don’t fish opening day cite that competition from other anglers/crowding as a reason for not doing so. Bad behavior of other anglers was cited next, and this can often be a factor of the level of competition and crowding. Often the worst comes out in anglers when they are not catching fish, while others are. Weather, number of fish available and other variables were cited by fewer than 20% of those not fishing the opening day. Those who do fish trout opening day that responded to the question asking why they may not fish on the opening day of a given year, cite the factors listed above in similar proportions.

More than half of the mentors faithfully purchased their license each year since 2008.

And 12% of them now hold a multi-year fishing license. This is further proof that the PFBC was successful in engaging experienced anglers in the MYT.

A fundamental purpose of the MYT was to get youth out fishing, in an opening day like opportunity, and that these youth typically do not fish on opening day. For the period 2009 to

2012, approximately 20% of the anglers who fish opening day don’t take youth with them

(Figure 2). However, looking at for 2013, the difference is approximately 13%. This could suggest that after the MYT, more of the adults took youth fishing on the opening day of trout.

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Determining the significance of this difference would require further analysis. Examining this

difference could also be an important part of evaluation of future mentor-youth opportunities.

One of the purposes of staff on site was to provide assistance with beginners or non-

anglers. However, less than 10% of the mentors identified themselves as such. This helps to

explain the low number of anglers assisted by staff or partners on-site. It also reinforces that the

majority of those participating are already active or experienced anglers.

Opinion and Attitudes on MYT Mentor opinions and attitudes The opinions of mentors about the MYT and their experience that day were assessed in

the post MYT survey. Eighty-one percent of the mentors indicated that they were satisfied and

more than half of them indicated that they were very satisfied with their overall MYT

experience. Only 14% said they were not satisfied and 5% were neutral.

Mentors were also asked for the single best part of their MYT experience. Having the

opportunity for the youth to fish without competition from other adult anglers was cited as the best part of the experience by 40% of the survey respondents. Youth catching fish and the opportunity for the mentor to fish along with the youth was cited by 22 % and 21 % respectively.

Nine percent of respondents identified having the opportunity to fish before the opening day of trout season as the best part. The opportunity to catch a tagged fish was identified by 2 % as the best part of their experience.

Mentors were then asked to rate those same factors in their order of importance in contributing to the enjoyment of the day. They were asked to give a rating, on a scale from one to five, with five being the most important factor and one the least. The two highest average ratings match the responses to the early questions about the single best part of the experience.

The opportunity to fish without competition received an average rating of 4.44 and the

2013 MYT Report

opportunity for the mentor to fish received an average rating of 3.77. The other factors, from

highest to lowest rating are as follows: opportunity to fish before the opening day (3.53), being

asked by a youth angler (2.69) and the opportunity to catch a tagged fish was least important,

receiving an average rating of 2.62.

Mentors were also asked about factors that may have detracted from their experience.

Respondents were asked to rate eight factors, on a scale of 1 to 5, with the most significant factor

that detracted from their experience rated as 5. Poor weather was identified as the most

significant factor overall, receiving an average rating of 3.47. The majority, 36% identified the

poor weather as the most significant detractor. Bad behavior of other anglers was seen as the

least significant detractor, receiving an average rating of 1.7, with 67% giving this factor a score

of 1.

Conclusions about mentor attitudes The overwhelming majority of survey respondents were satisfied with their MYT

experience. That 81% of those rating would give satisfactory or better is remarkable. The most

significant factors contributing to their satisfaction with the MYT are also identified to be

lacking when mentors provide reasons why the mentors don’t fish or take youth opening day.

They don’t go or take youth fishing because of the crowding and competition. The results

reinforce the need to keep the any mentor-youth experience exclusive, and to provide an opportunity or create an environment where bad behavior by other adult anglers is reduced.

The low ratings of the tagged fish contest and prizes suggest that it wasn’t an important factor in satisfaction or motivation to participate in the MYT. In addition, the waters experiencing the greatest conflicts between anglers and bad angler behavior were locations where anglers could see tagged fish and directed effort to catch them. Since bad angler behavior was cited as a reason for not taking youth on opening day, future mentor-youth opportunities

2013 MYT Report should not include this element. In short, it wasn’t important to the mentors and could be seen by some as a detractor.

Public feedback Most often, any feedback provided to the PFBC or staff was overwhelmingly positive, even among those unable or not likely to participate. Less than 20 individuals contacted the

PFBC via e-mail, and most of them had questions or complaints about their area being left out.

The majority of them later became supportive after they learned details of the pilot or the rationale for not including their area. Some negative feedback was received about permitting the mentor to fish, and about the tagged fish contest. However, this represents a small percentage of feedback received.

Feedback received on the PFBC’s Facebook page was also overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Because the photos were posted over several weeks after the MYT date, that feedback continued well into late April.

On-site feedback was also encouraging, with staff indicating that 95% of the feedback they received was positive. Some staff did receive negative feedback at the same time, from those expressing positive feedback. This was mostly in regards to the bad behavior of some mentors and other conflicts that could be associated with the tagged fish contest. Staff did not receive a great deal of positive feedback on the contest. Negative feedback on angler behavior related to the tagged fish contest was received after the event from several participants.

Conclusions on public feedback Many of the same elements that received positive feedback from non-MYT participants were also identified by participants. While no survey of the public in general was conducted, it would be expected that the majority of the non-participants would give a satisfactory rating as well.

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In addition to complementing specific elements of the MYT, several adults commended

the PFBC on taking the steps to create a mentored youth experience. As a result, the PFBC

realized public relations benefit from those outside the MYT target audiences. Given the media

coverage before the event, the MYT was a very visible example of the PFBC’s efforts to keep

youth and their mentors actively fishing.

The feedback received on the tagged fish contest was predominantly negative. Or to be

more specific, the behavior of some anglers in trying to catch at tagged fish was seen by some as

a negative factor.

PFBC staff opinions and attitudes: Results and Conclusions The development of the MYT program was a collaborative effort, across various bureaus

and areas of responsibility of the Commission. As such, the MYT was a reflection of the

experiences, opinions and attitudes of the staff involved. The MYT was a visible, positive

statement about staff opinions and attitudes toward the opportunity.

Many staff commented that their participation on-site at MYT waters was an enjoyable

experience, and provided positive interaction with the Commission’s customers. That feeling

continues into the development of future similar experiences.

The full notes from the After-Action Review (AAR) are found in Appendix X. All the

staff participating in the AAR indicated that the first MYT was a success and went better than

expected. However, there were several things identified that detracted from the event and/or did

not go as well as planned. The feedback expressed during the review was positive and/or

constructive. Staff feedback focused on using the experiences of the pilot to help shape future opportunities. For the most part the changes discussed by staff were intended to reduce the problems with adult angler behavior and the few adults that took advantage of the opportunity to

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fish, even though their youth was unable to fish or off somewhere else on-site. In summary this

includes:

• Drafting a regulation that gives the Executive Director the flexibility to establish program parameters. • Ensuring that promotional materials clarify the role of mentor, that they can fish and that a youth angler must be actively fishing with them in order to fish themselves. • Not including a tagged fish contest in future mentor-youth opportunities • View the creation of a mentor-youth experience as an opportunity, not a formal event. This would reduce the need for several staff to be on site, and put the focus on the mentor-youth relationship. • Continuing to work to engage the clubs and organizations near waters included. However, clarifying the role and expectation of the members to show that the Commission wants them to serve as promoters of the opportunity or mentors to youth currently in their lives, not to serve as mentors for kids they don’t know. • Allowing more time to select waters and plan stocking efforts.

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Evaluation of the MYT in achieving objectives

Evaluation is used to measure performance, outcomes and impacts. In addition, evaluation can and should be used to improve future efforts (Recreational Boating and Fishing

Foundation, 2011). Since evaluation measures are designed to determine progress in meeting objectives, this section serves as both a summary of results and conclusions, but also a measure of how well the MYT met stated objectives.

Listed below are the short and medium term MYT objectives developed early in the planning stages including the measures of progress or results for each. The results or measures are in italics and underlined, and include reference to the page where this item is discussed in detail. Since long-term objectives occur more than six months post program, they are not addressed in this report.

1. Short-term (by completion of the program) a. Potential mentors will visit Commission’s MYT home page for program details The MYT landing page was the 8th most popular page in March, with 32,159 unique visits (page 23). b. Mentors will register youth (including children outside of their household). A total of 5,111 individual youth were registered by 3,760 mentors (page 23). c. Commission will gain earned media to expose its recruitment efforts to other audiences beyond targets. Approximately 87 stories on the MYT were published between October 2012 and April 2013. These reports reached an estimated audience of 68.5 million people (includes internet audience (page 23). d. Fifty percent of the registered mentors and youth will participate on March 23, 2013. Mentors completing the survey indicated that 89% of the youth they registered went fishing on that date. 95% of the registered mentors reported that they took the angler they registered (all page 29). e. Staff will observe positive mentor/youth interactions and angler behavior. Many staff that were on-site commented that participating in the MYT was an enjoyable experience, and provided positive interaction with the Commission’s customers (pg 38). Results indicate that the 2013 MYT achieved the short-term objectives.

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2. Medium-term (in the 6 months post program) a. Commission will gain an understanding of adult anglers’ motivation and attitudes on these topics: i. Experience on March 23, 2013 81% of the mentors completing the survey indicated they were satisfied with their experience. More than half of this group indicated that they were very satisfied. Having an opportunity for youth to fish without competition from other adults was identified as the best part of the experience for 40%. The opportunity to fish with their youth was identified by 21% of them (page 36).

ii. Opening day of trout season participation 78% of the mentors completing the survey responded that they fish the opening day each year, for the period 2009-2013. 85% responded that they fished the 2013 opening day. 36% that fished opening day indicated that they don’t take youth on opening day(page 34)

iii. Barriers to opening day participation 80% of those not fishing on opening day indicated that it was too crowded/too much competition from other anglers as a reason for not fishing that day. 38% identified bad behavior of other anglers. Only 5% indicated that there was not enough fish to catch as a reason for not fishing on opening day (page 34).

b. Effort and catch rates will be determined, as will their impact on participant satisfaction. Mentors and youth fished a total of 7,727.3 hours, caught and released 4405 trout and harvested 1,183 trout (page 31). Having an opportunity for youth to fish without competition from other adults was identified as the best part of the experience for 40% Only 2% identified having the opportunity to catch a tagged fish and win a prize as the best part of their experience. (page 34). 32% described the number of trout caught as the least significant detractor from their experience and 26% described it as the most significant factor(page 36)

c. Operational feasibility of MYT program expansion will be assessed. All the staff participating in the AAR indicated that the first MYT was a success and went better than expected. However, there were several things identified that detracted from the event and/or did not go as well as planned. Drafting regulation that gives the Executive Director the flexibility to establish program parameters Decisions about locations should be made in the fall, to allow ample time to plan for stocking. (page 38 and AAR results in Appendix X)

d. License purchasing patterns of mentors will be determined. 95% purchased a fishing license in 2012, 85% in 2011, 82% in 2010, 69% in 2009 and 66% in 2008 (page 34). Results indicate that the 2013 MYT achieved medium term objectives.

2013 MYT Report

Bibliography/References

Alreck, P. L. (1995). The Survey Research Handbook. Salisbury, MD: Irwin Professional

Publishing.

Decker, D. P. (1986). Early Hunting Experiences: Insights into the role of hunting

"apprenticeship" from the perspetives of youth and adults. New York Fish and Game

Journal, 33:51-54.

Dillman, D. (1978). Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method. New York, NY:

John Wiley & Sons.

Dillman, D., Smyth, J., & Christian, L. H. (2008). Internet, Mail and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The

Tailored Design Method. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.

DJ Case & Associates. (2007). Best Practices for Hunting and Shooting Recruitment and

Retention. Newton, CT: National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Duda M.D., J. M. (2010). The Future of Hunting and Fishing in the United States. In J. M. Duda

M.D., The Sportsman's Voice: Hunting and Fishing in America (pp. 207-230). State

College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Duda, M. D., & Nobile, J. (2010). The Fallacy of Online Surveys: No Data Are Better Than Bad

Data. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Volume, 15:55-64.

Greene R., W. R., Weber R, Carline, R, Diefenbach D, and Shields M. (2005). Angler Use,

Harvest and Economic Assessment onTrout Stocked Streams in Pennsylvania. Bellefonte,

PA: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Fisheries Management Division.

Issues and Answers Newtwork. (2006). Pennsylvania Youth Angler Survey. Virginia Beach, VA :

Issues and Answers Network.

2013 MYT Report

National Shooting Sports Foundation. (2007). Best Practices Workbook for Hunting and

Shooting Sports Recruitment and Retention. Newton: National Shooting Sports

Foundation.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. (2009). Strategic Plan for the Management of

Trout Fisheries in Pennsylvania, 2010-2014. Bellefonte, PA : The Pennsylvania Fish and

Boat Commission.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission . (2013). 2013 Mentored Youth Day Angler Use

Count Guidelines. PFBC files. Bellefonte, PA: PFBC.

Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. (2011). Best Practices Guide to Program

Evaluation. Alexandria, VA: RBFF.

Responsive Management. (2008). Pennsylvania Trout Fishing Survey. Harrisonburg, VA :

Responsive Management.

Responsive Management. (2011). Effectiveness of Hunting, Shooting, and Fishing Recruitment

and Retention Programs. Harrisonburg, VA : Responsive Management.

Responsive Management and Southwick Associates. (2012). Understanding Activities that

Compete with Recreational Fishing. Alexandria VA: American Sportfishing Association.

Responsive Management and Southwick Associates. (2012). Why Do Anglers Sit on the Fence

About Going Fishing? A Study of Why They Do and Don't Fish and What Will Get Them

on the Water. Alexandria, VA : American SportFishing Association under USFWS SFR

Grant VA M -24-R.

Taylor-Powell E., S. S. (1996). Collecting Evaluation Data: An Overview of Sources and

Methods. Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation, University of

Wisconsin-Extension. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.

2013 MYT Report

Taylor-Powell, E., & Henert, E. (2008). Developing a Logic Model: Teaching and Training

Guide. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Extention, Cooperative Extension,

Program Development and Evaluation.

US Fish and Wildlife Service . (2007). Fishing and Hunting Recruitment and Retention in the US

from 1990 to 2005. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office.

2013 MYT Report

Tables

Table 1. MYT Waters and stocking information sorted by stocking date.

Number Stocking Water Acres Species of Trout Hatchery Date on Load

Locust Lake 51.87 ST/BT 3/5/2013 3,700 Bellefonte Lions Lake 6.99 RT 3/7/2013 2,700 Pleasant Gap Deep Creek Dam 24.95 RT 3/11/2013 3,600 Huntsdale Doubling Gap Lake 4.0 ST 3/11/2013 3,900 Benner Spring Antietam Reservoir 13.59 ST/BT 3/13/2013 4,000 Huntsdale Scotts Run Lake 22.48 ST/BT 3/13/2013 2,900 Bellefonte Children’s Lake 8.89 RT 3/14/2013 2,700 Huntsdale Muddy Run Recreation Lake 97.81 RT 3/14/2013 3,700 Huntsdale Levittown Lake 19.76 RT 3/19/2013 3,400 Huntsdale Waynesboro Reservoir 22.97 ST 3/21/2013 3,100 Huntsdale Lehigh Canal 26.03 RT 3/22/2013 5,300 Benner Spring Middletown Reservoir 11.12 RT 3/22/2013 2,700 Pleasant Gap TOTAL 41,700 BT: brook trout, RT: rainbow trout, ST: brown trout

2013 MYT Report

Table 2. Angler Counts Water Name County Acres 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 11:00 AM 11:00 AM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM Total of Angler Angler Angler Angler Angler Angler All Counts Count Density Count Density Count Density (#/acre) (#/acre) (#/acre) Antietam Reservoir Berks 13.6 128 9.4 137 10.1 107 7.9 372 Childrens Lake Cumberland 8.9 294 33.1 87 9.8 97 10.9 478 Deep Creek Dam Montgomery 25.0 241 9.7 147 5.9 35 1.4 423 Doubling Gap Lake Cumberland 4.0 103 25.8 46 11.5 43 10.8 192 Lehigh Canal Lehigh/Northampton 26.0 182 7.0 136 5.2 89 3.4 407 Levittown Lake Bucks 19.8 122 6.2 128 6.5 105 5.3 355 Lions Lake Lebanon 7.0 116 16.6 102 14.6 80 11.4 298 Locust Lake Schuylkill 51.9 176 3.4 139 2.7 50 1.0 365 Middletown Reservoir Dauphin 11.1 145 13.0 51 4.6 37 3.3 233 Muddy Run Recreation Lake Lancaster 97.8 217 2.2 119 1.2 78 0.8 414 Scotts Run Lake Berks 22.5 278 12.4 140 6.2 135 6.0 553 Waynesboro Reservoir Adams 23.0 87 3.8 55 2.4 26 1.1 168

Total 310. 6 2,089 n/a 1,287 n/a 882 n/a 4,258 Mean 174.1 11.9 107.3 6.7 73.5 5.3 354.8 Median 160.5 9.5 123.5 6.1 79.0 4.4 368.5 Standard Deviation 69.6 9.4 38.2 4.0 34.8 4.1 114.9

2013 MYT Report

Table 3. Waters fished on MYT, responses to mentor survey

Answer Options Response Response Percent Count Antietam Lake 7.4% 97 Children's Lake 10.9% 143 Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane 10.5% 137 Doubling Gap Lake 5.4% 71 Lehigh canal, sec 08 9.9% 129 Levittown Lake 8.0% 104 Lions Lake 6.8% 89 Locust Lake 6.8% 89 Middletown Reservoir 8.0% 105 Muddy Run Recreation Lake 10.6% 138 Scotts Run Lake 11.6% 152 Waynesboro Reservoir 4.0% 52 answered question 1306 1306 skipped question 217 217

Table 4. Tagged Fish Returns by Water

Body of Water # Tags % Returned Returned ANTIETAM LAKE 13 43% WAYNESBORO 11 37% DOUBLING GAP 9 30% CHILDREN'S LAKE 8 27% LOCUST LAKE 8 27% SCOTTS RUN LAKE 6 20% LIONS LAKE 5 17% MIDDLETOWN RES. 5 17% LEHIGH CANAL 4 13% DEEP CREEK 2 7% MUDDY RUN 0 0% LEVITTOWN LAKE 0 0% TOTAL 71 20% Mean 5.92 Median 5.50 Standard Deviation 4.10 var 16.81

45 2013 MYT Report

Figures

Figure 1: Distribution of Adults Registering Youth, from registration database

2013 MYT Report

Figure 2: Mentors fishing opening day and those taking youth.

Youth join adult on opening day 1,000 954 902 910 900 854

800 741 700 643 643 588 600 474 # fished 500 429 # took youth 400

300

200

100

0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2013 MYT Report

List of Appendices

Appendix A: Mentored Youth Trout Day Logic Model

Appendix B: Temporary Regulation Change, as Published in Pennsylvania Bulletin

Appendix C: MYT Press Releases Issued and Examples of Media Coverage

Appendix D: Public and Media Relations Report

Appendix E: Mentored Youth Trout Day Registration

Appendix F: Mentored Youth Trout Day Site Plans

Appendix G: Angler Count Procedure

Appendix H: Site Summary

Appendix I: Post MYT Survey Instrument

Appendix J: Post MYT Survey e-mail invitation

Appendix K: Summary of Post MYT Survey Results

Appendix L: Staff After Action Review Results.

49 Appendix A: Mentored Youth Trout Day Logic Model

50 Line of Logic Model: 2013 Mentored Youth Trout Day Pilot

Goal: To determine the level of support for a unique opportunity for avid and occasional anglers to play a mentor role with youth while fishing for trout. Target audience: Existing trout anglers with children, other adult mentors who fish. Rationale: Research shows that mentoring experiences are important tools in recruitment, retention and reactivation. Both the mentor and youth benefit from these experiences. Outputs Outcomes Long Inputs Short Medium Activities Participants (more than 6 months post (by completion of the program) (up to 6 months post program ) program) PFBC Staff Regulatory • Boating and Outreach • Temporary change • Trout anglers with youth • Existing trout anglers with youth register (including • Gain understanding of motivation and attitudes • Continued participation in • Fisheries • Site posters anglers in their family or those with children outside of their household). of adult registering MYT day by 2013 • BLE • Rulemaking lives • Mentors and youth participate on 3/23/13. • Determine effort and catch rates, and their participants • Anglers with youth anglers • Mentors purchase a license and trout stamp to importance on participant satisfaction. • Adult mentors (2013) buy Partners Site Selection & Fish Management in their family or lives participate. • Determine awareness among anglers of their fishing license on annual • State Parks • Select 12 sites • Youth being mentored • Visits to MYT home page for info and map role in recruitment and retention basis in future years. • County & local parks • Stocking rates • Public awareness of PFBC efforts to recruit and retain. • Determine PFBC operational feasibility of • Track youth participants to • Clubs and related organizations • Earned media to expose PFBC’s recruitment efforts to MYT expansion. determine participation and Fish production and stocking logistics other audiences beyond our targets. • Public comments received via responses to influence future license Materials/infrastructure • Adjust stocking logistics • Staff observe desired mentor/youth interactions and participant survey (2nd tier) and support for buying habits. • Website angler behavior. proposed rulemaking. • Modify pilot program to • On-line registration Capacity building • Public comments received day of program or • Gain understanding of license purchasing provide similar opportunity to • Paper registration • Site owner/manager immediately after via Facebook, resource account patterns of mentors. larger audience. • Neighboring clubs emails and responses to participant survey (1st tier). • Commission action proposing MYT rulemaking. • Commission action finalizing • Coop Nursery Clubs MYT rulemaking.

Publicity and promotion • Press releases • Paid advertising • PFBC calendar • On-site promotion

Program registration • Capture contact info of mentor and youth, including DOB • On-line registration system • Paper form

Assessment and Evaluation • Participant surveys (quantitative) • After Action Review (qualitative) • Program Measures (qualitative & quantitative) • PALS Analysis (quantitative) • Feedback/Public Comment (qualitative)

51 Appendix B: Temporary Regulation Change, as Published in Pennsylvania Bulletin

52 NOTICES

Temporary Changes to Fishing Regulations; Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day

[43 Pa.B. 114] [Saturday, January 5, 2013]

The Executive Director of the Fish and Boat Commission (Commission), acting under the authority of 58 Pa.?Code § 65.25 (relating to temporary changes to fishing regulations), has taken immediate action to allow individuals participating in the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day Program to fish for trout on March 23, 2013, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m. on waters designated by the Executive Director that are normally closed to trout fishing on that date. To participate, anglers 16 years of age or older (adult anglers) must possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and current trout/salmon permit and be accompanied by a youth (less than 16 years of age) who has registered with the Commission. Youth anglers must be registered with the Commission and be accompanied by an adult angler to participate. The minimum size will be 7 inches; the creel limit will be 2 (combined species). Other Commonwealth inland regulations will apply. It is unlawful for adult anglers to fish in waters designated under the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day Program without a valid fishing license and trout permit and without being accompanied by a registered youth.

The waters included in the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day Program for 2013 are:

County Water Adams Waynesboro Reservoir Berks Antietam Lake Berks Scotts Run Lake Bucks Levittown Lake Cumberland Children's Lake Cumberland Doubling Gap Lake Dauphin Middletown Reservoir Lancaster Muddy Run Recreation Lake Lebanon Lions Lake Lehigh Lehigh Canal, Section 08 Montgomery Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane Schuylkill Locust Lake

The Executive Director will cause this temporary modification to fishing regulations to be posted in the vicinity of the affected waters and the modified regulation will be fully effective and enforceable. The Executive Director has found that this action is necessary and appropriate to conserve and preserve fishing opportunities.

This temporary modification will go into effect on January 1, 2013, and will remain in effect until the Commission, by appropriate action, amends its regulations to create a Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day Program. In the absence of action, the temporary modification will expire on December 31, 2013. 53 JOHN A. ARWAY, Executive Director

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-29. Filed for public inspection January 4, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]

No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.

[email protected]

54 Appendix C: MYT Press Releases Issued and Examples of Media Coverage

55 Home

Fish

Boat Mentored Youth Trout Waters Announced

Habitat/Non-game December 26, 2012 Maps & Reports

About the PFBC HARRISBURG, Pa. (Dec. 26) — Young anglers and their adult mentors can get an early start to

Careers trout season by fishing one of 12 waters on March 23, the weekend before the regional opening

Commissioners day.

FAQs The 12 waters identified today by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) are part Grants of the Mentored Youth Trout Day program, a new pilot project being launched within the 18- Learning Center county southeast area that makes up the regional opening day. Partners & Links

Permits & Forms “The Commission is piloting the Mentored Youth Trout Day as part of its goal to keep young Pubs. & Products anglers and their families fishing,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. “The pilot program Regs. & Laws gives us the opportunity to gauge interest and to determine the feasibility of expanding the Right-to-Know program across the state.”

Under the program, kids under the age of 16 must register with the PFBC before joining a mentor angler, who must have a current fishing license and trout permit. They will then be able to fish on the Saturday before the southeast opener on the select waters from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Waters included in the pilot are listed below.

“The waters will be stocked to ensure a plentiful supply of fish to catch for the youth day and the regular season to follow,” said Laurel Anders, PFBC director of Boating and Outreach.

On-line registration is currently available on the PFBC website at: http://fishandboat.com/MentoredYouth.htm. Paper registration forms will be available at many of the Mentored Youth Trout Day locations starting Feb. 1, 2013.

“Registration is free and youth will have the opportunity to receive a free one-year subscription to the Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth (PLAY) newsletter,” added Anders. “The PLAY newsletter is written for young anglers and includes articles and activities on fish, fishing, and PA’s aquatic resources published four times each year.”

The 12 waters in the program include (by county):

Adams – Waynesboro Reservoir Berks – Antietam Lake Berks – Scotts Run Lake Bucks – Levittown Lake Cumberland – Children’s Lake 56 Cumberland – Doubling Gap Lake Dauphin – Middletown Reservoir Lancaster – Muddy Run Recreational Lake Lebanon – Lions Lake Lehigh – Lehigh Canal, Section 8 Montgomery – Deep Creek Dam/Green Lake Schuylkill – Locust Lake

Each person will be permitted to keep a combined species total of two fish and the fish must be at least 7 inches in length. Other Commonwealth inland regulations will apply on this day. It is unlawful to fish in waters designated under the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day Program without a valid fishing license or without being accompanied by a registered youth. Visit Mentored Youth Trout to register or to find additional information.

Media Contact Carl Richardson 717.705.7848 [email protected]

The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at fishandboat.com.

Press release index

57 Home

Fish

Boat Pennsylvania Trout Fishing “Spring Training”

Habitat/Non-game January 14, 2013 Maps & Reports

About the PFBC Date – January 23, 2013

Careers Baseball has been regarded as the nation’s pastime, but another pastime deeply rooted in Commissioners generations of tradition is fishing. While pitchers and catchers may be a month away from FAQs reporting for baseball’s spring training, it’s never too early for anglers to begin preparations for Grants the 2013 trout season. When it comes to trout fishing in Pennsylvania, the focus is often on the Learning Center traditional opening day, or “home opener,” occurring in the spring. However, like baseball, there Partners & Links is a lot of trout action occurring pre-season. Permits & Forms

Pubs. & Products Join the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission at its Harrisburg Headquarters from 6:00 p.m. Regs. & Laws to 9:00 p.m. on January 23, 2013, to learn how to get the most out of your trout fishing Right-to-Know experience in Pennsylvania. Presentations will focus on fishing opportunities, techniques and strategies, as well as sharing tips for taking children trout fishing. Young anglers are welcome, and encouraged to attend. Several trout-related organizations will have displays and information available. Consider attending this special event as this part of your “spring training” for trout fishing.

The program is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Space is limited and registration will close on Jan. 21, 2013. Click here or visit the PFBC website at www.fishandboat.com (under “Calendar of Events”) to register and learn more.

Event Schedule 5:00-6:00

Room set up Exhibitor set up

6:00-6:30 (Lobby)

Doors open for registrants Open house (Lobby and employee break room)

6:30 (Susquehanna Room)

Welcome: John Arway Presentation of Resource First Award Rod Cross 58 Field & Stream video

6:45 (Susquehanna Room)

Tom Greene, PFBC Coldwater Unit Leader and Accomplished Trout Angler Early season trout fishing techniques and strategies

7:30 (Susquehanna Room)

Carl Richardson Recipe for an Angler; youth recruitment and retention Mentored Youth Trout Day

8:00 (Susquehanna Room)

Rebecca Holler, National TU Youth engagement in trout fishing and coldwater conservation

8:45-9:00 (Lobby)

Open House

Exhibitors

PFBC; General information display Sweepstakes entry Outdoor Shop access Cooperative Nursery Unit PA DCNR, Bureau of State Parks PA Trout in the Classroom National Trout Unlimited River Researchers Teen Camp Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited Rivers Conservation School Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education (PICE) Brookies Wildlife Leadership Academy Thom Glace, artist http://www.thomglacewatercolors.com/

59 Home

Fish

Boat Mentored Youth Trout Day and Contest Begins March 23 in Southeast PA

Habitat/Non-game March 18, 2013 Maps & Reports

About the PFBC HARRISBURG, Pa. (March 18) — Young anglers and their adult mentors can get an early start

Careers to trout season by fishing one of 12 waters on March 23, the weekend before the regional

Commissioners opening day.

FAQs The 12 waters identified by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Grants (PFBC) are part of the Mentored Youth Trout Day, a new pilot project Learning Center being launched within the 18-county southeast area that makes up the Partners & Links regional opening day. Permits & Forms

Pubs. & Products During the day on these waters, kids under the age of 16 must register Regs. & Laws with the PFBC before joining a mentor angler, who must have a current Right-to-Know fishing license and trout permit. They will then be able to fish on the Saturday before the southeast opener on the select waters from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Each person will be permitted to keep a combined species total of two fish, and the fish must be at least 7 inches in length. Other Commonwealth inland regulations apply on this day. It is unlawful to fish in waters designated under the Mentored Youth Trout Day without a valid fishing license or without being accompanied by a registered youth.

In partnership with Cabela’s, the PFBC is hosting a tagged-fish contest at all 12 waters during the Mentored Youth Day on March 23. Each tagged fish caught represents a prize package of a $20 Cabela’s gift card with a Zebco rod and reel special-edition set. All tags obtained during the day will need to be redeemed by mail using the PFBC’s tag redemption form. Only qualified individuals in the Mentored Youth Trout Day are eligible to participate. All tags to be redeemed must be mailed and postmarked by March 27.

The 12 Mentored Youth Trout Day waters include (by county):

Adams – Waynesboro Reservoir Berks – Antietam Lake Berks – Scotts Run Lake Bucks – Levittown Lake Cumberland – Children’s Lake Cumberland – Doubling Gap Lake Dauphin – Middletown Reservoir Lancaster – Muddy Run Recreational Lake 60 Lebanon – Lions Lake Lehigh – Lehigh Canal, Section 8 Montgomery – Deep Creek Dam/Green Lake Schuylkill – Locust Lake

Registration will be accepted during March 23 at all sites, and on-line registration is available at: http://fishandboat.com/MentoredYouth.htm.

For Mentored Youth Trout Day contest rules, tag redemption forms and details, visit http://fishandboat.com/MentoredYouthContest.htm.

Media Contact Carl Richardson 717.705.7848 [email protected]

Press release index

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77 Berks & Beyond

Angling to lure kids to reel world at trout day

3/20/2013

Crowds on the first day of trout fishing season can be intimidating for children, so the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission decided to test a program that would allow them to have their own day one week in advance of the regular opening in the southeastern region of the state.

Berks is one of 18 counties participating in Mentored Youth Trout Day Saturday. Volunteers and state officials stocked Antietam Lake in Lower Alsace Township and Scotts Run Lake at French Creek State Park in Union Township for the event.

The regular season starts March 30 in the region and April 13 elsewhere in the state.

Anyone younger than 16 can register for the youth event but must be joined by an adult family member or friend as a mentor. The adult must have a current fishing license and a trout permit.

Each child and each adult may keep two trout of any species as long as the fish are at least 7 inches long.

As an added bonus, Cabela's has tagged some of the fish and will provide gift certificates and fishing gear as prizes to the anglers who catch those fish.

78 Laurel Anders, the commission's director of boating and outreach, said the event is meant to encourage the development of a mentoring relationship and a joint interest in fishing.

"It's not like opening day, where you have adult anglers who are often elbow to elbow," she said. "This provides a family- friendly environment and a less crowded situation. There will be no other competition on the water that day."

The commission looked for sites in the southeastern region that were easy to get to, provided a safe environment, had plenty of parking and weren't so large that the children would have difficulty catching fish, Anders said. It found two in Berks.

So far, more than 1,200 adults and children in the region are registered to participate, with 60 to 80 teams signing up per day.

"There is traditional excitement for opening day of trout season," she said. "The southeastern region opening has some excitement of its own. This is sort of another opening. We hope there will be some excitement about it as well."

Contact Mary Young: 610-478-6292 or [email protected].

(Image by: Reading Eagle: Ryan McFadden)

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ADVERTISEMENT Sports » Fitness/outdoors » SOCIAL WIRE

ON THE OUTDOORS: Prepare for first Happening Now in News mentored Trout Day Pottstown

By Vic Attardo Monster Tree Service branching out Special to The Mercury Posted: Saturday, 01/26/13 06:07 pm After more than two decades in the corporate world, 0 a drawn-out restructuring process at his company in 9m

What's New This Week Below is a sampling of new books being released and added to our collection today, Tuesday, June 25, 9m

PaDriverWatch @PaDriverWatch Traffic: HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITIONS BETHLEHEM PIKE & RR CROSSING; HATFIELD TOWNSHIP; 2013-07-01 @ 11:27:32;

Photo by Vic Attardo Trout like this, caught by Mike Jucewicz Jr. at Deep Creek Lake, should be available at the first Mentored Youth Trout Day on Saturday, March 23.

CONTRIBUTE This news has been slow getting around, but if you are a kid under 16 powered by Crowdynews FULL SCREEN and accompanied by a regular fishing-license holder, or if you are a Story Ideas person of the same and want to take someone under 16 trout fishing Send Corrections without any cost and a lot of hassle, you can do it on March 23 in one of National Politics 12 southeastern region lakes. 2013-07-01 06:44:57— As Obamacare rolls out, some fear online trouble Three of those lakes are right in the Pottstown region: Scotts Run Lake in French Creek State Park, The architects of state insurance plans worry Antietam Lake outside Reading, and Deep Creek Lake at the Upper Perkiomen Park. Those are that online snafus could cause headaches as Obamacare rolls out. three very good impoundments 30 minutes in every direction from High Street. 3 days ago— Lawmakers for 26 percent of the The deal is this. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has set the first Mentored Youth U.S. can stop immigration reform Trout Day “as part of its goal to keep young anglers and their families fishing,” according to PFBC 3 days ago— Student loan rates set to double executive director, John Arway. on Monday 80 4 days ago— Next stop for immigration fight? Under the program, kids below the age of 16 first register with the PFBC then join a mentor angler The 2016 GOP primary who must have a current fishing license and trout stamp. 4 days ago— NSA fact sheet pulled after being challenged by Sen. Mark Udall After registration, the young person will then be able to fish on the Saturday (March 23) before the MEDIA CENTER GALLERIES southeast region opening day on select water from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. NEWS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLES

It’s because of the need to register on-line that I’m running this announcement at this time. Also to give parents, guardians and mentors the ability to acquire the tackle and accoutrements they might need to take a young person fishing.

The registration is free and young persons also will Access Denied have the opportunity to receive a free one-year subscription to the Pennsylvania League of Angling Content Filter Denied (PLAY) newsletter. Photos: Sweltering heat wave bakes western U.S. with near-record Web Site Categories: Photos from around the western United States as Web Advertisements soaring temperatures punished much of the region for... Web Site Address: web.adblade.com SPECIAL PROMOTIONS

Your request was denied because the category may contain material in violation of the Commonwealth's Internet Use policy. To find out more, please refer to Management Directive 205.34 - Standards for Employee and Other Authorized User Internet Use and Electronic Mail Communications. (Management Directive 205.34)

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81 T YOUTH T D RO E Southeast U R Pennsylvania T O T T T D

N A

E Y Y

M M

w m w o w .c .Ta PA Saturday, keMe hing Fis March 23, 2013

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission held its first for trout on this day under a temporary change of fishing Mentored Youth Trout Day on Saturday, March 23, at twelve regulations. Adults 16 years of age or older were required to locations across the state. The event was held to evaluate possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and current trout/ angler interest and determine if the agency resources would salmon permit. Additional photos are available at be available to expand the program statewide. Registered www.facebook.com/PaFishandBoat. To register for other adult mentors and youth anglers were permitted to fish fishing programs, go to www.TakeMeFishingPA.com. photos-Heather Desko photos-Heather photo-Capt. Raymond A. Bednarchik Raymond photo-Capt.

Levittown Lake, Bucks Co. Deep Creek Dam, Montgomery Co. photos-Laurel Anders photos-Laurel

Middletown Reservoir, Dauphin Co. photos-Dave Miko photos-Dave

Children’s Lake, Cumberland Co.

32 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • May/June 2013 82 PFBC Facebook: PaFishandBoat photos-Spring Gearhart photos-Capt. Raymond A. Bednarchik Raymond photos-Capt.

Scotts Run Lake, Berks Co. photo-Dave Grube Antietam Lake, Berks Co. photos-Andrew Fedor

Lehigh Canal, Lehigh Co. photos-Walt Dietz photos-Walt photo-Carl Richardson photo-Andrew L. Shiels photo-Andrew

Locust Lake, Schuylkill Co. Muddy Run Recreation Lake, Lancaster Co. photos-Amidea Daniel photos-Amidea

Doubling Gap Lake, Cumberland Co. photos-Ted Walke photos-Ted photos-Adam Spangler photos-Adam

Waynesboro Reservoir, Adams Co. Lion’s Lake, Lebanon Co.

PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com Pennsylvania83 Angler & Boater • May/June 2013 33 Appendix D: Public and Media Relations Report

84 Mentored Youth Trout Day - March 23, 2013 87 $28,204 68.5 Million MEDIA ANALYSIS STORIES PUBLICITY VALUE POTENTIAL AUDIENCE

Publicity Value - $28,204 Potential Audience Reached

Print - 1.1 million $8,610 $224 $4,621.53 $92 700,000 $184 1495.73 600,000

$996 500,000

$13,477 400,000 300,000 News Web Sites Daily Newspaper 200,000 Online Print Version Blogs Community Newspaper Magazine 100,000 TV 0

Number of Stories - 87 50 45 Internet - 67.4 million 40 70,000,000 35 30 60,000,000 TV 25 50,000,000 20 Internet 15 40,000,000 Print 10 30,000,000 5 0 20,000,000 10,000,000 0 Cities with Stories Allentown Lehighton Altoona Pittsburgh TV - 20,035

Coundersport Pottstown Harrisburg ABC 27 Outdoors Easton Pottsville Hanover Reading Click Here to Watch Clip Harrisburg Sunbury Lancaster West Chester Lebanon York

85 Appendix E: Mentored Youth Trout Day Registration

86 Home Mentored Youth Trout Program Registration Fish

Boat Complete and submit this form to register for the Mentored Youth Trout Program. After submitting, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Print this e-mail and carry with you when you fish waters in the program on March 23, 2013. This will be proof of youth Habitat/Non-game angler registration. For more information on the program and waters included, click here. Maps & Reports

About the PFBC * Required fields Careers

Commissioners YOUTH INFORMATION FAQs Youth first name Youth last name Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)* Grants

Learning Center Address Partners & Links

Permits & Forms City State Zip code Pubs. & Products Pennsylvania

Regs. & Laws

Right-to-Know Registered youth are eligible for a one-year subscription to the Commission’s youth angler newsletter Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth (PLAY). The subscription will start with the Summer PLAY, mailed in late June. If you do not wish to receive the PLAY newsletter please check the ‘NO’ box below.

Receive PLAY subscription?* Yes No

MENTOR INFORMATION Mentor first name Mentor last name

Address

City State Zip code Pennsylvania

Provide CID (from fishing license) OR Date of Birth Mentor CID Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)

Mentor email address* NOTE: valid mentor e-mail address required. A confirmation message will be sent to this address, that message will serve as proof of youth registration

PROMOTIONAL INFORMATION The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) may contact you in reference to your experiences at this program, or to provide information about upcoming opportunities. The PFBC is committed to maintaining the confidentiality and anonymity of their program participants. Your personal information will not be sold or shared with any commercial entity. Choose the "No" option below should you not wish to not have the PFBC contact you after this program

87 Yes No

A confirmation message will be sent to the mentor email address (if provided).This e-mail will serve as proof of youth registration; print the e-mail and be sure to carry with you when fishing on March 23, 2013. After submitting this form you will be taken to the PFBC Mentored Youth Trout Day page.

RETAIN THIS COPY AS PROOF OF REGISTRATION. OF PROOF AS COPY THIS RETAIN

. www.TakeMeFishingPA.com visit information, more For

commercial entity. Choose the “NO” option if you do not wish to have PFBC contact you after this program. YES NO YES program. this after you contact PFBC have to wish not do you if option “NO” the Choose entity. commercial

The PFBC is committed to maintaining the confidentiality and anonymity of their program participants. Your personal information will not be sold or shared with any any with shared or sold be not will information personal Your participants. program their of anonymity and confidentiality the maintaining to committed is PFBC The

nformation about upcoming opportunities. opportunities. upcoming about nformation i provide to or program this at experiences your to reference in you contact may (PFBC) Commission Boat & Fish Pennsylvania The

PERSONAL INFORMATION PERSONAL Required fields Required

* *

EMAIL ADDRESS EMAIL license) fishing (from CID#

ZIP CODE ZIP STATE CITY

ADDRESS

/ / /

* * *

(mm/dd/yyyy) BIRTH OF DATE NAME LAST NAME FIRST

MENTOR INFORMATION MENTOR

* NO YES subscription? PLAY a receive to wish you Do

newsletter, please check the “NO” box below. Limit one per household. per one Limit below. box “NO” the check please newsletter, PLAY the receive to wish not do you If June. late in mailed , PLAY Summer the with start

. The subscription will will subscription The . (PLAY) Youth Angling of League Pennsylvania newsletter, angler youth Commission’s the to subscription one-year a for eligible are youth Registered

ZIP CODE ZIP STATE CITY

ADDRESS

/ / /

* * *

(mm/dd/yyyy) BIRTH OF DATE NAME LAST NAME FIRST

YOUTH INFORMATION YOUTH PENNSYLVANIA FISH & BOAT COMMISSION’S MENTORED YOUTH TROUT DAY REGISTRATION DAY TROUT YOUTH MENTORED COMMISSION’S BOAT & FISH PENNSYLVANIA

PENNSYLVANIA FISH & BOAT COMMISSION’S MENTORED YOUTH TROUT DAY REGISTRATION YOUTH INFORMATION FIRST NAME* LAST NAME* DATE OF BIRTH (mm/dd/yyyy)* / / ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP CODE

Registered youth are eligible for a one-year subscription to the Commission’s youth angler newsletter, Pennsylvania League of Angling Youth (PLAY). The subscription will start with the Summer PLAY, mailed in late June. If you do not wish to receive the PLAY newsletter, please check the “NO” box below. Limit one per household. Do you wish to receive a PLAY subscription?* YES NO MENTOR INFORMATION FIRST NAME* LAST NAME* DATE OF BIRTH (mm/dd/yyyy)* / / ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP CODE

CID# (from fishing license)* EMAIL ADDRESS*

PERSONAL INFORMATION *Required fields The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) may contact you in reference to your experiences at this program or to provide information about upcoming opportunities. The PFBC is committed to maintaining the confidentiality and anonymity of their program participants. Your personal information will not be sold or shared with any commercial entity. Choose the “NO” option if you do not wish to have PFBC contact you after this program. YES NO For more information, visit www.TakeMeFishingPA.com. RETAIN THIS COPY AS PROOF89 OF REGISTRATION. Appendix F: Mentored Youth Trout Day Site Plans

90 2013 MYT Site Plans March 23, 2013 8:00 AM-7:30 PM Location Host PFBC Staff Scheduled* Other partners** Registration; pre and walk up organization Contest administration Antietam Lake Berks County Mike Kaufman, John Buzzar, Park staff (2) , Tulpehocken TU (3) note: Registration @ office Parks PM Greg Murphy park has an event at same time Children's Lake PFBC Bernie Matscavage, Dave Miko, Coop has conflict, no others have Staff walk-up registration and Danielle Hoover stepped forward contest paperwork (Maxine Johnson mentoring her family) Deep Creek Montgomery Bob Lyon, Fritz Hamlin (vol) Park staff (3), Delco-Manning TU (2) Registration @ office Dam/Green Lane County Parks (Greg Murphy mentoring his family Coop has conflict, no other clubs/orgs in AM) have stepped forward Doubling Gap Lake Col. Denning Allan Schreffler, Amidea Daniel Park staff handling registration Registration & prize paperwork @ State Park (PFBC staff mentoring their families: office Rick Levis, Brian Wisner, John Frederic, Steve Kralik) Lehigh canal, sec 08 City of Andy Fedor, Brian Chikotas No other clubs/orgs have stepped Staff walk-up registration and Bethlehem forward contest paperwork Levittown Lake PFBC Andy Desko, Heather Desko (vol) Hemlock Club--10 to 12 helpers, Coop Staff walk-up registration and has conflict contest paperwork Lions Lake Lebanon Ted Walke, Craig Miller Coop mentoring, no other clubs/orgs Staff walk-up registration and County have stepped forward contest paperwork Locust Lake Locust Lake Walt Dietz, Daryl Pierce Park Staff Registration @ office State Park Middletown Reservoir Borough of Laurel Anders, Laurie Shepler, Jean No other clubs/orgs have stepped Staff walk-up registration and Middletown Kirkpatrick forward contest paperwork Muddy Run Exelon Energy, Carl Richardson, Sam Consylman Exelon Snack bar, boat rental open; Staff Recreation Lake Muddy Run (vol) registration & contest paperwork Rec Park Scotts Run Lake French Creek Dave Grube Park Staff, West Chester Fish, Game & Registration @ office State Park (Commissioner Squires mentoring Wildlife Association, kids) Waynesboro Reservoir Waynesboro Adam Spangler Adams County TU /McSherrystown F&G Staff handle walk-up registration Authority and contest paperwork

*staff/volunteer confirmed, locations subject to change. **club/CNU requests made for each location, confirmation ongoing

91 Appendix G: Angler Count Procedure

92 2013 Mentored Youth Day Angler Use Count Guidelines

Survey Purpose The purpose of this effort is to measure angler participation during the 2013 Mentored Youth Day and to aid in determining the best waters to use if this program is continued in the future. The angler counts will also provide baseline data for comparison if the program is expanded on a statewide basis.

Survey Waters Waters examined will include the 12 waters selected for the 2013 Mentored Youth Day. All waters are located within the 18 County area where the regional opening day of trout season applies.

Methods

Angler Use Count Procedures For this effort a total of three angler counts should be completed on March 23, 2013. Angler counts should be conducted at 8:00 am, 11:00 am and 2:00 pm (or 14:00 hours). An angler count form is attached at the end of this document (Appendix 1).

Accurate angler counts should be made from locations that afford a complete view of the area being counted. Upon completion of the count at a viewing point, proceed to the next point and continue until the angler count has been completed for the entire water. On some small lakes a total angler count may be able to be completed from one vantage point. However, some lakes will require more than one vantage point to obtain a total angler count of the lake. In the case of the Lehigh Canal, the entire section will need to be travelled to obtain an angler count.

Recording Angler Use Count Data On the 2013 Mentored Youth Day Angler Count Form (Appendix 1), the Water Name, Section Number (applies only to the Lehigh Canal), and Clerk (or the last name of the person conducting the use count) should be entered in the spaces provided. Under the Count Start Time column, record the time the count began (in military time) in the space provided. Upon completion of the use count, the time the count was completed for the water should be recorded (in military time) in the space provided under the Count Finish Time column. At this time, the number of anglers counted that were actively fishing should be recorded under the Number of Anglers column.

Weather Conditions After the first angler count (8:00 am) has been completed and recorded on the water area, record the codes that best describe the weather conditions during the survey. The codes used to document weather conditions are outlined in Table 1.

93 Table 1. Weather conditions and their corresponding codes

Code – Cloud Cover Code – Precipitation Code – Temperature Code – Stream Flow

0 Sunny 0 No precipitation (write in measured 1 Significant portions of (no cloud cover) Air temperature) riffle exposed

1 Partly sunny 1 Intermittent rain 2 Some riffle area (occasional cloud exposed cover)

2 Partly cloudy 2 Continuous rain 3 Normal stream flow (partial continuous cloud cover)

3 Cloudy 3 Intermittent rain with 4 Above normal, but (total cloud cover - thunder and lightening not bank full gray)

4 Continuous rain with 5 Bank full flow thunder and lightening

5 Intermittent Snow

6 Continuous Snow

Note: If turbid (muddy) water conditions are encountered during the survey write in “Turbid Water” under the weather condition codes. You may also write in water temperature under the weather condition codes.

94 2013 Mentored Trout Day: Site Report March 23, 2013

Location:______PFBC staff name Arrival time Departure time

Don’t forget to conduct the angler counts at 8:00, 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. See back of form for details

Partners Organization/group # helpers # helper hours

Participant Tallies

Walk up registration/completed paper Walk up tally AM PM forms Youth Mentors Fishing rod loans made

Tackle requested (estimates) Hooks= Bobbers= Sinkers= PowerBait=

Unsolicited assistance Knots= (# of people that asked for help from De-tangle= PFBC staff or other helpers) Casting= (estimates) Fish ID= Technique/rigging= Landing/releasing = Solicited assistance Offered, but didn’t want help= (# of people that PFBC staff or other Knots= helpers offered to help) De-tangle= (estimates) Casting= Fish ID= Technique/rigging= Landing/releasing = Participant feedback (%) Supportive/positive= Neutral= Negative=

Angler counts Time Count Clerk Count start time Count finish Number of Number of Name time Anglers bystanders 08:00 11:00 14:00 Time Cloud Cover Precipitation Stream Flow Air Code Code Lehigh only Temperature 08:00 11:00 14:00

Cloud Cover Codes Precipitation Stream flow 0: Sunny (no cloud cover) 0: no precipitation 1: Partly Sunny (occasional cloud 1: intermittent rain 1: significant portions of riffle cover) exposed 2: Partly Cloudy (partial 2: continuous rain 2: some riffle area exposed 3: Cloudy 3: intermittent rain with thunder 3: normal stream flow and lightning 4: continuous rain with thunder 4: above normal, but not bank full and lightning 5: intermittent snow 5: bank full flow 6: continuous snow

Media Media outlet Reporter/contact person

Other notable attendees/visitors

Misc staff comments or notes:

96 Appendix H: Site Summary

97 PRELIMINARY REPORT Mentored Youth Trout Day (Subject to change as additional information is received and processed.)

Registration: 5,110 youth + 3,846 mentors = 8,956 total (includes on-line pre-registrations and walk-ups) Total Angler Count: 4,258

Antietam Lake (Berks County Parks) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 372 6 3 Noteworthy Attendees: PA Outdoor News (Ron Steffe), WEEU Reading 850AM (Roger Mallon), Reading Eagle Newspaper (Roger Mallon) The catch rate at this lake was good. Anglers were experienced and demonstrated appropriate mentoring activity. Staff report that this was a good site selection for the program, although composition of species stocked may need to be adjusted. This site was not too crowded and allowed enough space for anglers to move to deeper water. The crowd turned over late-morning.

Children’s Lake (PFBC) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 478 3 0 Noteworthy Attendees: Penn Live (Marcus Schneck), Lebanon Daily News (Dave Wolf) This site was quite crowded and the catch rate was very high. Many anglers reported catching 15+ fish (catch & release). Angler turn over occurred late morning. Staff actively offered assistance but anglers were experienced and demonstrated appropriate mentoring activity. Staff report that this was a good site selection for this program.

Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane (Montgomery County Parks) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 423 4 5 Noteworthy Attendees: Town & Country Newspaper (Larry Roeder), Angler & Boater staff writer (Vic Attardo), State Representative Marcy Toepel Staff report this site was not too crowded at any given time and attendees appeared to come in waves. Lots of mentoring activity was observed among families. The weather was cold and windy, and the catch rate was low. The day progressed like a typical opening day, and the helpers/staff were under-utilized as most attendees knew how to fish. Four boats were observed on the lake.

Doubling Gap Lake (Colonel Denning State Park) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 192 2 4 Noteworthy Attendees: None. It was a cold, slow day for most of the lake but the area closest to the dam had a high catch rate from mid-morning through evening. This lake was crowded in the morning (especially near the dam), then thinned out throughout the day. With the cold temperature, it made for a short day for most participants. Staff circulated around the lake and offered assistance to all anglers, but nearly all came prepared and didn’t want any help.

3/27/13 98 Lehigh Canal, Section 08 (City of Bethlehem) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 407 4 0 Noteworthy Attendees: None. The weather was very cold in the morning at this site. More casual anglers and younger kids were noted as the weather warmed. Some families left for commitments throughout the day and returned later. This was a good site selection with good accessibility in an urban setting. The site was not too crowded throughout the day. Helpers/staff interacted with more than 150 attendees, but were largely under-utilized as most attendees knew how to fish. Anglers experienced good catch rates but trout were concentrated in pockets.

Levittown Lake (PFBC) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 355 5 7 Noteworthy Attendees: PGC WCO Very cold and windy at this site, however staff report it was a good site selection for this program. This small lake was not too crowded throughout the day, had good parking, and was only ½ hour drive from center city Philadelphia. A changeover of attendees occurred mid-morning. The catch rate was fairly low, however even those not catching fish came to staff and thanked them for this opportunity. Most anglers were experienced and didn’t require assistance.

Lion’s Lake (Lebanon County) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 298 2 0 Noteworthy Attendees: None This site was cold and the wind got stronger throughout the day, and the crowd dwindled in response. The catch rate was good, with some trophy size fish caught. Anglers were well prepared and did not request or require any assistance. Staff report that this was an excellent site selection for the program.

Locust Lake (Locust Lake State Park) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 365 3 1 Noteworthy Attendees: PGC WCO All anglers came with their own equipment, were well-prepared and knew how to fish. Catch rates were good and all fish caught were brook trout, some trophy sized. Good mentoring activity was observed. Staff report that this was an excellent site selection for the program. It appeared that there was a complete turnover of anglers between counts, as anglers met their creel limit or got too cold.

Middletown Reservoir (Borough of Middletown) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 233 3 5 Noteworthy Attendees: None. Staff observed typical opening day atmosphere and excitement at this site. Anglers were well- prepared and skilled. Catch rates were very high in the morning and slowed throughout the day with nice size rainbow trout caught throughout. This site was crowded until late morning when the crowd started to turn over. Good mentoring activity was observed. At one point, three boats were on the reservoir. This was a very good site selection for the program. Parking was limited but anglers are accustomed to this challenge at this location. 3/27/13 99

Muddy Run Recreation Lake (Exelon Energy) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 414 3 0 Noteworthy Attendees: Lancaster News (P.J. Reilly)

Anglers at this site were very self-sufficient. Good mentoring activity was observed. A large number of youth were accompanied by multiple adults, with several multi-generational parties. The catch rate was quite low at this site. This site was crowded (at carrying capacity). Staff report that this site is an ideal location for this program, but due to size of lake (~100 acres) catch rates will likely remain low. A total of 16 boats were on the lake as part of this program. This host site provided excellent support by opening the boat livery, campground store and snack bar for the day. Visitors also used park amenities such as playground equipment. Staff were surprised by the amount of afternoon angler arrivals.

Scotts Run Lake (French Creek State Park) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 553 4 5 Noteworthy Attendees: Commissioner Squires Windy and cold throughout day. Many people arrived after 8am. Staff reported a good catch all day long and consistent participation throughout the day. A few boats were noted on the lake having very good success. This site was crowded most of the morning. Staff report that this was an excellent site selection with easy access around the entire lake and easy to get to.

Waynesboro Reservoir (Waynesboro Authority) Total Angler Count # Staff & Volunteers Partner Assistance (# of individuals) 168 3 0 Noteworthy Attendees: None The catch rate was very high throughout the entire day with many families catching their creel limit and leaving. There was a high turnover of anglers before noon. This site was not too crowded and could’ve accommodated more people. Staff observed most parties demonstrating appropriate mentoring activity. Staff report this was a good site selection, and fishing was permitted from the dam for the day. Anglers were experienced and did not utilize staff/volunteer help.

3/27/13 100 Appendix I: Post MYT Survey Instrument

101 Mentored Youth Trout Day

Thank you for registering a youth for the firstever 2013 Mentored Youth Trout Day on March 23, 2013.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey about that day. Complete the survey even if you didn't serve as the mentor or the youth did not participate. If you registered more than one youth, please complete only one survey.

If you complete the survey before midnight April 13, 2013, you will be eligible to receive a gift for completing this surveya FREE 6month subscription* to the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine. *limitations and details available at the end of the suvey.

Your responses will help the PFBC in developing future opportunities for youth and their mentors. Thank you

*1. Did the registered youth fish for trout with a mentor on the Mentored Youth Trout Day?

nmlkj Yes nmlkj No

Other (please specify)

*2. Select the reason that best describes why the registered youth DID NOT participate in the Mentored Youth Trout Day.

nmlkj Forgot about it

nmlkj The weather

nmlkj Illness

nmlkj No location close to home

nmlkj Youth lost interest

nmlkj The youth’s mentor did not purchase a fishing license on or before 3/23

nmlkj Schedule conflict

nmlkj Other (please specify)

*3. Were you the mentor for the registered youth?

nmlkj Yes, I fished on that day with the youth I registered

Other nmlkj No, I did not fish on that day with the youth I registered

Page 1 102 Mentored Youth Trout Day

*4. What best describes your relationship to the youth mentored that day?

nmlkj Parent/Guardian

nmlkj Grandparent/guardian

nmlkj Family friend

nmlkj Member of the same club or organization as youth or family

Other (please specify)

5. Would you please provide the contact information for the person who did mentor the registered youth?

First Name

Last Name

emaill address

comments

Your fishing experience during the Mentored Youth Trout Day

We'd like to know a little about your fishing that day. Please provide responses to the best of your recollection.

*6. Where did you fish that day? If you fished more than one location, select the water fished first.

nmlkj Antietam Lake nmlkj Lehigh canal, sec 08 nmlkj Middletown Reservoir

Other nmlkj Children's Lake nmlkj Levittown Lake nmlkj Muddy Run Recreation Lake

nmlkj Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane nmlkj Lions Lake nmlkj Scotts Run Lake

nmlkj Doubling Gap Lake nmlkj Locust Lake nmlkj Waynesboro Reservoir

Page 2 103 Mentored Youth Trout Day 7. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q6]?

Mentors

Youth

*8. How long did you fish at [Q6]? Enter the time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hours. Combine the time fished If there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hrs)

Youth fishing time (15 min0.25 hr)

*9. How many fish did you catch at [Q6]? If more than one youth or mentor was in your group, please combine their catch. Enter 0 if no fish were caught.

Number of trout mentor caught and released

Number of trout mentor caught and kept

Number of trout youth caught and released

Number of trout youth caught and kept

10. Did any of the fish caught by either of you have a contest tag?

nmlkj Yes

nmlkj No

nmlkj Don't know

11. What other Mentored Youth Trout water did you fish that day? 6

Other

12. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q11]?

Mentors

Youth

*13. How long did you fish at [Q11]? Enter your time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hour. Combine the time fished if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr)

Youth fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr)

Page 3 104 Mentored Youth Trout Day *14. How was the fishing at [Q11]? Combine the number caught if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Mentor caught and released this many trout

Mentor caught and kept this many trout

Youth caught and released this many trout

Youth caught and kept this many trout

15. Did you fish anywhere else that day?

nmlkj Yes

nmlkj No

16. If yes, what other Mentored Youth Trout Day water did you fish?

nmlkj Antietam Lake nmlkj Lehigh canal, sec 08 nmlkj Middletown Reservoir

nmlkj Children's Lake nmlkj Levittown Lake nmlkj Muddy Run Recreation Lake

nmlkj Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane nmlkj Lions Lake nmlkj Scotts Run Lake

nmlkj Doubling Gap Lake nmlkj Locust Lake nmlkj Waynesboro Reservoir

Third MYT water fished on March 23, 2013

17. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q16]?

Mentors

Youth

18. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q16]?

Number of people, including all adults and mentored youth

*19. How long did you fish at [Q16]? Enter your time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hour. Combine the time fished if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr)

Youth fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr)

Page 4 105 Mentored Youth Trout Day *20. How was the fishing at [Q16]? Combine the number caught if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Mentor caught and released this many trout

Mentor caught and kept this many trout

Youth caught and released this many trout

Youth caught and kept this many trout

*21. What was the best part of your experience on the Mentored Youth Trout Day? Select only one.

nmlkj Opportunity to catch a tagged fish, and receive a prize package.

nmlkj The opportunity for youth to fish without competition from other adult anglers.

nmlkj The opportunity to fish as a mentor, along with the youth (compared to only kids being allowed to fish).

nmlkj The opportunity to fish before the opening day of trout season.

nmlkj Youth angler catching fish

nmlkj Other (please specify)

22. How would you rate your overall experience?

nmlkj Very satisfied

nmlkj Satisfied

nmlkj Not satisfied

nmlkj Neither satisfied or dissatisfied

Page 5 106 Mentored Youth Trout Day 23. How important were each of the factors in contributing to your enjoyment of the day? Rate the most important as 5, the least important as 1. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

The opportunity to catch a tagged fish and receive a prize package. nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

The opportunity for youth to fish without competition from other adult anglers. nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

The opportunity to fish before the opening day of trout season. nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

The opportunity to fish as a mentor, alongside the youth (compared to only kids being nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj allowed to fish).

A youth angler invited me. nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Other (please specify)

24. How did the factors below detract from your experience that day? The most significant should be rated as 5 and the least significant factor should be rated as a 1. 1 2 3 4 5

Poor weather (examples: too cold, too windy) nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

The number of trout caught nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

The location of the water was incovenient nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Facilities were lacking at the site nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Lack of shoreline to fish nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Lack of parking nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Crowding by other anglers nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Bad behavior of other anglers nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Other (please specify)

Page 6 107 Mentored Youth Trout Day *25. Which category best describes your fishing habits in Pennsylvania?

nmlkj I’m an avid angler, fishing 20 days or more each year

nmlkj I’m an active angler, fishing 1019 days each year

nmlkj I’m an occasional angler, fishing 59 days each year

nmlkj I’m returning to fishing after being away from it

nmlkj I’m new to fishing. I haven’t fished since I was a child.

nmlkj I don't fish.

nmlkj Other (please specify)

26. From the list below, identify the years in which you purchased a Pennsylvania Fishing License.

gfedc 2013

gfedc 2012

gfedc 2011

gfedc 2010

gfedc 2009

27. Did you purchase a 2013 fishing license and/or trout stamp just to take part in the Mentored Youth Trout Day?

nmlkj Yes

nmlkj No

28. From the list below, identify those years in which you fished on the opening day of trout season.

gfedc 2013

gfedc 2012

gfedc 2011

gfedc 2010

gfedc 2009

gfedc I don't fish the opening day of trout season

Page 7 108 Mentored Youth Trout Day

29. Why don't you fish the opening day of trout season. Select all that apply.

gfedc Poor weather

gfedc Not enough fish to catch

gfedc Too crowded, competition from other anglers

gfedc Bad behavior of other anglers

gfedc Had other commitments or things competing for my time

gfedc Had no interest in fishing the opening day

gfedc Other (please specify)

Your role as a mentor

30. Do you consider yourself as a mentor to youth anglers?

nmlkj Yes

nmlkj No

nmlkj Not sure/don't know

31. From the list below, identify those years in which you took youth anglers fishing on the opening day of trout season.

gfedc 2013

gfedc 2012

gfedc 2011

gfedc 2010

gfedc 2009

gfedc I don't take youth angler fishing on the opening day of trout season

Page 8 109 Mentored Youth Trout Day 32. Why didn't you take any youth fishing on the opening day of trout season? Select all that apply.

gfedc Poor weather

gfedc Not enough fish to catch

gfedc Too crowded, competition from other anglers

gfedc Bad behavior of other anglers

gfedc Youth had other commitments or competition for time

gfedc Youth had no interest in fishing the opening day

gfedc Other (please specify)

33. Rank the factors below on their importance in recruiting new anglers. Rank the most important as1, and number down to least important 5.

6 Catching lots of fish

6 Using the latest tackle and other gear

6 Having other family members for friends who fish

6 Having good fishing skills

6 Receiving fishing skills instruction

34. Listed below are different ideas about a future Mentored Trout Day. Rate each idea based on your level of support for that idea. Strongly Against Neither Favor Strongly favor against

Held the Saturday before the opening day of trout season nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Held during the trout season, but water would only be open to youth nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj and their mentors

Permitting the mentor to fish nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Prohibiting the mentor from fishing nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Requiring catchandrelease nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Keeping fish nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj nmlkj

Page 9 110 Mentored Youth Trout Day 35. What is your gender?

nmlkj Male

nmlkj Female

nmlkj Other (please specify)

36. What age group do you belong?

nmlkj 1617

nmlkj 1820

nmlkj 2129

nmlkj 3039

nmlkj 4049

nmlkj 5059

nmlkj 6064

nmlkj 65 and older

Thank you!

We would like to provide a FREE 6month subscription* to the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine, to show our appreciation for completing this survey.

To be eligible for this gift subscription, please enter your name and mailing address below. Your subscription should start with the July/August issue. (*If a subscription currently exists in your name and address (as entered below), we will extend your subscription by 6 months.) One per household.

37. Please provide us with your contact information and mailing address

First Name

Last Name

Street Address

City

State

Zip

Phone

Page 10 111 Appendix J: Post MYT Survey e-mail invitation

112 Survey Invitation E-mails

Sent April 8

Thank you for registering a youth for the Mentored Youth Trout Day. We ask that you take a few minutes to complete a survey about this historical event. Please complete the survey, even if you did not participate or serve as the youth’s mentor on that date. If you registered more than one youth, you need to complete only one survey. Your responses will help the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in developing future opportunities for youth and their mentors.

If you complete the survey before midnight April 13, 2013, you will be eligible to receive a gift for completing this survey--a FREE 6-month subscription* to the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine.

*To be eligible for this gift subscription, you must enter your name and mailing address at the completion of the survey and complete the survey before midnight April 12, 2013. Your subscription will begin with the July/August issue. Only one FREE 6-month subscription provided per household.

To participate in this survey, select the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx

Note: This link is uniquely tied to this survey and your e-mail address. Please do not forward this message. If the link does not work, copy the address above and paste in your browser.

Thanks for your participation!

Please note: If you do not wish to receive further emails from us, please select the link below, and you will be automatically removed from our mailing list. https://www.surveymonkey.com/optout.aspx

113 Reminder e-mail (sent April 12)

Earlier this week we sent you an invitation to complete an on-line survey related to the Mentored Youth Trout Day. We ask that you please take the time to complete this survey, as your thoughts and experiences are important to the PFBC. If you complete the survey before midnight April 13, 2013, you will be eligible to receive a gift for completing this survey--a FREE 6-month subscription* to the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater.

Please complete the survey, even if you did not participate or serve as the youth’s mentor on that date. If you registered more than one youth, you need to complete only one survey. Your responses will help the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in developing future opportunities for youth and their mentors.

*To be eligible for this gift subscription, you must enter your name and mailing address at the completion of the survey and complete the survey before midnight April 13, 2013. Your subscription will begin with the July/August issue. Only one FREE 6-month subscription provided per household.

114 Appendix K: Summary of Post MYT Survey Results

115 Mentored Youth Trout Day

1. Did the registered youth fish for trout with a mentor on the Mentored Youth Trout Day?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes 89.4% 1,361

No 10.6% 162

Other (please specify) 19

answered question 1,523

skipped question 0

2. Select the reason that best describes why the registered youth DID NOT participate in the Mentored Youth Trout Day.

Response Response

Percent Count

Forgot about it 0.6% 1

The weather 32.7% 53

Illness 8.6% 14

No location close to home 14.2% 23

Youth lost interest 1.2% 2

The youth’s mentor did not purchase a fishing license on or 3.1% 5 before 3/23

Schedule conflict 32.7% 53

Other (please specify) 6.8% 11

answered question 162

skipped question 1,361

116 1 of 25 3. Were you the mentor for the registered youth?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes, I fished on that day with the 96.3% 1,313 youth I registered

No, I did not fish on that day with 3.7% 51 the youth I registered

answered question 1,364

skipped question 159

4. What best describes your relationship to the youth mentored that day?

Response Response

Percent Count

Parent/Guardian 72.5% 952

Grandparent/guardian 20.2% 266

Family friend 6.0% 79

Member of the same club or 1.3% 17 organization as youth or family

Other (please specify) 59

answered question 1,314

skipped question 209

117 2 of 25 5. Would you please provide the contact information for the person who did mentor the registered youth?

Response Response

Percent Count

First Name 82.4% 28

Last Name 85.3% 29

e-maill address 79.4% 27

comments 50.0% 17

answered question 34

skipped question 1,489

118 3 of 25 6. Where did you fish that day? If you fished more than one location, select the water fished first.

Response Response

Percent Count

Antietam Lake 7.4% 97

Children's Lake 10.9% 143

Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane 10.5% 137

Doubling Gap Lake 5.4% 71

Lehigh canal, sec 08 9.9% 129

Levittown Lake 8.0% 104

Lions Lake 6.8% 89

Locust Lake 6.8% 89

Middletown Reservoir 8.0% 105

Muddy Run Recreation Lake 10.6% 138

Scotts Run Lake 11.6% 152

Waynesboro Reservoir 4.0% 52

answered question 1,306

skipped question 217

119 4 of 25 7. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q6]?

Response Response Response

Average Total Count

Mentors 1.52 1,944 1,282

Youth 1.99 2,541 1,279

answered question 1,285

skipped question 238

8. How long did you fish at [Q6]? Enter the time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hours. Combine the time fished If there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Response Response

Percent Count

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hrs) 97.0% 1,252

Youth fishing time (15 min-0.25 hr) 97.8% 1,262

answered question 1,291

skipped question 232

120 5 of 25 9. How many fish did you catch at [Q6]? If more than one youth or mentor was in your group, please combine their catch. Enter 0 if no fish were caught.

Response Response

Percent Count

Number of trout mentor caught and released 91.5% 1,181

Number of trout mentor caught and kept 92.3% 1,192

Number of trout youth caught and released 91.9% 1,186

Number of trout youth caught and kept 94.0% 1,214

answered question 1,291

skipped question 232

10. Did any of the fish caught by either of you have a contest tag?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes 3.9% 48

No 93.1% 1,157

Don't know 3.1% 38

answered question 1,243

skipped question 280

121 6 of 25 11. What other Mentored Youth Trout water did you fish that day?

Response Response

Percent Count

We only fished one location 97.3% 1,100

Antietam Lake 0.5% 6

Children's Lake 0.4% 4

Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane 0.3% 3

Doubling Gap Lake 0.3% 3

Lehigh canal, sec 08 0.1% 1

Levittown Lake 0.1% 1

Lions Lake 0.2% 2

Locust Lake 0.0% 0

Middletown Reservoir 0.3% 3

Muddy Run Recreation Lake 0.1% 1

Scotts Run Lake 0.6% 7

Waynesboro Reservoir 0.0% 0

answered question 1,131

skipped question 392

122 7 of 25 12. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q11]?

Response Response Response

Average Total Count

Mentors 1.36 232 171

Youth 1.65 278 168

answered question 171

skipped question 1,352

13. How long did you fish at [Q11]? Enter your time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hour. Combine the time fished if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Response Response

Percent Count

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr) 100.0% 182

Youth fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr) 100.0% 182

answered question 182

skipped question 1,341

123 8 of 25 14. How was the fishing at [Q11]? Combine the number caught if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Response Response

Percent Count

Mentor caught and released this many trout 91.2% 166

Mentor caught and kept this many trout 94.0% 171

Youth caught and released this many trout 91.8% 167

Youth caught and kept this many trout 95.6% 174

answered question 182

skipped question 1,341

15. Did you fish anywhere else that day?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes 0.6% 1

No 99.4% 180

answered question 181

skipped question 1,342

124 9 of 25 16. If yes, what other Mentored Youth Trout Day water did you fish?

Response Response

Percent Count

Antietam Lake 100.0% 1

Children's Lake 0.0% 0

Deep Creek Dam/Green Lane 0.0% 0

Doubling Gap Lake 0.0% 0

Lehigh canal, sec 08 0.0% 0

Levittown Lake 0.0% 0

Lions Lake 0.0% 0

Locust Lake 0.0% 0

Middletown Reservoir 0.0% 0

Muddy Run Recreation Lake 0.0% 0

Scotts Run Lake 0.0% 0

Waynesboro Reservoir 0.0% 0

answered question 1

skipped question 1,522

17. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q16]?

Response Response Response

Average Total Count

Mentors 1.33 4 3

Youth 1.67 5 3

answered question 3

skipped question 1,520

125 10 of 25 18. How many people were in your fishing party at [Q16]?

Response Response Response

Average Total Count

Number of people, including all adults and mentored youth 3.00 9 3

answered question 3

skipped question 1,520

19. How long did you fish at [Q16]? Enter your time as hours, where 15 min=0.25 hour. Combine the time fished if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Response Response

Percent Count

Mentor fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr) 100.0% 3

Youth fishing time (15 min=0.25 hr) 100.0% 3

answered question 3

skipped question 1,520

126 11 of 25 20. How was the fishing at [Q16]? Combine the number caught if there was more than one mentor or youth in your group.

Response Response

Percent Count

Mentor caught and released this many trout 100.0% 3

Mentor caught and kept this many trout 100.0% 3

Youth caught and released this many trout 100.0% 3

Youth caught and kept this many trout 100.0% 3

answered question 3

skipped question 1,520

127 12 of 25 21. What was the best part of your experience on the Mentored Youth Trout Day? Select only one.

Response Response

Percent Count

Opportunity to catch a tagged fish, 2.1% 27 and receive a prize package.

The opportunity for youth to fish without competition from other 40.1% 509 adult anglers.

The opportunity to fish before the 8.7% 110 opening day of trout season.

The opportunity to fish as a mentor, along with the youth 20.6% 261 (compared to only kids being allowed to fish).

Youth angler catching fish 22.0% 279

Other (please specify) 6.6% 84

answered question 1,270

skipped question 253

22. How would you rate your overall experience?

Response Response

Percent Count

Very satisfied 44.6% 564

Satisfied 36.5% 462

Not satisfied 13.9% 176

Neither satisfied or dissatisfied 5.0% 63

answered question 1,265

skipped question 258

128 13 of 25 23. How important were each of the factors in contributing to your enjoyment of the day? Rate the most important as 5, the least important as 1.

Rating Rating 1 2 3 4 5 N/A Average Count

The opportunity to catch a tagged 29.4% 13.7% 22.7% 13.2% 12.4% 8.7% 2.62 1,257 fish and receive a prize package. (369) (172) (285) (166) (156) (109)

The opportunity for youth to fish 4.8% 2.9% 6.5% 13.7% 69.6% 2.5% without competition from other adult 4.44 1,262 (61) (37) (82) (173) (878) (31) anglers.

The opportunity to fish before the 13.5% 9.5% 20.1% 20.9% 33.3% 2.8% 3.53 1,256 opening day of trout season. (169) (119) (252) (263) (418) (35)

The opportunity to fish as a mentor, alongside the youth 14.9% 6.3% 12.2% 15.5% 47.2% 3.9% 3.77 1,255 (compared to only kids being (187) (79) (153) (195) (592) (49) allowed to fish).

15.6% 3.8% 6.3% 5.0% 8.8% 60.4% A youth angler invited me. 2.69 1,223 (191) (47) (77) (61) (108) (739)

Other (please specify) 43

answered question 1,267

skipped question 256

129 14 of 25 24. How did the factors below detract from your experience that day? The most significant should be rated as 5 and the least significant factor should be rated as a 1.

Rating Rating 1 2 3 4 5 Average Count

Poor weather (examples: too cold, 17.2% 8.5% 19.9% 18.5% 35.9% 3.47 1,257 too windy) (216) (107) (250) (233) (451)

31.6% 12.3% 19.0% 12.6% 24.5% The number of trout caught 2.86 1,253 (396) (154) (238) (158) (307)

The location of the water was 58.6% 13.0% 16.0% 5.6% (70) 6.8% (84) 1.89 1,239 incovenient (726) (161) (198)

60.0% 14.3% 14.3% Facilities were lacking at the site 5.6% (69) 5.8% (72) 1.83 1,237 (742) (177) (177)

53.4% 15.1% 15.5% 8.5% Lack of shoreline to fish 7.5% (93) 2.03 1,235 (659) (186) (192) (105)

59.0% 13.4% 13.4% Lack of parking 6.9% (86) 7.3% (91) 1.90 1,242 (733) (166) (166)

38.6% 17.2% 21.1% 10.1% 13.0% Crowding by other anglers 2.41 1,242 (480) (214) (262) (125) (161)

67.0% 12.0% 8.9% Bad behavior of other anglers 4.3% (53) 7.9% (97) 1.74 1,229 (823) (147) (109)

Other (please specify) 99

answered question 1,265

skipped question 258

130 15 of 25 25. Which category best describes your fishing habits in Pennsylvania?

Response Response

Percent Count

I’m an avid angler, fishing 20 55.0% 812 days or more each year

I’m an active angler, fishing 10-19 22.8% 337 days each year

I’m an occasional angler, fishing 5- 12.4% 183 9 days each year

I’m returning to fishing after being 6.2% 92 away from it

I’m new to fishing. I haven’t fished 1.4% 21 since I was a child.

I don't fish. 0.4% 6

Other (please specify) 1.7% 25

answered question 1,476

skipped question 47

131 16 of 25 26. From the list below, identify the years in which you purchased a Pennsylvania Fishing License.

Response Response

Percent Count

2013 96.8% 1,400

2012 89.7% 1,297

2011 86.3% 1,248

2010 81.3% 1,175

2009 79.3% 1,147

answered question 1,446

skipped question 77

27. Did you purchase a 2013 fishing license and/or trout stamp just to take part in the Mentored Youth Trout Day?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes 19.7% 288

No 80.3% 1,172

answered question 1,460

skipped question 63

132 17 of 25 28. From the list below, identify those years in which you fished on the opening day of trout season.

Response Response

Percent Count

2013 66.2% 954

2012 63.2% 910

2011 62.6% 902

2010 59.3% 854

2009 58.5% 843

I don't fish the opening day of trout 22.3% 321 season

answered question 1,441

skipped question 82

133 18 of 25 29. Why don't you fish the opening day of trout season. Select all that apply.

Response Response

Percent Count

Poor weather 4.8% 16

Not enough fish to catch 5.4% 18

Too crowded, competition from 79.6% 266 other anglers

Bad behavior of other anglers 38.3% 128

Had other commitments or things 17.7% 59 competing for my time

Had no interest in fishing the 15.3% 51 opening day

Other (please specify) 10.5% 35

answered question 334

skipped question 1,189

30. Do you consider yourself as a mentor to youth anglers?

Response Response

Percent Count

Yes 89.2% 1,292

No 4.1% 59

Not sure/don't know 6.7% 97

answered question 1,448

skipped question 75

134 19 of 25 31. From the list below, identify those years in which you took youth anglers fishing on the opening day of trout season.

Response Response

Percent Count

2013 52.6% 741

2012 45.6% 643

2011 41.7% 588

2010 33.6% 474

2009 30.4% 429

I don't take youth angler fishing on 35.8% 505 the opening day of trout season

answered question 1,409

skipped question 114

135 20 of 25 32. Why didn't you take any youth fishing on the opening day of trout season? Select all that apply.

Response Response

Percent Count

Poor weather 14.4% 160

Not enough fish to catch 5.2% 58

Too crowded, competition from 60.1% 666 other anglers

Bad behavior of other anglers 26.4% 293

Youth had other commitments or 21.0% 233 competition for time

Youth had no interest in fishing the 7.4% 82 opening day

Other (please specify) 21.5% 238

answered question 1,108

skipped question 415

136 21 of 25 33. Rank the factors below on their importance in recruiting new anglers. Rank the most important as1, and number down to least important 5.

Rating Rating 1 2 3 4 5 Average Count

42.4% 19.8% 14.0% 15.4% 8.4% Catching lots of fish 2.28 1,440 (610) (285) (202) (222) (121)

Using the latest tackle and other 9.8% 7.6% 8.3% 14.6% 59.6% 4.07 1,441 gear (141) (110) (120) (211) (859)

Having other family members for 30.1% 35.3% 18.1% 10.7% 5.7% (83) 2.27 1,444 friends who fish (434) (510) (262) (155)

17.1% 32.1% 37.4% Having good fishing skills 6.5% (94) 6.9% (99) 3.21 1,443 (247) (463) (540)

11.4% 20.3% 27.5% 21.6% 19.2% Receiving fishing skills instruction 3.17 1,438 (164) (292) (395) (311) (276)

answered question 1,444

skipped question 79

137 22 of 25 34. Listed below are different ideas about a future Mentored Trout Day. Rate each idea based on your level of support for that idea.

Strongly Strongly Rating Rating Against Neither Favor against favor Average Count

Held the Saturday before the 10.2% 26.0% 57.6% 2.4% (34) 3.8% (55) 4.33 1,441 opening day of trout season (147) (375) (830)

Held during the trout season, but 15.0% 15.4% 19.1% 24.6% 26.0% water would only be open to youth 3.31 1,433 (215) (220) (273) (353) (372) and their mentors

11.7% 8.8% 17.5% 24.8% 37.2% Permitting the mentor to fish 3.67 1,425 (167) (125) (249) (354) (530)

34.8% 22.2% 21.8% 8.5% 12.7% Prohibiting the mentor from fishing 2.42 1,431 (498) (317) (312) (122) (182)

25.1% 26.8% 29.3% 10.5% 8.4% Requiring catch-and-release 2.50 1,434 (360) (384) (420) (150) (120)

29.1% 31.1% 28.4% Keeping fish 4.7% (67) 6.7% (96) 3.72 1,439 (419) (448) (409)

answered question 1,451

skipped question 72

35. What is your gender?

Response Response

Percent Count

Male 94.1% 1,364

Female 5.9% 85

Other (please specify) 0.0% 0

answered question 1,449

skipped question 74

138 23 of 25 36. What age group do you belong?

Response Response

Percent Count

16-17 0.3% 4

18-20 0.3% 4

21-29 4.4% 64

30-39 29.6% 430

40-49 36.8% 536

50-59 13.3% 193

60-64 6.7% 97

65 and older 8.7% 127

answered question 1,455

skipped question 68

139 24 of 25 37. Please provide us with your contact information and mailing address

Response Response

Percent Count

First Name 99.8% 1,316

Last Name 99.8% 1,316

Street Address 99.8% 1,316

Street Address 4.7% 62

City 99.5% 1,312

State 99.7% 1,314

Zip 99.5% 1,311

Phone 85.4% 1,125

e-mail 92.9% 1,224

answered question 1,318

skipped question 205

140 25 of 25 Appendix L: Staff After Action Review Results.

141 Mentored Youth Trout Day After Action Review Notes April 12, 2013

A. Site Selection

What went well? • Lakes were a good idea • We worked across bureau lines o Decisions were collaborative/compromise • Small lakes worked very well • Good partner cooperation at the sites • Pretty good job of spreading it out among 18 counties • Use of public facilities was a positive (DCNR and public parks) • Lehigh Canal site was well attended by an urban audience

What didn’t work well? • Lacking toilet facilities was a problem especially for the ladies • Year round regulation changes made it difficult to select sites (Muddy run) o This will really be a problem in the SW • Larger lake reduced angler success (Muddy Run) • There may not have been enough lakes if everyone attended – add more waters, not just lakes • Waynesboro was not a user friendly site o Lack of access, parking, shoreline • Restrooms were locked at the Lehigh Canal site • The overall timeline was tight

How to make improvements? • If streams are added, consider proximity to sites with facilities (parks, public property, urban areas, etc.) • Get everything done in time to promote in the summary book • Local WCO needs to be involved in the planning. This will help avoid the Waynesboro scenario.

B. Promotion

What went well? • 5,110 youth and 3,766 mentors signed up • Frequency of posts to Facebook also allowed for clarification of questions • OA e-mail blast was used effectively

142 • Contest sponsor (Cabelas) was good • PFBC got great media coverage o All areas were covered • Promotion of the contest went well

What didn’t work well? • Several adults were not aware that they could fish – confusion • Boaters may not have been aware that they were welcome – just overlooked • Lots of non-compliance with life jacket requirements were noted at some places • Getting posters out was tough on a time compressed schedule • Other parts of the state were asking “why not us” • Tagging of fish could have benefitted from more time

How to make improvements? • No ideas brought forward

C. Registration

What went well? • On-line system worked • People worked with us on registration • Day of event registration (paper and electronic) was a positive • More committed anglers (we think) • Mentors had the opportunity to fish for trout a week early

What didn’t work well? • Paper registration only netted 130 people overall • Dealing with incompatible databases • One registration site location was confusing due to a move • Signage may be improved at certain sites • Partners didn’t have staff working on Saturday to have stuff ready

How to make improvements? • Use PALS to register youth

D. Capacity Building/Partnerships

What went well? • Private vendor opened concession stand at one site and offered free hot dogs and hot chocolate • Muddy Run opened facilities early for this even – other examples cited • Middletown Sportsman’s group came and helped out with the event

143 • Support and appreciation from our customers was overwhelming

What didn’t work well? • CVTU and Allenberry were not aware of the event or chose not to be present • Expectation were too high overall • Timing – parks rely on seasonal staff, don’t otherwise have the resources o Coops were tough to engage/mobilize

How to make improvements? • Middletown Sportsman’s group would work with us on a donated port-a- potty

E. On site Activities

What went well? • Good to see PFBC staff present • Great PR opportunity – all good!

What didn’t work well? • Was the event really worth 500 hours of staff time? • The “ambassador” role could have been carried out by far fewer staff • Many staff didn’t have “first fish” certificates • Needed to have more “model release” forms handy • Media coverage was disappointing

How to make improvements? • What would be the minimum/maximum amount of PFBC staff to have present? • Re-define the role of any staff (did they really help people fish?)

F. Law enforcement/regulations

What went well? • Kids had fun • Kids/Adults had a great time fishing together • Regulation posters were present • Overall number of problems was not high

What didn’t work well? • Need to have a 1 mentor to 2 youth maximum ratio for this event o A bus showed up at Waynesboro o Unless special circumstances are presented (For instance, a scout leader with a troop)

144 • Need to seriously look at the ratio of adults to youth o Suggest a max of two adults per youth (that would cover either 2 parents or parent/grandparent) • Mentors should be there to support the youth and not to fish for themselves • There were people that took advantage of the day • The tagged fish operation could only benefit the adult…was this intended? • Adults were catching and releasing trout looking for tagged fish • Anglers that had limited out, continued to fish looking for tagged fish • PFBC non-uniformed staff at Children’s Lake were brought law enforcement concerns • Hot spots at lakes were guarded closely by some anglers

How to make improvements? • Look at the tagged fish dynamic and how it impacts the experience? • Strongly consider removing the idea of adults keeping fish • Get a summary of the program in the summary book

Additional Items Considered/Discussed • Can this mentored youth opportunity be applied to panfish at a later time in the year? • Expanding this program statewide will be logistically difficult o Need to limit the number of waters to coincide with stocking abilities • The PGC’s youth pheasant hunt is the model that is most closely aligned with what we’re doing • There is a need for regulatory change when/if this is rolled out statewide o Do we have time to run regs in time for next year’s opportunity?

145