April has come into western Pennsylvania like a true spring event.

The snow has melted and the early spring flowers are starting to pop out in earnest.

This means one thing to me…it’s time to wet your lines!

A friend of mine, Bruce Lapka, loves to fish Pymatuning Lake in Jamestown, Pa., and he reported to me that he is taking his boat out for its maiden voyage of 2014 this weekend.

He will be testing the waters for crappie and walleye activity and get back to me if the action appears to be starting.

The great thing about Bruce is that his reports are not only prompt, they are also filled with pertinent data with the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When and Why!

Spring fishing can be awesome and I am really looking forward to it after the winter season that we have just endured.

Trout season will be in full swing next weekend and the streams are full of cold water and plenty of stocked trout.

The fishermen of the area will need to decide if they want to hit the streams or the lakes to start out the year, I say you should hit them both!

Why not double your fun and seek both cold water and warm water species. I read a really interesting report about the yellow perch on Lake Erie and their numbers.

Fishermen have caught tens of thousands of these tasty fish but the classes of perch are at their all time high in numbers and are in the million classes of total fish.

You will need a lot of buckets when the daily catch is limited to 30 fish a day on Lake Erie.

Read about the success of the stocking program on the internet at Lake Erie Perch.

The button arrived and now I can fish with just my new blue button instead of the yellow license with flapping plastic on my head.

I still have to carry it on me but it can be tucked away in my pocket now. Youth licenses are being sold and many businesses are sponsoring the youth license as a public support for youth fishing.

This reminded me that the Mentored Youth Fishing Day has been pushed back until May 10th across the state.

Weather was the culprit and the date was changed so that it would be warmer and more families could attend.

Good luck with all the competing interests for kids on a weekend in May!

A nationwide interest has been initiated by the Pa Game Commission with their live streaming the nesting efforts of Bald Eagles in Pittsburgh.

The eagles have three eggs in a nest on the Monongahela River and with the help of cameras we have been able to see two hatch so far with the third not far behind.

What a wonderful success story with the recovery of our national bird. Get on the PGC website and follow the progress of these eaglets on your own! Butler County has become one of the sites that Eagles have had success in nesting and raising their young.

I have often seen the eagles at Moraine State Park and near the Glades at Moniteau High School.

Although the county had a good number of black bears harvested in the 2013 bear hunting season we apparently didn’t get them all in hunting season.

I’ve had three calls from neighbors who have had bear sightings in the general area.

Two were single bears on the roam and one was just a set of tracks in their woodlot behind their home.

That one is the one that I would keep an eye on, it was a large track and a small track side by side. I’m thinking that it may be a mother sow bear and her cub, a combination that should be avoided.

A mother bear is highly protective of her cub and should never be approached or feel threatened.

Absolutely do not get between the cub and the mother!

It is well documented that this is the time when people are most likely going to be attacked.

This weekend marks the 51st Anniversary Banquet of the Northern Butler County H-T-E Instructors at the Butler City Hunting & Fishing Club.

These men and women deserve a great deal of credit for the fine volunteer work they provide for youth and first time hunters in Butler County.

They also support the Hunt of a Life Time program for ill children and the Butler County Youth Field Days Program for all county youth.

For more information about the programs or to make a donation in support of them contact your local WCO’s or any of the PA Game Commission Offices.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.