Most anglers relish trout season after the long winter months, but the season holds special meaning for a group of students in Butler County.

When fishermen take to the local streams, students in the Butler Junior High School Trout Fishing Club know they have played a role in beautifying the view and protecting the environment.

The club is not only designed to indulge students in their common love of fishing, but also aims to foster a keen sense of environment.

In addition to their semimonthly meetings, which focus on fishing instruction, club members take part in service projects to clean up the banks of local streams.

"That's one of the biggest things we do," said science teacher Dave Andrews, one of the club's advisers. "We really stress the importance of keeping the streams clean."

In fact, students who want to join the trout club must make a commitment to the service aspect to be accepted.

Science teacher Chris Popovich is the club's co-adviser.

"Not everyone can just join," Andrews said of the 33-member club. "They have to fill out an application to get in. It's not just that we're going to take you fishing. It's not just a fishing club, it's everything. We are trying to stress to them that if they want the rewards, they have to go out and do the work.

"If we go and clean a stream, then they go out and fish it later and they see what a difference it is."

Among those who have helped make a difference are two-year club members Ben Smith and Nathan Wulff, both of Butler.

"You go out, it's like a social event, but you're helping the community, too," said Smith. "It's amazing what you pick up out of a small area. ... It was enjoyable to know that you did something worthwhile."

"They are actually kind of fun," Wulff said of the stream cleanups. "You find all the weird stuff people put in the creek. You don't like all that garbage that people put in the creek, but it's fun seeing all the stuff."

The club is geared to helping anglers of all experience levels."We have kids that have never picked up a fishing rod, and some that fish three nights a week year-round," Andrews said. "There are all kinds of different tastes there. We don't limit it to one particular thing."But membership in the club which was formed in 1999, isn't all work. In addition to meetings and cleanups, the students also have the opportunity to fish together.One such outing was Tuesday morning in nearby Connoquenessing Creek.Smith said he caught one of the two fish hauled in that morning - an 11-inch brook trout.Several club members also took part recently in a daylong trip to Clear Creek State Park in Jefferson County and the Allegheny National Forest area. The annual excursion, conducted on a school day as a field trip, is offered to reward those students who have helped out with the club's cleanup days during the year."It was great," said Wulff, who was one of the five students who earned the trip. "I caught a brook trout and had a lot of fun."We had real good weather. It was a little chilly in the morning, but it warmed up."Students toured a trout nursery and helped in a Fish Commission stocking. They also fished in several streams in the area.Between the two advisers and five students, the group ended up catching between 65 and 70 trout."We had a pretty good day," Andrews said. "The kids kept some of their trout, but I was catching and releasing that day. They had a blast."Although opportunities for local trout fishing abound, Andrews said the trip to northern counties gives the students a taste of fishing in different types of waterways in more pristine and natural surroundings."It gives the kids a different setting. A lot of the streams around here are mud-bottomed," Andrews said, "and there are a lot of houses around."The club's popularity creates a bit of a problem for students moving into high school. "A lot of our students have been asking for (the club) when they go to the higher grades," Andrews said."I will really miss the club," Wulff said. "There's nothing like getting out of school to go fishing ... and learning about fishing and how to get better at it."