As hunting season is upon us, the Youth Mentored Hunt is taking place in Portage la Prairie. Organizer Jim Fisher outlines their activity.

"Since 2000 we've had Mentored Youth Hunt here in the Portage area. And this Thursday and Friday is the opener. We're taking 26 kids out. So we have mentors that can take up to two kids out per mentor. We have a lot of volunteers to take out all these 26 kids. We'll be staying at the Portage Country Club just west of the floodway at the Lakeshore of Lake Manitoba."

He says the hunt takes place over two days.

"So, Thursday we show up at 2:00 p.m. and go through general safety, dominant eye, which shoulder you should be shooting off, and kind of work your way up to shooting shotguns -- simulating essentially what you might see the next morning, whether it's out in the marsh or stubble fields. And the blinds we use in stubble fields, we actually practice shooting out of those."

Fisher says fun activities include duck calling and duck ID, and how to talk to local farmers for permission to hunt. Tomorrow morning at 4:30 a.m. they head out hunting, and hopefully get a few birds. He explains they'll then return and clean the birds, prepare, and cook them, with an invitation to the parents to come and enjoy the special lunch. Fisher adds sometimes it's the first time the kids have ever prepared a lunch like that.

He says it's extremely popular. They're all booked and filled to capacity for sleeping accommodations and the number of mentors they require. Fisher notes MacDonald's Sporting Goods has been great in taking the registry and advertising the hunt. It's the 16th year, and they're now having to turn people away. He says the last four or five years have focused only on Portage and area and a community effort, while others from further away were involved beforehand.

Fisher adds he grew up in Portage and hunted on his own, but had no one interested enough to talk about it with. Now, because of the program, he says youth have met other youth involved and have a great time sharing their experiences.