Their smiles were particularly sunny, considering we met under a sky heavy with low-flying clouds.

But fishing was in the air when I shook hands with Leo Wilkes and Eddie McNicol at 6:30 a.m. Sunday near the boat ramp at Kennedy Campground on the banks of the Ohio River in Newell, W.Va. I had volunteered to coach for Harry Emmerling’s Student Fishing League, which provides teenagers with opportunities to learn about bass fishing.

Eddie and Leo, freshmen at Beaver Local High School, wore ear-to-ear grins as they boarded the Bass Cat and prepped to go fishing on the Ohio River. They were assigned to my boat for the third and final qualifier of the SFL’s bass tournament schedule.

At 56 years their senior, I worried I might be more like a grandfather than a fishing coach for the energetic teens. But we clicked early on and after a five-mile race to our first stop of the morning near the confluence of Little Beaver Creek with the Ohio, the young anglers quickly picked up on the techniques that would prove to be productive in their efforts to catch river smallmouths.

As their coach for the day, my role was to put them on productive water, recommend lures, suggest techniques, assist in boating fish and, of course, get them back to the dock safely for the afternoon weigh-in.

In essence, I could do anything other than actually cast and catch. That’s a tough ask for a guy who loves fishing as much as I do. But I quickly forgot about picking up a rod as Leo and Eddie set the tone on the boat.

While the SFL anglers compete as individuals, Eddie and Leo cheered for each other. That they are buddies became clear as they offered tips and trash-talked like angling pals who’d shared years of boat time. They fished hard, with the focus of veteran anglers (but I was reminded they are teenagers by their frequent phone checks for news from their friends).

We were barely 15 minutes into the morning when Leo set the hook on a spunky smallie that darted and leaped as he reeled it to the boat. He dutifully measured the length of his fish, determined it was short of the 12-inch line and tossed it back into the river.

The young anglers caught dozens of bass, measured and released all but three of them, and bantered back and forth with each other about who was a better angler and other matters important to teen boys.

Leo boated a couple of walleyes and saugers along with a 15-inch smallmouth. Eddie sacked two keeper smallies as well as a 19-inch walleye, 14-inch crappie, a sauger, rock bass, white bass and a hefty sheepshead that nearly netted him the “odd fish” prize in the SFL tourney.

Both teens are fine examples of the young people who over the past decade have joined the Student Fishing League to learn about fishing, competition and sportsmanship. They fish in tournament jerseys sporting their school colors and the logos of sponsors who provide money and product to enrich the experience for the anglers. They compete in two divisions: high school and middle school, and take their sport as seriously as long-time tournament pros.

Sunday was the fourth time I’ve volunteered to coach the kids and, as always happens, I was impressed by their enthusiasm, determination and overall fish sense.

Kids will be kids, of course, and as the day advanced, I turned toward the back deck and spied Eddie and Leo huddled over the livewell. The “coach” in me admonished them that they needed to focus on fishing, with time left on the clock and both students still short of their limit.

“What’s going on back there?” I asked. “You guys need to be fishing.”

Eddie responded, “Mom wants pictures.”

It hit me then. They were fishing for the win and to qualify for the SFL championship, but first things first. They wanted to make Mom happy,

A lesson here is let’s not worry about today’s young people – at least those who are members of the Student Fishing League. They are growing up properly and have their priorities in order.

Thank you, Leo and Eddie. Sunday was one of the best fishing days of my life – and I never made even one cast.

Jack Wollitz is the author of more than 1,800 newspaper columns, 300 magazine features and a book, “The Common Angler,” published in 2021. Email Jack at jackbbaass@gmail.com.