John Glennon Young anglers fish from a covered bridge near the Simmsbury, Conn., public library during the May 1999 fishing season kickoff hosted by the library's Fishing Tackle Loaner Program site. The site, now two years in operation, was organized by Bert Kaplan of ASA member company Kaplan Associates. Getting started Starting a fishing tackle loaner site is easy. All the site operator must do is to place entry-level fishing equipment in a location accessible to the public, and establish a method for recording who borrows the equipment. Instead, you set up your loaner site to best fit local resources and abilities.
Partners can be a wonderful asset in the operation of a successful loaner site.
Groups such as Rotary, Jaycees, recreation centers and others are focused on serving youth. Approach them to be a partner as they often have the manpower, resources and promotional capabilities to really make a loaner site successful. To these groups, fishing and youth is an appealing combination. We estimate that about 60 percent of the 550 sites nationally are supported in one way or another by a non-profit partner. To help you get started, ASA's Fishing Tackle Loaner Program offers a free booklet that explains the loaner concept in detail and provides helpful start-up hints.