State park program provides visitors with fishing gear

By Special

For the AJC

By Jimmy Jacobs

For the AJC

The long July Fourth weekend is at hand and a lot of Georgians have vacation time on their hands. Present economic conditions, however, are keeping many of us closer to home, which makes our state parks and historic sites appealing weekend destinations. At least one of those facilities is within an hour's drive, regardless of where you live in the state.

A large percentage of the parks and historic sites offer fishing opportunities and the angling in a number of those locations is made easier by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The Fishing Tackle Loaner Program is a joint venture of the DNR's Wildlife Resources Division and the Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division. The WRD provides the parks with angling gear that visitors can borrow on a daily basis.

The program is open to first-timers wanting to try the sport before purchasing equipment, but experienced anglers who don't have their tackle with them also can obtain gear for the day. Rods, reels and basic tackle box equipment are provided. The fishing tackle can be checked out at the park offices, just like a book from a library. Anglers 16 years and older need a fishing license to take advantage of the opportunity and all anglers must provide their own bait.

Participating parks and historic sites are spread around the state. Various ones provide access to small lakes, major reservoirs and stream fishing.

Crooked River State Park and Fort McAllister Historic Park on the Georgia coast offer the program and provide saltwater fishing options. Red Top Mountain State Park on Allatoona Lake is the closest participating facility to Atlanta.

For a complete list of parks and historic sites offering the program, go to gadnr.org. Follow the prompts through Recreation, Freshwater Fishing and Angler Resources to reach the link for the Fishing Tackle Loaner Program.

Jimmy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Sportsman magazine. He can be contacted at jimmy.jacobs@imoutdoors.com.

Numbers:

$5 Cost of a daily ParkPass for parking at Georgia state parks and historic sites.

25 Number of parks and historic sites participating in the Fishing Tackle Loaner Program.

$50 Cost of an annual ParkPass covering all 64 state parks and historic sites.