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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (May 26, 2011) – Cumberland County residents who want to cast a line in Glenville Lake but don’t have the necessary equipment can now fish without owning a rod and reel, thanks to a new partnership between the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation.
Glenville Lake, which is located in Mazarick Park, recently joined the Commission’s Tackle Loaner Program, which provides loaner rods and reels free of charge to anglers of all ages, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The program works like a library. Anglers register at the park office, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to receive a tackle-loaner identification card that lets them check out one of 20 rod and reels for the day. While the program is geared toward children under 16, anyone interested in fishing can participate. Anglers under 16 must have a parent or guardian complete the registration form.
After returning the loaner rod and reel to the park office, first-time participants under 16 receive a free mini-tackle box containing jigs, a small spinnerbait, hooks, bobbers, sinkers and a stringer. Anglers can use the tackle loaner identification cards at any Tackle Loaner Program site in North Carolina, but they must return the rods and reels to the original loaner site.
Glenville Lake offers good fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill, according to Park Ranger Gavin Shuey. Anglers can access the lake from rented johnboats ($2/hour) or they can fish off a universally accessible pier, which the Commission helped the park build in 2009.
“The park is open from 7 a.m. until dusk seven days a week, but a park ranger is on duty in the park Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” Shuey said. “Those weekday times are when we’re available for tackle loaner sign-ups, fishing instructions and programs.”
In addition to the pier, Mazarick Park, which is located at 1400 Belvedere Ave., offers restrooms, trails, picnic tables and shelters.
The Commission works with more than 40 Tackle Loaner Program sites throughout the state. For more information on the Commission’s Tackle Loaner Program or fishing in public, inland waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing.