FALLSBURG – With fishing season in full swing, Eric Akerley, a Delegate of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, has headed up a program that encourages members of the community to freely take part in the healthy outdoor activity. The program, called Lend-a-Pole, has been around for other counties in the state, but “nothing in our neck of the woods,” Akerley said. 

That’s why Akerley wanted to bring it to Silver Lake in the Village of Woodridge and spoke to the Village of Woodridge Mayor, Joan Collins, about doing so. Akerley said that the Mayor was all for the program, leading to the Village and Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County collaborating on the program with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to make it possible. 

Silver Lake is stocked bi-annually, and this program encourages the community to utilize it as it is a totally free opportunity. 

“The fishing poles will be signed out similar to a library book system to anyone who wishes to go fishing in this public lake,” Akerley said. “They can be signed out for one day or one week at a time at the Village of Woodridge Village Hall, and must be returned to the same location during normal business hours.”

Akerley also said that the only stipulations are that you must possess a valid NYS fishing license if you are sixteen years old or older, while minors must have an adult sign out their pole and should be supervised at all times while fishing. While the poles are free, fishers must provide their own bait.