LOGAN — By now, most of us have probably heard of “blessing boxes” — those outdoor, publicly-located cabinets in which people can leave donated food and other items to help community members in need. Along the same lines are the little free libraries, which provide free books for the taking or borrowing.
Now a Circleville–based non-profit organization has taken this concept and applied it to fishing gear. For the last three years, the Lending Tackle Box Inc. has been setting up small stations in state parks and metroparks across Ohio, from which someone who wants to drop a line in the water but lacks a rod and reel, lures, bobbers or other angling what-not, can borrow whatever tackle they need.
On Saturday the group, accompanied by representatives of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, was at Lake Logan to cut the ribbon on their newest lending tackle box. The Lake Logan box was dedicated to the memory of Lt. Andy Nunley, a firefighter with Fairfield Countys Bloom Township Fire Department who died in 2022. The job of wielding the giant scissors to snip the ceremonial ribbon went to Nunley’s son Hank.
“This box is our 14th box,” explained Kimberly Taylor, founder of Lending TackleBox. “And the fire department reached out to us and said, ‘We want to honor Andy, and how can we do that?’ And they wanted to do it with a lending tackle box because he fished this lake. He enjoyed fishing and brought his kids and his family here. So they reached out to us, and we started working on it this winter. And this is our first box for the season, so this is our season opener. And we’ve got three more already on the books. Berlin Lake (in northeast Ohio) is in three weeks, and then Buckeye Lake is actually on Mother’s Day.”
Taylor said each of the lending tackle boxes is open at all times from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The box itself is “basically an industrial locker that is made to be water-resistant,” and tall enough to hold a fishing pole. On Saturday the one at Lake Logan was already stocked with a small collection of gear, including tackle bags with a bobber, hook and a couple of lures. Sponsoring organizations check on the boxes periodically, collecting and storing donated gear and restocking the boxes as needed. “We try to keep like four or five poles in there,”Taylor said.
She noted that anyone between the ages of 16 and 65 needs a state license to fish, but the lending tackle box has that covered as well; each locker sports a QR code that can be scanned to allow you to get a one-day license from ODNR via your cell phone.
The notion behind the lending tackle boxes clearly makes sense to a lot of people. When one is set up, Taylor said, typically “within the first 24 hours we’ll have a donation in that box,” from people that come to the lake, see the box, think it’s a neat idea, and toss in an extra bobber or lure from their own gear.
In addition to the Bloom Township Fire Department, Taylor sent out thanks to ODNR, which she aid has been a strong supporter of the organization, which this year has provided grants as well as some 1,500 bobbers.
Taylor said Saturday’s dedication was a great example of what her organization is all about. “We’re pretty excited about this,” she said. “It hits all our points — organizations are involved, it honors someone here at the lake, and it gives back to the people who come here.”
To learn more, visit https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-tackle-box, or https://www.facebook.com/thelendingtacklebox.
Email at jphillips@logandaily.com
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