Anglers can borrow gear, get bait at Fish and Game fishing trailers

More than a decade ago, in an effort to get people fishing, Idaho Department of Fish and Game began towing trailers to local fishing holes and handing out poles and bait to anyone who didn’t have equipment.

The trailer, embossed with images of the state’s game fish, became a regular early summer site, and it got a name.

These days the department’s Take Me Fishing trailers are loaded with plenty of equipment, and take regularly scheduled trips to area lakes and parks where children and adults can use their contents and get fishing advice and training from the Fish and Game staff members on site.

“It’s an attempt to get people interested in fishing,” Phil Cooper of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said.

There are five trailers in the state in Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Boise and a shared trailer in Pocatello and Twin Falls with the same mission.

“We provide the bait and loan out equipment,” Cooper said.

Each trailer is equipped with 100 rods and reels and coolers full of nightcrawlers.

The trailers can be found at a lot of spring and summer gatherings, including school field trips, and may attend camps or small group events.

Usually they are out and about on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays around the Panhandle.

Any budding angler can show up at a fishing trailer event with a willingness to learn, and have some fun, Fish and Game sportfishing coordinator Martin Koenig said.

“We’re making it really easy to learn how to go fishing, and show people firsthand how fun it can be to catch fish and pursue a lifetime of enjoyment outdoors, not to mention to catch your own dinner,” Koenig said.

The trailer is scheduled to be at Fernan Lake today between 3 and 6 p.m.