It might be the best-kept secret in the state. And you can check it out at the public library; that is, the public libraries in Coventry, Lincoln and Scituate –– just in time for fishing season.

Tucked in among the stacks of books are cabinets stuffed with fishing equipment: rods, reels, tackle boxes, hooks, lures, sinkers and floats. If you fancy taking a youngster or two out for a leisurely day of fishing without an outlay of money to get started, here’s your chance.

All you need is a library card.

Three branches in the Cooperating Libraries Automated Network, CLAN, allow patrons to borrow a full complement of fishing equipment.

The Coventry Public Library has 15 poles and tackle boxes for patrons to borrow for a week at a time. There are no immediate renewals to give as many people as possible a chance to use the poles. And if they’re returned late, the circulation desk will charge the same late fee as a book –– 10 cents a day.

The fishing equipment is available year-round, but it’s during the month of May, with spring trout season at its peak and summer just around the corner, that interest begins to surface in borrowing the colorful poles and ready-packed tackle boxes, according to Lynn Blanchette, Coventry library director.

“They get used by parents and grandparents whose kids want to try the sport, but don’t want to invest the money in equipment,” Blanchette says. Boy Scout troops have also come in to check out the rods and reels. The equipment is provided by The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, a nonprofit group based on Arnold Road, in Coventry. The organization is dedicated to sharing fishing techniques, fostering marine conservation and educating young and old about the joys of fishing, primarily through school programs and public seminars.

There are 6,300 members, mainly amateur fishermen, around the state with affiliate members in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Anglers Association has a foundation, endowed to help fund community and marine fishery projects, and it also buys, or members donate, the fishing equipment available for loan at the libraries and will replace and repair it as needed.

All the group asks is that the poles and tackle boxes be returned, hopefully in the same condition they were when they were borrowed, Edward Kearney, chairman of the Anglers’ library-loan committee, says.

“Kids will be kids. [A fishing line] gets tangled and it has knots in it,” Kearney said. “In Coventry, they will see that if the gear is in need [of repair], they will call us and I’ll come by and replace it.”

The library lending program has been in place for a decade, according to Kearney. But the fishing equipment is checked out less often these days, as interest in hunting and fishing is declining nationally. Also, Kearney says, fishing equipment is more affordable these days so more people can buy their own. . At one time it would easily cost $100 or more to acquire a basic fishing outfit and gear. Now with all the discount bait-and-tackle shops, it’s more reasonable, Kearney said.

Libraries in many communities were not interested in the program, said Kearney, who tried to spark more interest when he took over the loan program. He said many librarians were worried that the tackle boxes would come back filled with worms or smelly fish. Most libraries that declined to participate had been concerned about liability issues, such as having a borrower get injured by a hook, he said.

But librarians in Coventry, North Scituate and Lincoln –– and the Anglers –– are hoping that when the secret gets out, the fishing poles and tackle boxes will circulate briskly again, and a new generation will experience the joys of a quiet day spent by a stream.

lsparks@projo.com