HAYWARD - When high school senior Ethan Constantine approached Sawyer County’s DNR fisheries biologist Max Wolter about ideas for an Eagle Scout project, the two put their heads together and came up with a unique one.
“We developed an idea for ‘Lure Libraries,’” said Wolter. “The concept is like the now-popular ‘Little Free Libraries’ that are in many small towns. I’d seen them for fly fishing, but not for traditional tackle. Ethan came up with the design and built three of them as part of his Eagle Scout project.”
The future Eagle Scout calls Naperville, Ill., home, but his heart – at least his fishing heart – is at his grandparents’ home on Sawyer County’s Whitefish Lake.
“I spent almost all my summers there and love to fish on the lake,” said the 17-year-old senior at Neuqau Valley High School, who’s graduating this spring. “I hope to get up there not long after graduation with my brother and parents.”
Constantine has been a Scout for 10 years and the rank of Eagle Scout is the highest level a Boy Scout can achieve.
“The requirements for becoming an Eagle Scout are to come up with a project or idea, plan it, figure out how to do and see it through to completion,” Constantine said.
Wolter was willing to help Constantine with the project when he realized the potential of the concept spreading to other corners of the state.
“Ethan approached me about a ‘fishing project’ in the Hayward area and by working together, we developed an idea for ‘Lure Libraries,” said Wolter. “The concept is like the popular Little Free Libraries. Little Free Libraries is a ‘take a book, share a book’ free book exchange of many shapes and sizes, but the most common are small, wooden boxes of books often seen on public roads and streets.
“I’d seen these for fly fishing, but not for traditional tackle. Ethan came up with the design and built three of these libraries for his project.”
Constantine’s high school doesn’t have a fishing team as many schools do in northwest Wisconsin, although the school does have an outdoor club. When asked what species he fishes for, crappies and bass came out on top.
“Whitefish Lake has crappies and both largemouth and smallmouth bass. I even caught a walleye last summer off the sandbar in Whitefish Lake,” he said.
“I’m excited about the potential for this project and how it will be received by the community. There’s been donations already; in fact, the materials for the libraries were funded by the Terry Peterson Fishing Foundation, which was started in memory of local fishing guide Terry Peterson. We’d like to encourage anglers to take a lure if they’d like to have it in their collection or leave lures they’re no longer using. Anglers young and old can visit the libraries to borrow a lure for the day, take a lure or leave a lure. We’ve had a few donated already,” said Wolter.
The future Eagle Scout’s Lure Libraries will be located at Shue’s Pond in Hayward, on the Lake Hayward fishing pier and at the Whitefish Lake boat landing. Each of the libraries will have a sign explaining more about the program.
“It would be cool to see these come to life in other places, too,” said angler – and future Eagle Scout – Constantine.
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