One of my favorite events of the year is just around the corner.
The West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s annual Marine Yard Sale features lots of affordable gems — used rod and reel combos, old lures, anchors, outboard motors, propellers, electronics, clothing, books, fishing line, mooring lines, fly-fishing tackle and even camping gear — generally, the sorts of things your wife would rather you didn’t bring home.
There are usually used coolers and 55-gallon drums filled with used fishing rods, some of them vintage models.
Actually, I’ve found some great bargains there over the years and have donated unwanted treasures from my garage for the yard sale.
The Marine Yard Sale will be held from 7 a.m. until noon that Saturday (April 14) at the fishing club’s historic headquarters at Fifth Street and Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach.
Get there early if you’re in the market for something specific. A line usually forms along the sidewalk before the yard sale opens.
Just for the record, I’m not promoting a commercial venture here.
Proceeds from the Marine Yard Sale benefit the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation, the charitable arm of the fishing club.
When I buy something at the yard sale, it supports events such as the annual Kids Fishing Day in August, when kids from throughout Palm Beach County, some of whom have never been on a boat, get to learn fishing skills and take a drift fishing trip on the Lady K.
It also supports other community initiatives of the fishing club such as the Rods and Reels for Kids program, marine biology scholarships, artificial reefs and other habitat-enhancing projects.
So when I go to the yard sale, I can buy with peace of mind, realizing that I’m helping to support good causes and not just spending the grocery money on fishing tackle.
The club also takes tax-deductible donations of boating, diving and fishing-related gear before the yard sale.
For more information, call the West Palm Beach Fishing Club at (561) 832-6780 or go to www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org
