By Mike Roche

Mark June 7 on your calendar for a really fun event in Athol. Everyone is invited to Silver Lake in Athol for a free day of fun. There are many beautiful lakes, rivers and ponds in town and the focus this year is Silver Lake.

This free event will include many activities for the family, such as guided walks with the Athol Bird and Nature Club, fishing instruction from members of Millers River Trout Unlimited and fishing guide Allan Butler. There will also be pickleball clinics, food trucks and many more fun activities. At the site there will be numerous booths to check out, including the history of Silver Lake. Hands-on fly tying instruction by experts will a great chance to learn about that popular hobby. The event will run from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Included in the booths will be History of Silver Lake with Bernie Brouillet, fly tying and information provided by the Millers River chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the popular hobby of magnet fishing, a search for treasures that lie beneath the waters. Magnet fishing kits will be available to sign out while supplies last, and if you are lucky enough to find the right “prize” you get to keep the complete kit. There also will be nature scavenger hunts for kids and adults.

Events for the day will include a number sponsored by the Athol Bird and Nature Club. They will start at 7:30 a.m. with an early morning guided bird walk with John Skinner. At 10 a.m. there will be an aquatic invertebrate workshop with Cathy Cszal, an aquatic entomologist. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. there will be “Fishing for Beginners” with Mass Wildlife, and fishing guide Allan Butler will show how to set up your rod, tie knots, cast and identify fish.

Everything is family-friendly and open to all skill levels. You can bring your own fishing equipment or borrow ours and there will be limited gear and bait available. One you do not want to miss is David Small, a leading expert on dragonflies and damselflies, who will share his knowledge at 11 am.

Also, at 11 there will be an ongoing pickleball clinic on the newly resurfaced pickleball court at Silver Lake. Starting at 1 p.m., Millers River Trout Unlimited will provide fly tying demonstrations and lessons on how to cast, catch fish and what to use and when. There will be Fire Department water rescue demonstrations at 1:30 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. dog event where the American Houndsmen will show you their hardworking dogs!

The Fisher Museum of Forestry will conduct a program at 2:30 p.m. where you can learn the importance of trees to all our waters, and the final scheduled events of the day will be a library story book walk and a program on nature journaling by Katrina Walton of the North Central Mass Nature Journal Collaborative at 3 p.m. How is that for a bunch of fun stuff for the whole family, and all free to enjoy?

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Tony Brighenti was always in the middle of anything in Athol that involved connecting people to the outdoors and a passionate supporter of fishing resources. We lost Tony recently, but his impact on the North Quabbin region will be here forever. His work in helping to create the North Worcester Quabbin Anglers and the tremendous advocacy which that group provided for Quabbin and all outdoor sports is a testament to his efforts to make a difference.

His service to Athol as a Selectboard member and heralded career as an Environmental Police Officer are other ways he left his mark, and still found time to chase big brown trout and salmon at Lake Ontario, and his knowledge of the Quabbin fishery was gained by experience trolling that great fishery. He was a special guy!

It will be interesting to see what the numbers say about the recently-completed Massachusetts spring turkey season. This turkey hunter does not like hunting turkeys when it’s rainy and wet, as my friction calls, which are my primary tools, do not like water.

There was a conscious effort on my part to do more trout fishing in May and that did pan out as the Old Town Pack canoe, a small, light, one-man canoe, did get some work. It is light and easy to load and unload and it looks like the best trout fishing conditions will be extended by the high, cool water conditions that this extremely wet month has created. When you read this, hopefully there will be stories of great trout and landlocked salmon caught while fishing at Lakewoods Camp in the Rangeley Maine region!

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.