Thousands enjoy the reel thing at fishing clinic

After hours of waiting, Jerry LeClaire reeled in his third trout — a 1-pound, 15-inch fish — and held it out to show his 5-year-old grandson Ethan Jacobs, who had been jumping up and down.

“Me and my childhood friends liked fishing so much that we called ourselves the Levittown Anglers,” said LeClaire, 53, of Bay Shore. “I’ve been fishing since I was 10 and now I’m happy to share this with my grandson. We just had no idea we were going to do so well.”

LeClaire and his grandson were among the 2,400 people to fish during the annual Spring Family Freshwater Fishing Clinic at Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon on Saturday.

The state-run clinic offered loaner fishing rods and bait, along with fishing instruction, help cleaning fish, environmental exhibits, an inflatable slide, temporary tattoos and a children's casting contest.

Chart Guthrie, regional fisheries manager for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said the fishing clinic has been held since the early 1990s.

"It's a way to kick off trout fishing season and introduce first-timers and families to fishing," said Guthrie, of Calverton. "And hopefully this will lure families to come back."

Guthrie said that prior to the event, Belmont Lake was stocked with nearly 4,000 trout by the DEC and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The Seaford Knights of Columbus hosted a casting contest, awarding children with prizes such as fishing rods, bobbers, hooks and card games for hooking plastic fish.

Yesenia Mudry, 8, of Huntington Station, helped her niece Frances Mudry, 3, hold onto the kiddie fishing pool, cast the line and catch their first plastic orange fish.

"I really like to fish, but we’re playing this game first," Yesenia Mudry said. "Last year, I caught a [9-inch] trout. It was so big.”

Paul Greisofe, 37, of North Babylon, and his 7-year-old son Justin waited patiently for their first bite on the fishing line, with no luck. But they weren’t giving up.

“We usually go saltwater fishing out of Fire Island Inlet, but this was a chance to get outside and fish close to home and we’re not stuck on a boat either,” Greisofe said. “This is a good introduction to fishing for the kids.”

Amy Kleiber’s family also waited for their first bite halfway into the clinic, which ended at 4 p.m., but were content relaxing in their chairs, enjoying the breeze rolling off the lake.

“My husband loves to fish and we barely get out to do that, so we decided to bring our daughters here to learn how to fish,” said Kleiber, 37, of Deer Park. “This gives us a reason to get outside, spend time together and enjoy some good weather for a change.”