Armed with bamboo rods and corn bait – and cheered on by Cyclones mascot Sandy the Seagull – a horde of eagle-eyed anglers had big fish to fry as they challenged mettle in the four-day-long Macy’s Fishing Contest at Prospect Park.
Prospect Lake – the borough’s only freshwater lake – morphed into a wharf of dreams as contestants, all 15-years-old and younger, cast their lines in hopes of clinching the most colossal catch, a largemouth bass specially tagged for the grand prize and named R. H. Macy.
Cheering them on were Borough President Marty Markowitz and New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
Brown bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed fish and other gilled beauties tested their slippery wiles against the wits of budding fisher-boys and girls, who displayed patience and skill as they embarked upon the 61st annual aquatic spectacle.
A free, pre-contest workshop, conducted by the Urban Park Rangers in conjunction with the Prospect Park Alliance, acquainted entrants with the ins and outs of angling and aquatic ecology, plus fishing equipment.
After measured and recorded, all catches were released back into the lake.
A rod, reel and tackle box were awarded daily to anglers who caught the longest, and most, fish, and the lucky grand prize winner – reigning champ 15-year-old Kevin Khan of Queens – won a family fishing trip.