Blogfinger

Matt Gonzales of the OG Fishing Club gives advice to Nicole Falcone, 11.

Story and photos by Mary Walton

James Leather measured the fish. Al Dawson weighed them. And Jane Killilea photographed them for posterity. Other volunteers from the Ocean Grove Fishing Club handed out fishing rods, helped attach bait, untangled the lines and gave pointers.

Scott’s Bait & Tackle in Bradley Beach donated the bait (squid).  Nagle’s supplied the ice cream that Bob Killilea handed out to the kids at the end.

Oh, yes, the kids. Their job was to catch the fish. Filled with hope, 40 or so youngsters cast their lines in the ocean Tuesday morning.  Four lucky ones reeled in flailing flounders.

That’s how it went on opening day of the Fishing Club’s Youth Program.  From now until the end of August, on Tuesdays from 7:30 a.m to 10 a.m., the Fishing Club will open the doors of its headquarters at the end of the Ocean Grove pier to any child between the ages of 8 and 14. Each child who catches a fish receives a certificate (suitable for framing), a photograph and a one-dollar bill.  At the end of the season, the kids who landed the three largest fish receive additional prizes. Last year the prize for the top winner was a fishing rod.

Zac Keating with his fish

“It’s really neat to see the kids the first time they catch a fish,” said Jane Killilea, a member of the fishing club for eight years.  “They are so excited.” Because of a back injury she is unable to fish. “But at least I can take a picture of the kids. When I was a kid growing up in the Bronx there were all kinds of things for the kids to do.  But you don’t see that much anymore that’s for free.”  She noted that any child is welcome, not just ones from Ocean Grove.

A two-time winner, Adam Ruggiero, 13, has graduated to the role of helper. He couldn’t remember when he first came, but his grandfather, George Macher, could. “It was five years ago. I know because I brought him,” said Macher, a longtime club member. Said Adam, “I like coming with my grandpa and fishing.” His most memorable catch was an extraordinary creature called a stargazer. It was fat, venomous and had top-mounted eyes, hence its name.

Because Tuesday was opening day, the fisherkids left with a bonus gift: bright blue tee shirts with a picture of with the pier stenciled on the back and the program’s logo (two fish) on the front.

Even the fish were happy on this opening day. Because none was large enough to keep—they have to be over 18 inches long–all were tagged and sent back to the watery depths to swim another day.

Jack Belmas (right) and his friend Spencer Heuges model their Fishing Club tee-shirts, as Jack displays the fancy certificate he received for catching a fish.