A free fishing clinic that has been reeling in families to Prospect Park for years has expanded this summer. As NY1's Roger Clark found out, you don't have to catch a fish in order to enjoy the experience.

Not a bad way to start the day, waiting for the fish to bite in the lake at Prospect Park. Averill Wickland of the Prospect Park Alliance reminded me of one of the keys to fishing.

"Sometimes it can take a long time," said Wickland, Program Coordinator at Prospect Park. "So being patient and enjoying the process."

Which is what Wickland teaches families who come out for catch and release fishing clinics in the park every weekend through July and August. It's part of the Pop-Up Audubon roving nature education program, which has doubled in size thanks to a grant from the Brooke Astor Fund.

"We can offer more to kids out in the park," said Sue Donoghue, President of Prospect Park Alliance. "The programs are free for kids up to 15 years old, and all different ways to be out and experiencing nature."

And there is nature, even in the heart of Brooklyn, creatures like turtles and birds like a Heron. The program is called Audubon pop-up after all.

"We have binoculars at the table," said Wickland. "We always do a bird walk, we count the birds that we see and we report that data."

There wouldn't be much to report about my fishing here. I tried a bamboo pole with a worm for bait, and then a rod and reel. But I have no fish tale. I didn't even get a nibble.

Actually catching a fish would be great, but just getting folks outdoors is the program's real mission.

"Learning about not only fishing but also about aquatic ecology, all the things that are going on in this park," said Donoghue.

"Enjoying the environment is the first step in conserving and promoting stewardship and this is a way to get that started young," said Wickland.

That being said, I really wanted to catch a fish. But the fish weren't hungry or something. Probably some scientific reason behind this. Right Averill?   

"So far this year we have been really successful where every session we have caught at least one fish," said Wickland. "So you might have brought some bad luck with you today."

To find out more about Pop-Up Audubon at Prospect Park, just head to prospectpark.org. And by the way, I finally did catch one. Sort of.