More than 100 children participated in the Huck Finn Fishing Derby Sunday afternoon at the city pond near the municipal golf course.

    “We ran out of fishing rods and reels before we finished signing up all the kids,” said state wildlife officer Steve Kiefer.  He had brought 98 fishing rods for free distribution.

    Numerous bags containing fishing stuff, booklets and stickers were also passed out to the kids before they fanned out along the shore of the pond to try their luck.

    The Department of Wildlife and State Parks supported the event with their donations. The Boy Scouts was the major organizer and sponsor of the annual event.

    Prize donors included Wal-mart, Duckwall’s and the Las Animas/Bent County Chamber of Commerce, according to Bob Clark.

    Jeremy Neil caught the biggest fish, while Kah’rynn Lewis hooked the smallest.
    Michael Snead, Gavin Burns and Justin Montoya were the top winners in the fish identification contest.

    Winners of the casting contest included Dayton Garcia, Justin Montoya, Geremiah Ramirez, Brenden Garcia and Matthew Marlowe.

    Rishing luck varies for the contestants. Little Madeline Gallagher caught only one fish from the north shore. A little ways to the east Matthew and Patrick Watley caught a total of eight fish during the event.

    When the contest ended for the children, any adults who wanted to try their luck were the next ones to hit the water with their lure and bait.