SPRING LAKE — Sixty-eight children between the ages of 4 and 10 competed in the 24th annual Spring Lake Children’s Fishing Derby on June 9. The event was sponsored cooperatively by the Yell County Wildlife Federation, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Forest Service.
Three hundred pounds of channel catfish were stocked by the commission in a netted cove at the west side of Spring Lake.
The Yell County Dive Team netted off the cove, and members of the Yell County Wildlife Federation provided a hot-dog lunch following the competition.Employees from the Arkansas Forestry Commission cleaned the fish for the children.
Age-group winners received trophies, plus prizes. First-place winners in each age group received a bicycle. A random prize drawing was held for children not catching a winning stringer or fish. All children went home with a prize.
The smallest fish was caught by Koby Burgess of Danville. The first to catch a fish was Briar Howard of Paris. The tagged fish was not caught. Casting contest winners were Angel Richardson for the 4-6 age group; Sage Craig for the 7-8 age group; and Aaron Phillips for the 9-10 age group.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 60 on 06/21/2012