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Little Warriors battle to land biggest trout

Little Warrior Marion, 10, gets the line on his fishing pole fixed by his dad, Damen, during the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day at Pow Wow Park Saturday. The members of the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron arranged for the pond to be stocked with 200 rainbow trout June 15 and more than 100 people attended the family day event. Prizes were awarded for the biggest catches of the day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Marion, 10, gets the line on his fishing pole fixed by his dad, Damen, during the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day at Pow Wow Park Saturday. The members of the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron arranged for the pond to be stocked with 200 rainbow trout June 15 and more than 100 people attended the family day event. Prizes were awarded for the biggest catches of the day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Morgan, 9, catches her first fish of the day at the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Morgan, 9, catches her first fish of the day at the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Don Delorme, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron solid waste program manager, and event volunteers, weigh the first catch of the day at the 2nd Annual Kids Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. The trout weighed a quarter pound and went to Little Warrior Kaitlyn, 5.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Don Delorme, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron solid waste program manager, and event volunteers, weigh the first catch of the day at the 2nd Annual Kids Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. The trout weighed a quarter pound and went to Little Warrior Kaitlyn, 5. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Kaitlyn, 5, gets assistance from her dad, Jeff, after catching the first fish at the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day event Saturday at Pow Wow Park. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Kaitlyn, 5, gets assistance from her dad, Jeff, after catching the first fish at the 2nd Annual Kid’s Fishing Day event Saturday at Pow Wow Park. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Jakob, 8, gets a helping hand from his grandfather to get his hook out of a trout duirng the 2nd Annual Kid's Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. It was Jakob’s first catch of the day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

Little Warrior Jakob, 8, gets a helping hand from his grandfather to get his hook out of a trout duirng the 2nd Annual Kid's Fishing Day Saturday at Pow Wow Park. It was Jakob’s first catch of the day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Eydie Sakura)

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- The bright sunshine glimmered off the water while roughly 30 bobbers skimmed the surface of the pond at Pow Wow Park Saturday. 

Children anxiously cast their lines out to catch the biggest fish of the day during the 2nd Annual Kid's Fishing Day, where more than 100 people spent the morning fishing for rainbow trout and the grand prize - a fully-stocked tackle box. 

"The event gets all members of the base involved and it's a lot of family fun," said 2nd Lt. Chrystal Brown, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron natural resources manager and event organizer. "We had the pond stocked with 200 rainbow trout in various sizes; 50 are guaranteed to be in the 6- to 8- pound range." 

The first catch of the day was from Little Warrior Kaitlyn, 5, who caught a half-pound trout.
"I started fishing when I was 3," Kaitlyn said, "I like fishing because I catch fish." 

Little Warrior Morgan, 9, said she attended the event last year and was eager to catch more fish this year. 

"I like fishing because I get to hang out with my mom and dad," Morgan said.
Later that morning, Morgan caught a quarter-pound trout that her dad gingerly released back into the pond. 

Lieutenant Brown said her team has been renovating the pond for years to make it a self-sustaining habitat. That means they will no longer have to get their fish from the local fish hatcheries. 

The fishpond is stocked annually with more than 700 rainbow trout and next year they will introduce brown trout. 

Fishing for the biggest trout was first and foremost on the minds of all anglers who attended the event. However, Little Warrior Marion, 10, a second-time derby participant, said all he caught, so far, was a piece of wood. 

This year's fishing derby winners are:
1st place: Little Warrior Stephen, 3 1/2 pounds
2nd place: Little Warrior Ashleigh, 2 pounds
3rd place: Little Warrior Brandy, 1 3/4 pounds
4th place: Little Warrior Cody, 1 pound
5th place: Three-way tie at 3/4 pound
Little Warrior Tyler
Little Warrior Jakob
Little Warrior Migel 

First and second place winners received a fully-stocked tackle box, while third, fourth and fifth place winners got a choice of child's fishing pole or small assortment of fishing tackle. Prizes were courtesy of the 341st Services Squadron.
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