Local youngsters can get a free fishing pole, a free lunch and other free stuff during the annual Youth Fishing Derby on Saturday, June 20.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fishing ponds at the far east end of Riverside Park. Parking is available on the hill above the ponds, and can be accessed by taking Barlow Road north under Interstate 76 until the fork and bearing left up the hill.

The event is sponsored by the Fort Morgan Recreation Department, the local Sunrise Optimist Club, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Wal-Mart.

The event is for children age 12 and under, and there will be a contest for those who want to dress up like Huck Finn or Becky Thatcher, with the winners eligible for a brand-new bicycle.

The youngsters will be given instruction in a fishing clinic that will begin at 9 a.m. and last about an hour. The children will be given free fishing poles by the DOW, which they get to keep, and go down to the ponds to fish. Gift bags that include some fishing tackle, a Colorado fishing map, coloring books, fish ID cards, regulations and information on fundamentals of fishing will also be given away.

The ponds will be stocked with trout on the day before the event, and the ponds will be closed to fishing access on Friday, June 19, so the newly stocked fish will settle in, said City Recreation Coordinator Brad Weese.

Weese said the sponsors appreciate the work of the numerous volunteers who make the fun youth event possible.