Pictured from left to right are winners in the 2019 Pennington County Sportsmen Club Youth Fishing Derby: winner Gavin Klemmetson, 29 ounces; Erica Pasch, third place, 23.5 ounces; Jake Paulson, fourth place, 23 ounces; Channing Dally, fifth place, 21.5 ouncs; Rease Stratton, sixth place, 16 ounces; Reid Stavenes with father Perry Stavenes, 15.5 ounces; Aleena Anderson, eighth place, 12 ounces; Seth Deserly, ninth place tie, 11.5 ounces; and SunniMae Stratton, ninth place tie, 11.5 ounces. The only fish eligible to keep in the derby were Northern Pike. Not pictured is runner-up Aiden Kormick, second.

Gavin Klemmetson reeled in the two biggest fish of the day en route to winning the Fourth Annual Pennington County Sportsmen Club Youth Fishing Derby.

Klemmetson weighed in a 29 ounce fish to win the Northern Pike-only event. He added a second pike that weighed in at 27.5 ounces that would have been good enough for second on the day.

Aiden Kormick weighed in a total of four fish, with his top pike weighing in at 24.5 ounces to take second place.

Erica Pasch had three Northerns on her stinger at weigh-ins, with the biggest checking in at 23.5 ounces to take third.

Jake Paulson only weighed in one fish, but he made it count, taking fourth with a 23 ounce pike.

Rounding out the top-10 were: fifth place Channing Dally, 21.5 ounces; sixth place Rease Stratton, 16 ounces; seventh place Reid Stavenes, 15.5 ounces; eighth place Aleena Anderson, 12 ounces; and Seth Deserly and SunniMae Stratton, who tied for 10th with identical 11.5-ounce Northerns.

Deserly won the 2018 derby with a six-pound Northern.

The Northern Pike-only finisher derby was held on the Red Lake and Thief Rivers in and around Thief River Falls, with registration, lunch, fishing related demonstrations and awarding of prizes being held at Centennial Park, Thief River Falls.

The event was open to youth 17 years of age and under and the only fish that were eligible for the weigh-in were Northern Pike, with a limit of three per fisherman. All DNR regulations applied.

A total of 35 youth anglers participated in the event this year. That total is up from 24 in 2018 and but well short of the total of 71 that participated in 2017.

The top 10 anglers each took home a rod and reel combo, and all participants were entered into a drawing for fishing gear, including tackle boxes and minnow buckets.

Event sponsors include Sjoberg’s Cable TV, Phillips Iron and Metal, American Legion Post 117, L&M Fleet Supply, Erl’s Market, Scheels Sports, Altra Care, West Wind Resort on Upper Red Lake, Hardware Hank of Thief River Falls, Northland Tackle Co., and the Pennington County Sportsmen Club.