“Gabriel Shelly (left) shows off his first catch of the day as his father, Lanny, holds his pole and line at the Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club Kids Fishing Derby last Saturday.Matt Johnson / staff photoGathered around South Whidbey’s smallest but most well-stocked fishing hole last Saturday morning, more than 150 young people ages infant through 14 cast their little lines and hooks into the water in hopes of catching a fish large enough to win a bike.First cast for the annual Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club Kids Fishing Derby was at 9 a.m. at Freeland’s Lake Albert. It was a bright, sunny morning and the fish were ready to bite. A little girl hooked the first fish no more than 15 seconds after they were given the go signal, and from then on trout and bass jumped at every baited hook that went into the water.Al Puls, the derby’s organizer, said one boy hit his limit of five fish within a half hour.Even though that young fisher and many others finished early, Puls said there were enough hot dogs, pop, and special prizes to keep the kids smiling well into the afternoon.It’s really a big party, he said. Prizes went to kids who reeled in the biggest fish of the day and who caught one of several dozen fish marked with red tags. Three-year-old Gideon Shelly caught the first tagged fish of the day and received a complete child’s fishing outfit for his lucky cast. His mother, Teresa, said she and her husband brought Gideon and his brother, Gabriel, to the derby last year, but neither one caught a fish. She said she told Gabriel to pray that his brother would catch a fish this year.The most coveted prizes at the derby were the dozen bikes the Rod and Gun Club purchased for the event. Chandler Carlson, 5, took home a bike for catching the biggest trout of the day, a 14 1/2 ounce monster that would have given any fisherman a good fight. Jessie Dale, 8, was tops among girls in the trout competition, landing a 13-ouncer. Michael Luch equaled Dale’s catch with a 13-ouncer of his own.Ray Randall, 8, caught the day’s largest bass, which weight 4 1/2 ounces. Dale, Luch, and Randall also received bikes. The remainder of the bicycles were given away in a drawing. Winning the machines were Alysia Brengman, Sarah Hellinger, Jacque Petosa, Meaghan Alebold, William Riley, Thomas Hastings, Jacob Olmstead, and Evan Drengman.Lake Albert, the official site of the derby, is a man-made lake owned by Albert Gabelein. Gabelein and the Rod and Gun Club, with assistance from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, stock the lake with fish each year prior to the derby. “