FOR THE KIDS : Simi Valley Anglers Get a Line on Prizes : Nearly 1,000 youths are expected to compete at Saturday’s Huck Finn Fishing Derby at the Rancho Simi park pond.

It was the one that almost got away. The 19th annual Huck Finn Fishing Derby, that is.

It was looking grim earlier this spring for the popular contest that draws hundreds of kids to the banks of a Simi Valley lagoon every May. The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District didn’t have the money for the fish-off.

But enough donations poured in at the last minute that the derby is on for Saturday. And it’s free, as usual.

The event, which draws 800 to 1,000 boys and girls, is for anglers 14 years old and under. The fishing begins at 7 a.m. and runs until 10 a.m. at Rancho Simi Community Park’s pond near Royal Avenue and Erringer Road.

The idea is to see who can catch the three-fish limit first, but prizes also go to the anglers who reel in the biggest and smallest fish.

These are catfish we’re talking about, and Huck Finn never had it this good. The district buys nearly 2,000 pounds of catfish--one to three pounds each--and dumps them into the lagoon just before the derby. Exactly when remains a guarded secret.

The rules are few: no triple hooks, only singles. No spinners or lures. Worms, salmon eggs, cheese or bacon are OK for bait. Casting is discouraged because of the number of kids.

The children compete in four age categories; prizes include Zebco rods and reels.

For many kids at the contest, dropping a line in the 2.5-acre lagoon is their first fishing experience, according to Doug Gale, recreation supervisor for the district.

“We hope everyone will catch a fish,” he said. In fact, some snare quite a few and then throw them back. Last year’s prize-winning catfish were in the two-pound, five-ounce range.

Derby contestants don’t drain the little pond of catfish. “We’ve got some pretty big ones at the bottom from last year,” district spokesman Rick Johnson said. (The pond, which is open only to kids and senior citizens for fishing during the year, also yields some fair-sized bass.)

For the derby, kids must bring their own gear, and some have pretty sophisticated stuff. But others come with homemade versions, like the bamboo pole one boy made in Cub Scouts a few years back. He had also dug his own worms. Bait preferences vary. Cheese is popular, even stinky cheese.

This wasn’t the first year that the derby has run into financial snags. Last year, the event nearly got the ax because state budget cuts cost the park district nearly $1 million. Private contributions saved the derby then.

This year, it was more of the same. For a while, there was talk of maybe charging kids $1 to participate in the derby to help raise funds. But by the end of last month, Simi Valley businesses and groups had donated $3,375 to pay for the catfish stocking. (The donors were Simi Sunrise Rotary, Datron Systems Inc., First Interstate Bank, Kiwanis Club of Simi Valley, Daily News, Simi Valley Women’s Club and Tomahawk Termite Control.)

So the lines will drop in the lagoon early Saturday as anxious parents stand by to untangle them, offer encouragement and bait hooks for the squeamish.

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Charlotte, the world’s most famous spider, is spinning that old yarn again. “Charlotte’s Web” is the newest offering from Ojai’s Illusions Theatre. The production, based on E. B. White’s famous children’s classic, opens Saturday, and runs Sunday and the following weekend, May 14 and 15. Show time at Libbey Bowl in Ojai is 4 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6.50 ($4.50 for children under 12 and senior citizens). For information, call 649-2324 or 649-1107.

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This is for teen-agers only. Oxnard’s Carnegie Art Museum is offering a four-hour class in drawing with oil pastels from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Open to those 13 to 19, the class is for beginning to advanced artists. The instructor is Debra Sokolow-Nikolic, an arts specialist assisting in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. The cost is $13 for members and $15 for non-members. For sign-up information, call 385-8179.

Details

* WHAT: Huck Finn Fishing Derby for kids 14 and under.

* WHEN: Saturday, 7 to 10 a.m. Park opens at 6 a.m.

* WHERE: Rancho Simi Community Park, 1765 Royal Ave., Simi Valley.

* FYI: 584-4400.