FOR THE KIDS : Annual Fishing Derby a Lure for Would-Be Huck Finns : Annual Simi Valley contest is expected to draw 1,000 young anglers. Some may even use a cane pole.

This is a cultural literacy test: What is the historically appropriate fishing implement to use at Simi Valley’s Huck Finn Fishing Derby this Saturday?

A cane pole, right?

During the 20 years that the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District has held the angling contest for youngsters, the occasional stickler for accuracy has been spotted with a cane pole instead of a modern rod and reel. And that youngster probably didn’t catch many fish.

“I don’t know if a cane pole would work that well,” said Doug Gale of the park district. “They have to get the line pretty far out there.”

With as many as 1,000 boys and girls expected to encircle the one-acre pond, the shoreline will be crowded, Gale said. As a safety measure, overhead casting is discouraged in favor of an underhanded flick.

The first youngster to catch three catfish will win the derby. A prize will also be awarded for the largest fish. Gale said the size of the catfish is generally one pound, but his department stocked a few larger fish to give the youngsters a chance to land something substantial.

Simi Valley spends $4,000 each year to stock the lake with 2,000 pounds of catfish, officials said. This year, the Sunrise Rotary of Simi Valley and the Kiwanis Club of Simi Valley underwrote the major portion of the expenses.

For the record, there’s no evidence that Huck fished with a cane pole. Henry Sweets, director of the Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal, Mo., suspects that Hollywood is the source of that misinformation, much the same way films pictured Tom Sawyer with a sling shot.

“One day a boy asked me what they used as elastic,” Sweets said. “I got to thinking about it and you know, they didn’t have vulcanized rubber back then. Tom might have had a sling, but sling shots probably didn’t exist.”

Author Mark Twain mentions fishing with “trot lines”--one or more baited hooks attached to a line tied to a float, which is anchored to the shore so the fisherman is free to attend to other business.

“If you lived on the edge of the water (like Huck), it would be easy to check a trot line regularly,” Sweets said. “I don’t know when cane or bamboo would have been available in the Mississippi Valley. If somebody was going to use a pole, they would have cut a willow branch probably.”

Details

* WHAT: 20th annual Huck Finn Fishing Derby.

* WHEN: 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday (park opens at 6 a.m.)

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

* HOW MUCH: Free.

* FYI: Youngsters are encouraged to bring their own tackle, but a limited number of rods and reels will be available.

* CALL: 584-4400.