The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office and Mounted Patrol held its annual Youth Fishing Derby from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., on Saturday, September 10, 2016, at Morrison-Rockwood State Park, Morrison, IL.
There were 175 kids who registered for the event, which is free to youth aged 15 and under. All prize winners this year were from Illinois. Awards for biggest fish (by length) for each category are listed below. If no qualifying fish was caught in the category, a name was drawn from the list of participants who registered at least one fish.
| Fish Species | Ages 0-7 | Ages 8-11 | Ages 12-15 |
| Largemouth Bass |
Grant Dietsch Age 4, Colona |
Kolson Stumpf Age 8, Dixon |
Sevanha Lucas Age 12, Sterling |
| Crappie |
Grayson Johnston Age 5, Erie |
Landon Mays Age 9, Rock Island |
Kaylee Martinez Age 12, Sterling |
| Catfish |
Waylon Phelps Age 5, Morrison |
Camden Pruis Age 11, Morrison |
Sofia Scott Age 13, Morrison |
| Walleye/Musky |
Sophie Damhoff Age 6, Morrison |
Blake Huizenga Age 9, Morrison |
Dillon Alcala Age 12, Morrison |
| Bluegill/Sunfish |
Kaleb Damhoff Age 4, Morrison |
Corey Seeley Age 11, Rock Falls |
No Winner |
Special prizes were awarded for individual efforts:
Shane Hurliss Award—Lucas Porter (age 6, Rock Falls)
Boy that Tried the Hardest—Luke Holesinger (age 10, Fulton)
Girl that Tried the Hardest—Cailee Wright (age 8, Morrison)
At the end of the day, a drawing was held and six lucky participants received new bicycles:
Harper Parr (age 4, Albany) and Grant Dietsch (age 4, Colona)
Maddy Hensel (age 9, Morrison) and Gunnar Damhoff (age 9, Morrison)
Kaitlyn Davidson (age 10, Naperville)
Mason Kingdon (age 14, Morrison)