BAYVIEW - This one's for the kids.

But that isn't stopping the adults from jumping in.

The fourth Captn's Table Trash Can Derby that got under way last Thursday is aimed at giving youngsters a reason to take up fishing, and have some fun on Lake Pend Oreille while hanging with mom, dad, grandpa or grandma, or perhaps an aunt or uncle.

What's better than family and fishing, anyway?

"That's how the Trash Can Derby started," said Mary Thompson, owner of the Captn's Table Trash Can Derby. "Then, of course, the big boys wanted to play too."

Like Jim Carothers.

The Sagle man hooked a 27-pound, 9-ounce, 40-inch mackinaw to claim the top spot in one of the adult categories.

It was about 5:15 a.m. Saturday, clear, calm and 45 degrees at Whiskey Rock, when the fish struck while Carothers was on his 24-foot boat, "Hope Floats."

He had been out alone less than an hour and was in 70 feet of water. He knew he had a big one because most mackinaw do not release from the downrigger.

"This one did, so I knew it was a good fish," Carothers said.

A 15-minute battle ensued.

"It made multiple head shakes in an attempt to get off," he said.

When he finally weighed it, the fish was the largest he has hooked in his angling career.

"It was the greatest single catch of my fishing career next to the 20-pound rainbow I caught last year," he wrote.

Carothers estimated he has caught a couple thousand mackinaw in Lake Pend Oreille over 15 years of fishing and finally hooked one eligible for the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club's exclusive "Patch" for fish more than 25 pounds.

"I still hope to get a rainbow patch in my lifetime," he said.

Carothers believes Lake Pend Oreille's fishery remains strong.

"The kokanee are showing improvement which shows that we are doing the right thing," he wrote. "Even though many of us hate having to remove these beautiful fish, the mackinaw do not belong here and the rainbows need to be reduced short term to allow the kokanee food to rebound."

Thompson said the derby has gained in popularity with about 125 entries last year. There are several categories for adults, including first and second for biggest rainbow and mackinaw.

It is free for kids age 12 and younger, and $5 a week for juniors 13-18 years old. Each youth who participates receives a gift.

So far, there has been only one junior weigh in, and Thompson is hoping for more. For the kids, fish don't have to be caught in Lake Pend Oreille to be entered in the derby.

The derby runs Thursdays through Sundays each week in June, with awards set for June 26. All fish caught by adults must be weighed at the Captn's Table. Kids can weigh their fish at Macdonald's or the Captn's Table.

The entry fee is $20 per week. Register at Macdonald's Hudson Bay Resort in Bayview or the Captn's Table. Or, if you're on the lake, contact the derby master on the radio at channel 16.

Sponsors include Five Star Concrete and Mark's Marine in Hayden, Bad Boy Customs in Sandpoint and Fins and Feathers in Coeur d'Alene.