The Sycamore Park District held its annual fishing derby Saturday in the still-flooded waters of Sycamore Lake Rotary Park, 400 N. Cross St.

About 30 competitors cast their reels from 8 to 10 a.m. hoping to catch the biggest prize and win fishing gear.

Bart Desch, superintendent of recreation at the park district, said there was a decent showing.

“If it’s a really nice day and it’s not Sycamore baseball’s opening day like it was yesterday, I’d have as many as 65 out there,” Desch said Sunday.

The biggest fish caught was a 14-inch largemouth bass. There was a separate competition for those aged 12 and under. The biggest fish in that category was 10 inches long.

Some people said the flooding got in the way of their fishing.

“A couple people got lucky and caught some nice bass,” said Austin Reilly, 19. “It’s harder to catch a fish when the water’s up 2 feet.”

Max Cloat, 49, who went with his daughter, said he won the derby several years ago, but didn’t catch a single fish Saturday.

“The fish certainly weren’t biting like they were in years past,” Cloat said. “We usually fish from the dock over there, but it’s underwater so we couldn’t get to it.”