AUBURN – There are fish in the Pettengill Park pond, but none for adults to catch.

The city is stocking the small pond with fish – mostly 8- to 10-inch brook trout – in time for two youth fishing derbies over the next two weekends.

“We have them there for kids, but adults do try and show up,” said Doug Beck of the Auburn Recreation Department. “We have to stroll up every once in a while and tell them, and they’ll say, ‘Oh no, I’m holding this poll for my 2-year-old.'”

The first derby is for children ages 9 to 15. It’s scheduled for 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday. A derby for younger anglers, ages 3 to 8, is scheduled for 8 to 11 a.m. the following Saturday, May 9. It’s sponsored by the Recreation Department and the Auburn Exchange Club.

The cost is $5 per person. Anglers are limited to one fishing line and four fish. Worms and artificial bait are fine, but artificial lures and fly-fishing are not. Trophies will be awarded each day for the largest trout, the heaviest weight, the longest length, and the first and last fish caught each day.

The pond is closed to non-derby fishing until May 18, Beck said. After that, it’s open but only for anglers 15 years old or younger. The pond is less than a quarter of an acre, so there’s not much room.

“It goes back to the 1940s, when we had a city ordinance limiting fishing in the stream through Pettengill Park to youth,” Beck said. “They did that to encourage youth fishing, and we’re trying to live up to it.”

He didn’t expect the derby anglers to empty the pond.

“There are always some left behind, and they can get pretty big,” he said.