For 10-year-old Victoria, that means getting out her favorite rod and heading to her family's back yard in Murray or to the neighborhood church for some pitching, flipping and casting.

Victoria will go for back-to-back state championships in the 7- to 10-year-old category of the Bassmaster CastingKids Utah state finals Saturday at Robertson's Marine, 1045 S. Main St., Salt Lake City. The casting begins at 10 a.m.

"I've been practicing a lot. If I win state this year, I get to go to Orlando, Fla.," said the fourth-grader from Longview Elementary. "I should be able to do better because I have been practicing, but it will be pretty hard."

Victoria's journey to the top began innocently enough when her grandfather, John Riches, asked if she would be interested in attending the 2004 boat show.

"We were fishing in the kids' pond and Curt Cochran came over and asked if I wanted to win a fishing pole," Victoria said. "I won that and went to the state finals and I won that, too."

Cochran, youth director for the Utah Bass Federation and in charge of the state's CastingKids competitions, takes no credit for discovering Victoria, only for trying to promote the sport.

"For a lot of kids, the CastingKids event is the first time they hold a rod and reel. That's important for the future of the sport," Cochran said. "We teach them the three main techniques we use in bass fishing. The next step is to get them involved in a junior bass club."

Victoria was no beginner when she wandered to the CastingKids booth last year.

"My grandpa taught me how to fish. We go to his friend's house and fish in his pond. He taught me a lot," she said.

Competing against Victoria in the 7-10 age group Saturday are: Jesse Humphrey, of Sandy; Timothy Beltridge, of Midvale; Jordan Stucki, of Alpine; and Trey Richardson, of Price.

Travis Richardson, of Price, is back to defend the title he won last year in the 11-14 age group. He will face Gem Murray, of Stansbury Park; Casey Story, of North Ogden; Nick Cochran, of Taylorsville; and Caleb Timpke, of Layton.

Since it was started in 1991, the CastingKids program has put a rod and reel in the hands of more than 1.5 million kids and awarded more than $2.9 million in cash prizes and scholarships.

The state finalists advance to the Western Division Championship in Orlando in April. Ninety-six other champions will be there to challenge Utah's winners. Top competitors in Orlando will move on to the National CastingKids championships in Pittsburgh in July during the Bassmaster Classic.

For information on CastingKids and Utah's junior bass fishing clubs and tournaments, contact Cochran at curtcochran@yahoo.com.

Changing conditions

The warm weather has anglers and fish turned on. Utah Lake anglers are catching walleye while using catfish tactics. The trick this year is dead minnows fished on the bottom. Fly fishers are getting into some good hatches on the local rivers and ice anglers are getting out as much as possible before their opportunities end.

Rising water and receding ice mean ladders, planks and waders are good ideas for those determined to make it on the ice one more time.

Regulation clarification

There are so many bass fishing regulations with over or under included that one showed up where the other should have been in last week's column.

The quote from George Sommer, president of the Utah Bass Federation, should have read: "We need to harvest some of the small bass at Pelican and Mantua. We also understand that the regulation saying you can't keep anything over 12 inches at Jordanelle could have some long-range impacts."

Clinics

Fish Tech Outfitters, 6153 Highland Drive, will explain the ins and outs of walleye techniques and rigs Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m.

Falcon's Ledge, Utah's only Orvis-endorsed fly fishing lodge, is the topic of a clinic Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Orvis store in Murray, 202 E. Winchester. Falcon's Ledge offers unique fly fishing at its private ponds and guided trips on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains.

bpretty@sltrib.com