PRINEVILLE — It was just a few minutes past 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when volunteers dumped a container of fish into Ochoco Creek in Prineville.

But these weren’t the redband trout normally seen in the creek. These fish were neon green, blue, purple and yellow. And they were plastic.

It was the second year for Cast a Line for Youth, the Great Fish Race, which raises funds for three service organizations: Lutheran Family Services, Crook County Kids Club and Crook County Court Appointed Special Advocates. Volunteers with CASA are appointed by judges to advocate for the interests of children in the legal and social services systems.

Downstream, Rhett and Jaycee Kriege were waiting for the fish to bobtoward the finish line.

Jaycee, 5, said she did not know whether her green fish would win the race. Then, Rhett, 8, spotted a whole slew of fish floating into view.

“Here they come, two green ones!” Rhett said.

Jaycee wanted to know whether it was her green fish, but she would have to wait for an answer. Volunteers were busy collecting all the fish from the creek, and planned to call the people who purchased the winning fish.

Cynthia Jurgensen, project manager for the fundraiser, said Wednesday evening that Barbara Beatty won the first prize of $1,000 and Julie Averre won the second prize, which was a kayak.

Approximately 1,000 $5 tickets were sold for the event this year; each ticket corresponded to one of the numbered fish. The person whose fish hit the finish line first won first prize.

“It’s always nice to see the community supporting kids,” Jurgensen said. “Watching the fish come down the river and seeing the people run down the banks to see their fish, it was great.”

Ashley Thrasher, the director of Crook County Kids Club, said the club is a nonprofit that provides activities for children after school and during the summer. The club usually serves 35 kids per day.

Elin Bony, 15, was one of the volunteers. Elin learned about the Kids Club because she participates in a Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and the 11-year-old she mentors as a “little sister” wanted to attend Kids Club.

“It’s been a lot of fun, and it helped the community,” Elin said of Kids Club.