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ISABELLA TROUT FISHING DERBY
Isabella trout fishing derby is largest amateur event in nation
By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service
March 18 2010
A year ago, David Tascione of Bodefish and Oran Rankin of Bakersfield had a pretty typical spring fishing day at Lake Isabella. They caught a few nice trout and each pocketed $10,000 for their efforts. The same weekend, Josephine Martinez of Delano landed the longest rainbow from the lake, a 23 1/2-incher. In addition to trout for dinner, she also took home a check for $1,000.
They were fishing during the annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby, which features over $200,000 in potential cash prizes for tagged and trophy fish landed by anglers who enter the event, and these anglers were just three of the more than 8,800 anglers who entered last year. There was more than $30,000 in cash awarded.
This year’s 21st annual event is set for March 27-29, Saturday through Monday, and the tagged fish prizes include the potential for $40,000 more in awards than last year. There are hundreds of $20, $50, and $100 tagged trout stocked just prior to the event, and there are cash awards of $1,000, $500, and $250 for the three longest trout landed by anglers entered in the event.
The real attractions are the 12 high dollar tags. There are 11 tagged trout worth $10,000 each and one grand prize worth $21,000. Three of the $10,000 tagged fish could be worth an additional $10,000 if the angler is using one of the sponsor’s products -- Troutkrilla bait, fishing from a North Fork or French Gulch marina rental boat, or wearing a RiverToyz official fishing derby shirt when the catch is made.
Since 15 to 20 percent of the tagged trout are caught each year, there is a pretty good chance that at least two or three of the high-dollar tagged fish will be caught again this year.
Fred Roach, tournament director for the annual event the one of the masterminds behind making the Isabella event the nation’s largest amateur trout derby, said he hopes all of the tagged trout are caught, “every last one of them.”
Roach said all the insurance policies have been purchased for the $10,000 and up tags, and that the insurance companies don’t issue refunds if the trout aren’t caught. So “we hope that’s what happens. We want them all to be caught.”
Last year was the first time there was more than one $10,000 tag in the derby, but Roach said they wanted to do something big for the 20th anniversary event. So they had ten $10,000 tags and one to celebrate the anniversary at $20,000. Roach laughed, saying you can’t go backward, so this year, they added another $10,000 tagged fish and kicked up the top tag value to $21,000.
The event drew its biggest crowd ever last year, and there were people from Hawaii to New Jersey to Florida to Michigan who tried their hand at catching one of the big-money fish. In fact, the attendance was over 3,000 more than the previous year, and derby organizers hope 10,000 anglers come up this year.
“Our entries are about the same as last year at this point,” said Roach. “A lot of people are waiting to see what the weather looks like, but I keep looking at the long-range forecasts and they are saying it will be 73 degrees the first day of the event. That would be just phenomenal.”
Roach points out that every dime raised in the event goes back into the lake in planted trout to keep Isabella one of the best trout fisheries in the Sierra Nevada. For this event, four loads of Alpers’ rainbows have or will be delivered before the event for a total of 4,800 pounds of trout. Volunteers have been manning in-lake pens holding 15,000 more rainbow trout. They were put in the pens as small, five-to-the-pound fish. With daily feedings, they range in size from one to 2 1/2 pounds today, and they will be released into the lake next week. The Department of Fish and Game also supports the event by adding a bonus plant of its rainbows.
The plants assure the trout fishing is going to be good derby weekend, and 1,000 of the fish are going to be wearing tags that are worth from $20 to $21,000.
Entry fee is $20 per person or $45 per family (mom and dad and up to three kids 15 and under). Complete rules and registration forms are available on line at 21st Annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby or you can call 866-578-4386.
Isabella trout fishing derby is largest amateur event in nation
By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service
March 18 2010
A year ago, David Tascione of Bodefish and Oran Rankin of Bakersfield had a pretty typical spring fishing day at Lake Isabella. They caught a few nice trout and each pocketed $10,000 for their efforts. The same weekend, Josephine Martinez of Delano landed the longest rainbow from the lake, a 23 1/2-incher. In addition to trout for dinner, she also took home a check for $1,000.
They were fishing during the annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby, which features over $200,000 in potential cash prizes for tagged and trophy fish landed by anglers who enter the event, and these anglers were just three of the more than 8,800 anglers who entered last year. There was more than $30,000 in cash awarded.
This year’s 21st annual event is set for March 27-29, Saturday through Monday, and the tagged fish prizes include the potential for $40,000 more in awards than last year. There are hundreds of $20, $50, and $100 tagged trout stocked just prior to the event, and there are cash awards of $1,000, $500, and $250 for the three longest trout landed by anglers entered in the event.
The real attractions are the 12 high dollar tags. There are 11 tagged trout worth $10,000 each and one grand prize worth $21,000. Three of the $10,000 tagged fish could be worth an additional $10,000 if the angler is using one of the sponsor’s products -- Troutkrilla bait, fishing from a North Fork or French Gulch marina rental boat, or wearing a RiverToyz official fishing derby shirt when the catch is made.
Since 15 to 20 percent of the tagged trout are caught each year, there is a pretty good chance that at least two or three of the high-dollar tagged fish will be caught again this year.
Fred Roach, tournament director for the annual event the one of the masterminds behind making the Isabella event the nation’s largest amateur trout derby, said he hopes all of the tagged trout are caught, “every last one of them.”
Roach said all the insurance policies have been purchased for the $10,000 and up tags, and that the insurance companies don’t issue refunds if the trout aren’t caught. So “we hope that’s what happens. We want them all to be caught.”
Last year was the first time there was more than one $10,000 tag in the derby, but Roach said they wanted to do something big for the 20th anniversary event. So they had ten $10,000 tags and one to celebrate the anniversary at $20,000. Roach laughed, saying you can’t go backward, so this year, they added another $10,000 tagged fish and kicked up the top tag value to $21,000.
The event drew its biggest crowd ever last year, and there were people from Hawaii to New Jersey to Florida to Michigan who tried their hand at catching one of the big-money fish. In fact, the attendance was over 3,000 more than the previous year, and derby organizers hope 10,000 anglers come up this year.
“Our entries are about the same as last year at this point,” said Roach. “A lot of people are waiting to see what the weather looks like, but I keep looking at the long-range forecasts and they are saying it will be 73 degrees the first day of the event. That would be just phenomenal.”
Roach points out that every dime raised in the event goes back into the lake in planted trout to keep Isabella one of the best trout fisheries in the Sierra Nevada. For this event, four loads of Alpers’ rainbows have or will be delivered before the event for a total of 4,800 pounds of trout. Volunteers have been manning in-lake pens holding 15,000 more rainbow trout. They were put in the pens as small, five-to-the-pound fish. With daily feedings, they range in size from one to 2 1/2 pounds today, and they will be released into the lake next week. The Department of Fish and Game also supports the event by adding a bonus plant of its rainbows.
The plants assure the trout fishing is going to be good derby weekend, and 1,000 of the fish are going to be wearing tags that are worth from $20 to $21,000.
Entry fee is $20 per person or $45 per family (mom and dad and up to three kids 15 and under). Complete rules and registration forms are available on line at 21st Annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby or you can call 866-578-4386.
