Despite rain, hundreds participate in 36th annual Catfish Derby
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – From as far away as Michigan, Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington and all over California, this year’s 36th annual Catfish Derby brought in hundreds of people who registered to fish for the biggest Clear Lake catfish.
This year the top prize, a cash award of $4,000, went to Ricardo Pelayo of San Jose who brought in a 27.29-pound fish.
Registration for the three-day fishing derby began on Thursday. By Friday morning, most, including Pelayo, had registered and were on the lake.
Pelayo encountered some car problems on the drive in from San Jose and when he launched his boat, things went from bad to worse.
“My boat engine started giving me trouble right away,” Pelayo said. “After launching, the motor stalled. I kept working on it. It would travel short distances then stall. It sputtered along until it finally quit.”
He added, “I’d come a long way to fish so I decided to start fishing at the spot where the engine finally gave out. After such a fitful start, I wasn’t expecting much.”
To his surprise, Pelayo soon caught a big fish. Rather than continue fishing, he decided to start working on the engine again, hoping to get it going. “I got lucky, managing somehow to get the engine started for the trip back,” Pelayo said.
“It was Friday, the first day of the Derby and all I could think is that this might be the extent of my fishing,” Pelayo said. “I was disappointed, thinking I might not be able to fish again. I knew I had a pretty good-sized fish but had no idea it would place first. Besides, you always want to nab a bigger fish.”
At derby headquarters, Pelayo’s name took the top placement on the adult division leaderboard. The derby volunteers speculated, some said it would be a hard number to top; others said it was just too early to know.
Asked if he would continue to fish, Pelayo said, “Yes, I sure want to.” At that point he didn’t know if he could get his boat engine fixed.
On Saturday it rained. Pelayo couldn’t get his boat engine running so he and his young cousin did a little fishing on a friend’s boat. “I was pretty disappointed and kept calling in to see if anyone had brought in a bigger fish,” he said.
On Sunday, the last day of fishing, Pelayo drove to derby headquarters in Clearlake Oaks after receiving a call from organizer Dennis Locke.
“When Dennis said it was unlikely anyone was going to top my catch, I began thinking about what I might do with that $4,000 cash prize,” Pelayo said. “I had my doubts, there was still an hour of fishing left.”
At noon, when it was clear Pelayo’s fish was the top catch, he said, “I was thinking I’d buy a new engine for my boat but maybe I’ll just buy a new boat.”
Pelayo has been fishing the derby five years. “I’ll be back next year,” he said. “Rain or shine, I’ll be back.”
In the 10 years and under children’s division, 7-year-old Blake Re of Nice won $100 for his 22.82-pound catfish.
Rowdy Addington, a 12-year-old from Patterson, also won $100 for his 16.21-pound fish in the 11- to 15-year-old division.
This year, a new award, the Spirit of Lake County, was given to “Team Hood Cats” from Hood River Oregon – three generations of cat fishing enthusiasts who have been attending the derby for about 15 years. Decked out in matching t-shirts, the group plans on returning next year with four generations.
“As always, we had a great time putting on the Catfish Derby this year. The rain kept some away, but we still had a good crowd. Just under 800 registered this year, 67 percent of the entries were from outside Lake County,” said Locke.
“On Saturday, we had our first “celebrity weigh in,” he said.
There were a total of 694 adult entries bringing in 134 fish. For the children, 83 entered and brought in 39 fish.
Organizers said there were 254 entries, or 33 percent, from Lake COunty, and 523, or 67 percent, from outside of the county.
District Attorney Susan Krones, Sheriff Brain Martin and District 3 Supervisor E.J. Crandell worked in heavy rain, weighing fish as they came in.
“You get the sense the entire community is invested in the event,” Locke said. “This year we had the youngest booster in memory, 4-month-old Henry St. Clair. Along with his mom and dad, Henry was on hand every day, braving the rain and cheering us on. Now that’s what community is all about,” he said.
Volunteers from all around the lake stopped in to help, including students from Lower Lake High School.
Natalia Schofield, a third-year volunteer, leads the other volunteers and this year was the derby photographer. “When anyone needs a break, she steps in. She also helps to announce the winners at the awards ceremony. She knows as much about the derby as anyone,” Locke said.
“Of course, the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association members were here in big numbers. We couldn’t ask for better sponsors,” Locke said.
Hailed as the biggest Catfish Derby west of the Mississippi and arguably the best-attended event of its kind in North America, the derby attracts anglers, their families and friends as well as hundreds more spectators who enjoy the family oriented sport.
More than $10,000 in prize money was awarded to the winners. First place prize is $4,000; second place is $1,000 and third is $800. A total of 20 anglers placed in the adult category with prizes scaling down to $40. In the kid divisions, prizes start at $100 and scale down to $10.
The full standings are shown below.
For more information visit www.clearlakeoaks.org/derby, find them on Facebook, Catfish Derby in the Oaks or on Twitter, CLOGBA.
Catfish Derby Adult Standings
1. Ricardo Pelayo, San Jose, 27.29 pounds.
2. Tim Bybee, Meridian, 26.91 pounds.
3. Edward Puente, Saugus, 26.73 pounds.
4. Brian Fehrn, Clearlake Oaks, 23.51 pounds.
5. William Wong, Rocklin, 22.89 pounds.
6. Keith Prutt, Sacramento, 22.79 pounds.
7. Dan Sansome, Kelseyville, 22.42 pounds.
8. Ryan Redmond, Brown's Valley, 21.89 pounds.
9. Christopher Lane, Hood River, Oregon, 21.86 pounds.
10. Phillip Quiqley, Gerber, 21.82 pounds.
11. Jason Benzel, Yuba City, 21.52 pounds.
12. Jason Skrock, Grants Pass, Oregon, 21.47 pounds.
13. Mark Dietrick, San Jose, 21.43 pounds.
14. Mark Adams, San Jose, 21.32 pounds.
15. Dustin Davidson, Gold Beach, Oregon, 21.31 pounds.
16. James Hickson, Sacramento, 21.16 pounds.
17. Henry Griffin, Clearlake, 21.09 pounds.
18. Phillip Kester, Clearlake, 21.03 pounds.
19. Mike Weston, Kelseyville, 20.90 pounds.
20. Tanner Castillo, Sutter, 20.80 pounds.
Catfish Derby Kids Standings
Up to 10 Years
1. Blake Re, Nice, 22.82 pounds.
2. Allyssa Adams, Milpitas, 16.83 pounds.
3. Omar Garibay, Maxwell, 16.19 pounds.
4. Olivia Hansard, Brownsville, 15.66 pounds.
5. Alexander Biondini, American Canyon, 13.20 pounds.
11 to 15 Years
1. Rowdy Addington, Patterson, 16.21 pounds
2. Matthew Castillo, Placerville, 15.00 pounds.
3. Ivy Bain, Gerber, 13.52 pounds.
4. Hayden Ramirez, Clearlake Oaks, 12.85 pounds.
5. Kaylee Anderson, Lucerne, 12.5 pounds.