It”s all about catfish this weekend as the 25th Annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby gets under way at noon Friday. Sponsors of the derby are hoping for a repeat of last year when a record number of 518 adults and 115 children competed in the derby.
It”s hard to believe fishermen would travel hundreds of miles to fish in a catfish derby, but it”s a fact. Contestants are coming from Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii and throughout California. It”s the largest catfish derby in the West and remains one of the more popular fishing contests held on Clear Lake. This year”s winner in the adult division will pocket $4,000 in cash while the winner in the kids division gets a new Nintendo Wii Playstation.
Derby hours are from noon Friday until noon Sunday. The entry fee for the derby is $40 for adults if received before 11 p.m. Thursday. There is a $5 late fee for entries received after that time. All entries must be received no later than 11 p.m. Friday. The entry fee for children ages 15 and younger is $10. The awards ceremonies starts at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Clearlake Oaks Firehouse, where there will be a barbecue, music and a giant raffle.
Fishermen can fish from a boat or shore and are allowed to fish around the clock. In fact, many of the contestants fish from docks or from shore. The best part is you don”t need to be an expert to win it all. Most of the fishermen will be using either live jumbo minnows or cutbait. Some will be using a secret concoction they have brewed up on their own in order to entice that winning catfish.
The species of catfish that will win the derby is the channel catfish although there are smaller species of catfish in Clear Lake. The lake record for channel catfish is 33.33 pounds and the world record is 58 pounds (it was caught in South Carolina in 1964). Landing a derby-winning catfish takes a certain amount of skill as well as strong tackle. More 20-pound-plus catfish are lost than ever landed.
This popular fish isn”t native to Clear Lake or even the West. The first channel catfish were bought to California from Mississippi in 1874 and were stocked in the San Joaquin River. Catfish were first introduced into Clear Lake around 1910. They are thought to have been in North America for at least 3,000 years.
Members of the catfish family are considered omnivorous, meaning they will eat plant and animal matter. The larger the catfish the more it prefer large minnows. In fact, it”s not uncommon for bass fishermen to catch large catfish on crankbaits. They are also mostly nocturnal, meaning they feed at night, however, they will also feed during the daytime. Catfish use their whiskers, which are called barbells, to help locate their food. These sensitive whiskers can feel out edible food in the muddiest of waters.
Unlike other members of the catfish family, the channel catfish seeks out hollow logs or holes around submerged rocks to spawn. Many of the channel catfish at Clear Lake spawn in the hundreds of submerged tires strewn across the bottom of the lake. The ideal water temperature for spawning is about 70 degrees and the eggs hatch in five to 10 days. Young catfish eat mostly insects, small crayfish or other small fish. They will even eat seeds.
The channel catfish reaches sexual maturity at about five years of age and they can live as long as 25 years. With the exception of man, an adult catfish has very few enemies.
Beginning this year, catfish derby leaderboard updates will be available via telephone and text message. Call the derby hotline at 671-5123 for 24-hour leaderboard updates. The derby committee will be using Twitter to broadcast leaderboard updates during the derby as the fish are weighed. If you have a Twitter account, follow clogba (Catfish Derby) to receive updates (SMS must be enabled to receive text message updates). You can also receive text message updates by texting “follow clogba” (without quotes) to 40404 to sign up. You do not need a Twitter account to receive text message updates.
Entry forms and the complete rules for the derby can be obtained from the website at www.clearlakeoaks.org. For more information call 1-888-253-3729.
