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Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Park draws 500 Anglers

dan bacher
·4 min read
Malayshia Favors, 8, left, and Amaya Favors , 9, teamed up to bag these two hefty channel catfish during the Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Park on August 27. Malayshia won first place in the 8 and under diversion, while Amaya placed first in the and 9 to 12 age division.
Malayshia Favors, 8, left, and Amaya Favors , 9, teamed up to bag these two hefty channel catfish during the Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Park on August 27. Malayshia won first place in the 8 and under diversion, while Amaya placed first in the and 9 to 12 age division.

STOCKTON – After a two-month wait, the annual Catfish Derby was finally held and about 500 people showed up to catch the more than 1,500 pounds of catfish planted at Oak Grove Regional Park.

The annual event, sponsored by San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation and the Delta Fly Fishers, is usually held in June but was delayed until Saturday, Aug. 27 because of a lake restoration project that shored up the bank among other repairs, reported Sandi Adams of San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation.

The Delta Fly Fishers conducted the registration and weigh in at the event as they have for the last 38 years.The Stockton Sportsmens Club was also on hand.

Malayshia Favors, 8, won first place in the 8 and under age division with a channel cat weighing 5 pounds. 12.5 ounces.

Amaya Favors, 9, won first place in the 9 to 12 year-old division with a 4-pound, 11.2-ounce fish, while Axel Sanchez, 15,  placed first in the 13 – 15 category with a 4-pound, 3.8-oounce catfish.

Tucker Martinez finished first in the adult division with a catfish weighing 4 pounds, 5.6 ounces.

The Parks and Recreation sponsored event will be the Trout Bout at Oak Grove Regional Park on Saturday, Nov. 19, starting at 6:15 a.m. 2,000 lbs. of trout will be planted.

The event is open to all ages. Kids under 16 will fish for free, there is a $5 fee for anglers 16 years and older. There is a $6 cash parking fee. Information: https://www.facebook.com/sanjoaquinparks

Liem Nguyen of Sacramento landed two channel cats weighing 8 and 9 pounds while using squid at Granite Regional Park in Sacramento on Sept. 3.
Liem Nguyen of Sacramento landed two channel cats weighing 8 and 9 pounds while using squid at Granite Regional Park in Sacramento on Sept. 3.

Fishing in the City: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Sacramento Metro Area Fishing in the City program also sponsored an opportunity to catch channel catfish - and attend free fishing clinics - on Saturday, September 3, Free Fishing Day, at Hagen Park in Rancho Cordova.

The CDFW planted 300 pounds of catfish, as well as 300 pounds each at North Natomas Park and Granite Regional Park in Sacramento. Information: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing-in-the-city/SAC.

Fishing was tough; no catfish were landed while I was there, although some small sunfish were caught.

However, anglers at Granite Bay Regional Park found better success. Vincent Nguyen caught two catfish in the 4 to 5 pound range at Granite Park. Liem Nguyen of Sacramento also landed two catfish weighing 8 and 9 pounds while using squid.

As the weather cools down from the record heat wave, there will be plenty of opportunities to catch catfish in regional waters. You can target big channel catfish at Pardee, Amador, Camanche and New Melones lakes, as well as catch white and channel catfish in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and an array of sloughs throughout the Delta.

A variety of baits, including nightcrawlers, chicken liver, sardines, mackerel, shrimp and dough baits, will work for catfish.

Early morning and late evening hours are the best times to catch catfish. Many anglers find success on catfish while fishing at night where it is allowed.

Gilbert Randall of Turlock caught the state record channel catfish weighing 53 pounds, 8 ounces while fishing on the San Joaquin River above the Old Fisherman’s Club in Stanislaus County on Sept. 22, 2008.

Marin Coast Rockfish/Lingcod: Ocean salmon fishing has slowed lately to an average of under a fish per rod, but rockfish and lingcod fishing has been very good off the Marin County Coast. The Bass Tub at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco checked in with 9 limits of rockfish, 9 limits of lingcod and 4 halibut on Sunday. Information: (415) 706-4947.

Young anglers caught plenty of channel catfish like this one during San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation’s Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Park in Stockton.
Young anglers caught plenty of channel catfish like this one during San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation’s Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Park in Stockton.

Bay Fish Kill Update: The massive harmful algae bloom (HAB) stretching throughout San Francisco Bay appears to be in decline, but the State Water Resources Control Board, San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on Saturday warned that depleted oxygen levels could lead to “large-scale aquatic deaths in the days ahead.”

“It’s very upsetting to see the scale of harm to aquatic life and we know how disturbing this has been for the public,” said Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Regional Water Board, in a press statement. “We are doing everything possible to monitor the situation, work with other agencies and search for solutions.”

They are encouraging people who may be recreating on the nearby shorelines in affected areas to report sightings of dead fish through the iNaturalist smartphone app. Scientists and other observers have documented thousands of dead fish, including white and green sturgeon, striped bass, yellow gobies, bat rays, sharks and anchovies, on the bay over the past two weeks.

Contact Stockton Record correspondent Dan Bacher at danielbacher53@gmail.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Catfish Derby at Oak Grove Regional Park