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The 53rd annual Rio Vista Bass Derby in the Delta on September 30 and October 1, had a great turnout and a number of striped bass, sturgeon, and catfish were caught. A total of 37 stripers were caught, which is low in comparison to past years. "Striper fishing has been a little slow but we think the main reasons for the lesser number of fish being weighed in is that more and more people have cellular phones, and we had a lot of calls asking for the top fish weighed in. We think that a lot of people didn't want to bother weighing in the fish if they weren't going to have the top fish," said Executive Director of the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce, Denise Rubiaco. Eight sturgeon were weighed in at the derby, which is impressive in comparison to previous years. "We are attributing that to dredging in the water," said Rubiaco. Ten catfish were also weighed in. Anglers fished for stripers from the Isleton Bridge to Montezuma Slough, and caught the fish primarily on bullheads and shad, though a few were caught trolling Bombers and jigs as well. The sturgeon hit best on ghost shrimp and grass shrimp in the Sherman Island area. Shore anglers were fishing for catfish near the Rio Vista Bridge with clams and anchovies. |
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Daniel Cone won the derby with his 31.50 pound striper that he caught on a bullhead in Honker Bay. Cone won an 18 foot OS Klamath fishing package with 50 hp 4-stroke Mercury Outboard with E-Z loader galvanized trailer donated by Klamath Boat Co., Mercury Outboard and the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce and a 1-year subscription to "The Fish Sniffer" publication. Bill Nesler of Suisun took second place with his 28.44 striper, and won a $500 savings bond from the Bank of Stockton, Rio Vista and a 1-year subscription to "The Fish Sniffer" publication. Other winners include: Dale Cummings of Pittsburg with 3rd place for his 26.30 pound striper. Ricky Haber of Woodbridge landed 4th place with his 26.30 pound striper. Rick Laskowski of Galt reeled in a 25.46 pound striper and walked home with 5th place. Sixth place went to Mike Fox of Vacaville for his 25.42 pound striper. Matt Todd of Napa nailed 7th place with his 24.24 pound striper. Steven Palfey of Fairfield went home with 8th place for his 23.72 pound striper. Ninth place went to Robert Thomas of Sheep Ranch and his 23.58 pound striper. And Jack Dinubilo, Jr. of Stockton took 10th place with his 22.92 striper. Al Davis of Fairfield won a $100 gift certificate from Hap's Bait and a 1-year subscription to "The Fish Sniffer" publication for weighing in the largest sturgeon at 75.5 pounds. Robert Lyttle III weighed in the largest catfish, 11.24, and took home $50 gift certificate from the Delta Marina, Rio Vista and a 1-year subscription to "The Fish Sniffer" publication. 78-year-old Art Smith of Antioch was the oldest man to fish the derby and won a professional filet knife with sheaf from California Striped Bass Association, Rio Vista and a laminated Delta map from Hal Schell. 62-year-old Markee Atthoff of Merced won a handmade afghan made by Lorraine August and a tin of cookies from the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce for being the oldest woman in the derby. In the Kids Derby, Dillon Stepp of Suisun took 1st place with his 12.38 pound striper. Stepp won a cd boombox radio and cassette player and a Bass Festival t-shirt from the Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce. Bill Nesler of Suisun walked away with 2nd place with his 12.16 pound striper. Third place went to Josh Goetchins of Fairfield for his 6.36 pound striper. Andrew Bowling of Rio Vista caught a 6 pound striper and took 4th place. And Chris Peek of Ceres walked away with 5th place and a 5.88 pound striper. |
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