It’s the big weekend everyone has been waiting for – the 20th annual Isabella Lake Fishing Derby, featuring $200,000 in available cash prizes! If you register for the derby before Saturday, April 4 at 7 a.m., you are eligible to win money if you bring tagged fish with the right numbers to derby headquarters at the Moose Lodge in Lake Isabella (north end of town, just down from the County Complex a bit). If you don’t register for the derby and you catch a tagged fish, well, the big one got away from you. Registration costs $20. Or you can register a family (maximums apply) for $45. The money goes right back into next year’s fishing derby. There are ten trout that will be worth $10,000 each starting Saturday at 7 a.m., when the derby starts. And there is one worth $20,000, sponsored by the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce (which puts on the derby), in honor of the 20th anniversary of the event. And there are 989 trout worth anywhere between $20 to $1,000 each. A list of the tag numbers and their values will be given to you at derby headquarters when you pick up your registration card. If not caught during the derby, the $20,000 trout will still be worth $1,000 from April 7 to May 6. Good luck! And if this wasn’t enough, you have a chance to catch a premium Alpers trout! Alpers trout are raised in the Eastern Sierra and are prized for their fight and their flesh, which is pink and firm. A delivery of 1,200 pounds of Alpers trout was made recently, and a second delivery of Alpers trout was delivered to the lake on Monday. These trophy trout will complement the nearly 13,000 trout that have been raised for the derby by the Kern Valley Fish and Game Habitat Club. The club helped plant half of Monday's delivery of Alpers trout, and the other half will be planted on Friday just prior to the derby. The Fish and Game Habitat Club has been feeding the 13,000 trout twice a day for several months, volunteering their time to make the Isabella Lake Fishing Derby a great experience for everyone. Those trout have been raised in a penned area of the lake and will be released just before the derby. For more information, pick up of a copy of the Kern Angler at derby headquarters, or visit the Web site http://derby.kernrivervalley.com.
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