11-year-old is youngest winner ever in Catfish Derby

Tanner Castillo of Sutter made history on Sunday while also adding $4,000 to his bank account after winning the adult division of the 34th annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby.

The 11-year-old Castillo entered the adult division and paid the adult entry fee so that he would be eligible for the first-place money. The youngest fisherman ever to win the adult division, he weighed in a 28.81-pound catfish to top the field. He said he plans to use his winnings toward his college education.
Castillo said he caught his fish on Sunday morning while fishing in the Cache Creek area. He used a live minnow to catch the big fish, which his father netted.
Second place and $1,000 went to Victor Rojas of Stockton with a 26.76-pound fish. Garin Brown of Sacramento came in third (23.92) and won $800, Zack Becker of Rio Linda was fourth (23.76) and won $700, and Keith Foy of Clearlake came in fifth (23.44) and won $600.
The derby paid down to 20 places in the adult division and to five places in the kids division.
In the kids division, Kaia Calhoun of Kelseyville won the 10-and-under bracket with a 16.92-pound catfish. She won $100. Pierce Linville won the 11-15 age bracket and also won $100.
The derby drew 1,032 fishermen, which broke down to 895 adults and 137 children. Most of the fishermen said the fishing was tough. A total of 97 catfish were brought to the scales for a total weight of 1,511, an average of about 15 pounds.
The tournament continues to be most popular with out-of-county fishermen. According to tournament officials, non-county residents made up 62 percent of the field. Fishermen came from as far away as Hawaii and the East Coast.
Our thanks to Terry Knight and the Lake County Record-Bee for this update.