Enthusiasts compete for biggest fish

STAFF WRITER

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link Matthew Johnson has his fish weighed by park staff member Gabriel Garcia during the Oasis State Park Biggest Catfish Challenge Derby on Saturday. The fish weighed in at 14 ounces.

For the seventh year, Oasis State Park hosted the Biggest Catfish Challenge Derby on Saturday.

True to its name, fishing enthusiasts competed to see who could catch the biggest catfish, with $450 handed out to the event winners.

The event didn’t start until 5 p.m. but because of a large turnout, registration began as early as 2:30 p.m. Midway through the event, more than 185 people had signed up to do some fishing.

Valerie Russ, the park tech specialist for 11 years, said this event draws its share of both regulars and first-time visitors to Oasis.

Jimmy and Doris Roberts, had been waiting for the seventh annual event since they lucked into the sixth annual derby.

“We heard about the fishing (at Oasis), not the event, from a friend and just happened to come out last year the day of the event.”

Now they qualify as regulars. They previously spent much of their time driving up to Las Vegas, New Mexico, but now love Oasis as well.

“I was shocked when I first came here,” Doris said. “I had no idea this great place was so close to where we live.”

Others are new to the area and simply enjoy the ability to fish, regardless of where it is. Brendan Davis, a 14 year-old whose family is stationed here with the military, has fished from the rivers of Tennessee to the Pacific Ocean. He was hoping his 3.9-pound catfish would stand, with a $100 prize going to the junior division winner.