Cachuma Lake is down but not out, and it still teems with recreational opportunities. That’s the message the caretakers of Santa Barbara’s major water resource want to deliver to the public. A case in point is this weekend’s 20th Annual Neal Taylor Nature Center Fish Derby on April 18-19.
“It’s still a big lake, though not the huge lake it used to be,” said Julie McDonald, director of the Nature Center. “There are lots of fish in the lake.” And there will be more in the days to come. Plantings of rainbow trout, suspended by the state last year, were slated to resume this week. Two plants totaling 6,000 pounds, including some trophy-size trout, are expected in advance of the derby, McDonald said.
In prior years, the annual April fishing event was known as the Trout Derby, with prizes going to the anglers who caught specifically tagged rainbows. The state’s ban on trout plants — based on environmental concerns that were just recently ironed out — brought about the rebranding. The Fish Derby will offer more than $5,000 in cash prizes for catches in an array of categories, including the heaviest bass, sunfish, crappie, catfish, carp, and trout. There will be special prizes for the fish caught by boys and girls ages 11-15 and 10 and under.