There was quite a bit happening at Lake Isabella this past Memorial Day weekend. The temperatures were much cooler than what you would expect on a typical Memorial Day in the Cincinnati area. Friday and Saturday had highs that were only reaching the mid-50s. This did not stop us from stocking fish for the holiday weekend. We stocked 200 lbs. of adult hybrid bluegill and 500 lbs. of adult channel catfish.

Shortly after stocking had concluded on Friday, the boathouse received a call from Kenny, one of our regulars at Lake Isabella, asking if we could come out and get a picture of a fish he just caught. Kenny did not disappoint – he had a nice 30-something pound blue catfish on the end of his line.

By Sunday evening, not only had the temperature been warming up, we also so an increase in fish activity! Including two fish, a blue catfish and a shovelhead, caught right before closing by Michael Staggs. The bigger of the two, a 49.8 lbs. blue catfish, was enough to win the Colossal Fish Contest this week and $51 worth of winnings.

Michael is our sixth Colossal Fish winner this year. This event runs every week at Lake Isabella from Monday–Sunday. All you have to do is pay $5 on top of your fishing ticket to be entered. If you catch a fish, bring it up to be weighed, then collect the winnings if it is the biggest fish weighed in that week.

On Monday, we hosted our third Kids’ Mystery Fish Challenge at Lake Isabella. We always host these wildly popular events at Lake Isabella on the summer holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day). It was a pretty light crowd, with only 54 kids in attendance, of the 54 kids, 33 of them caught at least one fish!

At 11 o’clock, all weighing of fish was concluded and it was time for the big reveal. Up first, we had the 5 and under age group: Mystery Weight = 0.18 lbs., which put Finn M. closest with a fish weighing 0.17 lbs. Next, in the 6–10 years old age group: Mystery Weight = 0.17 lbs., which put Palmer F. spot on with a fish weighing 0.17 lbs. And finally, in the 11–15 year old age group: Mystery Weight = 0.09 lbs., which put Ben D. also spot on with a fish weighing 0.09 lbs.

A big thank you to our sponsors who make these events great: Hamilton Bait & Tackle, Wanglers and Bass Pro Shops.

Upcoming Fishing Events

• June 12: Our third Bass Series Tournament at Winton Woods*
• June 13: Chris Macarthy Kids’ Derby at Mitchell Memorial Forest
• June 19: Our third Rod Busting Tournament at Lake Isabella (6 a.m. start time)
• June 20: Our fourth Kids’ Mystery Fish Challenge at Woodland Mound

*In the event that lake levels are too high at Winton Woods, the tournament will be moved to Miami Whitewater Forest.

You can pre-register for all of these events on our website or an hour before the event on-site. Please note that pre-registration closes for all events 48 hours prior to the start of the event.

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Anthony Unkrich
East Region Guest Experiences Manager