Two fishermen caught some big fish worth big bucks in Big Bear on Saturday.
According to a press release from Big Bear Lake’s Fishin’ for $50K Annual Trout Derby, the anglers caught two rainbow trout, each with a $10,000 tag on its dorsal fin.
One of the fishermen was identified as 54-year-old Hemet resident Rodolfo Vizcarra; he caught a “rather small size fish” that measured 15.25 inches long and weighed just 1.61 pounds.
“This particular trout, however, will be Mr. Vizcarra’s most memorable catch of his entire lifetime, because it put an extra $10,000 in his wallet,” Big Bear Lake officials said. “Mr. Vizcarra humbly stated that he plans to pay some bills with his winnings.”
The other angler was a man from Corona who asked to remain anonymous; he reeled in a larger fish weighing over a pound more than Vizcarra’s catch, but as officials say, it’s not about the size of the fish but rather the overall payout prize.
This marks the first time in the derby’s 26-year history that one of the tagged fish caught was a top-prize winner, and what made Saturday even more special is that two $10,000-prize fish were caught on the same day.
Big Bear Lake’s Fishin’ for $50K Trout Derby resumed on Sunday at 6 a.m. and is scheduled to continue until 2 p.m. Afterwards, the grand prize winners will be awarded with their payouts.
There are still three other fish with $10,000 tags swimming around Big Bear Lake as of Sunday morning, meaning there are still more chances for lucky anglers to snag a big prize.
Over 6,000 pounds of trout were planted into the “practically brim full” Big Bear Lake this past week, officials said, giving fishing aficionados plenty of opportunities to catch fish both during the derby and well into the summer months.
More information about the $50K Trout Derby and Big Bear Lake can be found here.