NEWS RELEASE

DATE:  Thursday, January 30, 2024

TO:  ALL MEDIA

FROM:  Tawni Thomson, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau

SUBJECT:  55th BLAKE JONES TROUT DERBY SET FOR MARCH 23, 2024 IN BISHOP, CA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 2024 Blake Jones Trout Derby is set for Saturday, March 23^rd in Bishop, California.  Since 1968, the event has been a favorite Eastern Sierra tradition.

Last year, the event had to be rescheduled several times due to severe winter weather, then record setting runoff from the melting snow. This year, the event is back to its traditional date in March. Event organizers are busy now gathering prizes, arranging for supplemental fish planting and other details to make sure this year’s event is a huge success. Online registration is now open, and the chamber is expecting hundreds of participants will take home about $10K worth of prizes including float tubes, Yeti coolers, barbecues, rod & reel combos and tons of other great gear provided by the event’s ever-generous co-sponsors.

The derby is popular with visitors as well as locals. “We want to make sure that it’s sustainable so upcoming generations can enjoy the fishing fun. We’ve added a category for catch & release and a special raffle prize for those who pick up trash while they are out fishing. And we always purchase and plant far more fish than are usually caught at the derby,” explains Bishop Chamber of Commerce Event Coordinator April Kress.

The Blake Jones derby is a blind bogey format with categories for adults and kids of all ages.  In addition to the blind bogey awards, there will be prizes for early bird registrations, farthest travel, biggest fish, even prizes for those who don’t catch any fish or choose to catch & release.

Registration, weigh-in, and awards ceremony will be at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fair & Event Center in downtown Bishop.  Fishing locations include Pleasant Valley Reservoir and the Owens River.  California Department of Fish and Wildlife plants Rainbow Trout year-round in these locations and the Bishop Chamber will arrange for supplemental stocking of fish purchased from Wright’s Rainbows prior to the derby.

“The derby is a real family-friendly fishing event.  In addition to the fishing contest, we’ll have information booths, educational displays, kids’ casting games, music, activities, food & beverage vendors and more,” Kress added.

Registration for the derby is now open.  Sign up online at www.bishopvisitor.com or drop by the Bishop Chamber of Commerce, 690 North Main Street.

The Blake Jones Trout Derby is co-sponsored by Inyo County and the City of Bishop, plus many other generous sponsors.  For more information, contact the Bishop Chamber at (760)873-8405.

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Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau

690 N. Main Street

Bishop, CA  93514

[email protected]