Carlton King has the perfect last name as far as fishing goes and the good he has done in the community.
Carlton has been a Rio Vista resident for 22 years and a Bass Derby participant each of those years. As a child growing up in the Bay Area, his Mom loved to come to Rio Vista to enjoy the beauty of the water and let Carlton and his brothers fish. In 1996, he started working for a company that did tile work in Rio Vista. A few years later he made his way around working in the Bay Area and one of his co-workers mentioned that he should look into buying a home here. Carlton didn’t think that would be possible, but sure enough, he and his wife Adah stopped by the sales office. There were two houses left and they fell in love with one of them. Within a few days they became residents of a city that he loved as a child.
Besides fishing, the other passion that Carlton has is inspiring young people and getting to know his neighbors. For about 7 years he and his wife would give away toys on Halloween. He really wanted to show his appreciation to his fellow neighbors, so he would go to Walmart with a 5 x 12 trailer and load it up with bikes and all kinds of toys. Each child that came to the door would receive a raffle ticket. One year he had over 800 tickets given out.
Carlton is an avid fisherman; he is very knowledgeable of the sport and the Delta. He has used his knowledge to win first place in the Bass Derby in the striper category in 2018 and 2021 and second place in 2019. He scouts miles of Shoreline looking for feeding fish, schooling minnows or heavy concentration of seagulls. He has a few favorite spots on the Delta, where he finds his perfect catch. Carlton is also a huge positive advocate towards the Bass Derby & Festival.
During last October’s derby, he drove through the Human Bean drive-thru to get a coffee. The worker asked him, “what are you doing up so early?” He replied, “It’s the Bass Derby time, everyone in town knows that and I’m fishing the derby.” When she handed him his coffee she had written on the cup, “You’re a Winner!” She was right, he won first place with his 3rd catch that day.
Carlton spends his free time chasing Crappie while he waits for Chambers email letting him know its “Bass Derby Time.”
