June 07, 2025 by Montana Cats Staff
6/7/25 Glasgow, MT - This year's version of the Cat Classic featured wind gusts of over 40 miles per hour and smoke barreling down from Canada. Combine those outdoor elements with less than ideal river flows and it made for an interest evening on the water. 80 teams comprised of 160 anglers made up the field. With the Milk River struggling to maintain it's optimal water supply it was speculated that fishing would prove more difficult than previous years. That did not end up becoming reality, however, as 72 teams would bring a total of 311 fish to the scales with an average weight of 3.46 lbs. per Channel Cat. The entire top twenty cleared the 20 lb. barrier proving that even some of the most difficult conditions are no match for a full field of veteran Cat Classic anglers.
This year's tournament championship was claimed by Bryon Armour and Ty Thomas, both of Lewistown, MT. with 31.35 lbs. The teammates have been fishing the Cat Classic for a very long time with Ty beginning in 2018 and Bryon getting his start on the Milk way back in 2010. In 2025, it all came together with the team catching eight total cats on the evening. Each of their last three catfish were meaningful upgrades which played a large part in the tournament title, including Ty's Jumbo Whiskers Award winning 12.03 pounder! The Championship is special on multiple fronts. Bryon had endured a major medical setback on the banks of the Milk River just a few short years ago when he tore his Achilles tendon during this very same event. This year the team also missed the chance to enter the tournament on January 2nd, so they had to jump on a long waiting list where teams traditionally sit and hope for inclusion into the event at a later date. That date did not come until one week before the tournament. A spot opened up on Friday the 23rd and Armour and Thomas leaped at the opportunity and that opportunity was not wasted. It is the 15th Top 10 finish for Armour in his Montana Cats career and a 2nd career title for both Armour and Thomas after winning the Missouri River Catfish Clash in 2014.
Runner-up featured a couple of familiar faces as Jason Flaten, Elko, NV., and Chad Dawson, Glasgow, MT. tipped the scales at 30.48 lbs. The Glasgow natives landed over 25 cats on the evening, fishing multiple locations, and upgraded consistently throughout the latter part of the evening. It is a ninth top three finish in the Cat Classic for Flaten and a fourth time that Dawson has grabbed hardware in the event. 3rd Place went to Vance Anderson of Glasgow and Bo Boreson of Perrysville, Indiana. Vance and Bo caught exactly five fish on the evening but it was enough to put a plaque on the wall with 28.62 lbs. It is the eighth time in the Top 20 for the tourney veterans but the mark also represents their highest finish ever in the event. 4th place went to Jayson Riggin, Billings, MT., and Jeremy Riggin, Great Falls, MT. It is a forth top 10 finish in the Classic for Jayson. Rounding out the top five was Steve Harris Sr. of Sidney, MT. and his son Clancy Harris now of Glasgow. It marks a back to back top six finish in the Classic for Clancy.
Posted in: Milk River Catfish Classic
