June 06, 2026 by Montana Cats Staff
The 8th Annual Milk River Catfish Days featured the Catfish Crawl, Cornhole Tournament, Children's Carnival, street vendor show, food trucks, live music, calcutta/street dance, and so much more. The Milk River Catfish Classic was again the focal point of the weekend as this year's event marked the 27th Annual. 80 two-person teams descended on the Milk River bottom Saturday night from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM with one objective in mind; to tangle with the mighty Channel Cat. The tournament featured variable weather patterns throughout. Mid 80's and sun at the opening rules meeting eventually gave way to bouts of wind, thunder, lightning, and scattered showers. As the anglers seemingly do every year, they overcame all obstacles to bring impressive baskets to the famous midnight weigh-ins. 76 out of 80 teams weighed in fish, but it was one team who stole the show and a crowd of nearly 700 people were there to see it.
The father-son duo of Clancy and Knoxsen Harris, both of Glasgow, put together an evening of fishing that will not soon be forgotten. 33.8 lbs. was the winning weight, but that doesn't tell the whole story. When asked about their evening on the banks fo the Milk, Clancy replied. "The beginning of the tournament was pretty frustrating. We couldn't find anything the first few hours. We had zero fish at 7:30. But we made a move and it paid off." "We caught an 8 1/2 lb. and 5 1/2 lb. double header after 10 PM and then upgraded one more time after that". Team Harris joins Jerry and Nate Molstad alongside Bobby and Robert Wise as the only three father-son Cat Classic Champions in history. Twelve year old, Knoxsen, becomes not only the youngest Cat Classic Champion of all-time, but he also breaks the Montana Cats Circuit record as it's youngest winner. A history that spans 81 events over the past 27 years. The previous record was held by Cole Plouffe and Mitch McIntyre, who won the Milk River Catfish Classic back in 2006 at just 17-years old.
The teams overall weight was boosted by Clancy's 8.78 and 8.53 lb. kitties. That secured another plaque and two more cash prizes for Clancy as those fish were good enough for both the Jumbo Whiskers Award and the Big Whiskers Award. It is the first time in Cat Classic history that an angler has caught the two largest fish in the same year. To top it all off; Clancy and Knoxsen were awarded 1st Place in the inaugural Adult-Child division, good for another $250 cash prize sponsored by Mountain Supply.
2nd Place went to a couple of veteran anglers who have been teaming up for the past nine years in Callahan Belling, Richland, MT., and JD Bailey, Opheim, MT. This is the fifth time in the top 20 for the northern Valley County teammates and the runner-up finish represents a new high water mark for each of them after having previously finished 4th in 2021. They were the only other team to breaker the 30 lb. barrier as their basket of five cats tipped the scales at 31.61 lbs.
The final piece of hardware went into familiar hands. Jason Flaten, Elko, NV., and Chad Dawson, Glasgow, MT. strung together yet another fine Cat Classic basket. The two Montana Cats legends used a late push after the sun had long disappeared to push themselves back into trophy contention with 29.55 lbs. Chad and Jason were coming off of last year's impressive runner-up finish before landing in 3rd this go around. It represents a 10th time in the Top 3 for Flaten in the Cat Classic and a 5th time in the Top 3 for Dawson.
4th place went to another father-son combo, Robert and Jonah Petersen, both of Billings, MT. Their 27 lb. basket proved worthy of a top five finish and is more proof that the Peterson's have really started to figure out the Milk River. This is a 5th time in the top 15 and a 4th time in the Top 10 in the Classic for Robert. All of those finishes have come since 2020. Impressive consistency!
Rounding out the top five was a 3rd father-son duo at the top of the leaderboard, Todd Lindsay, Laurel, MT., and JJ Lindsay, Billings, MT. Todd and JJ were 10th in 2023 and 4th place in 2024 and now they find themselves right back in the top five in 2026. Todd remarked that they didn't catch a single fish while pre-fishing on Friday, but they didn't let it get them down and they came out firing on tournament night. The Lindsay's have developed into one of the most consistent teams on the Montana Cats Circuit and now they have FIVE top five finishes to their credit to show for it.
348 Channel Cats were brought to the scales at Midnight Weigh-ins for a total of 1,140.68 lbs., good enough for a 3.28 lb. average. Ladies and Gentleman the population of Cats on the Mighty Milk is alive and well! In other weekend highlights; The Montana Catfish Association announced their inaugural Hall of Fame Class with a surprise presentation during intermission of Friday night's Calcutta. The HOF Class of 2026 features Jerry and Nate Molstad. The Molstad's are the most succesful Cat Classic team in history and are both very deserving of this special recognition. Congratulations to a couple of great guys!
Montana Cats would like to thank this year's circuit level sponsors; Shelly George w/ Thrivent Financial, Mountain Supply, RS Jet Boat Anchors, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Midway Auto and RV, BnM Fishing, and the Nemont Beverage Corporation. Also, special shoutout to this year's Cat Classic event sponsors: D&G Sports and Western, Glasgow TBID, and the Montana Department of Commerce. The Cat Classic will return next year for the 28th Annual on Saturday June 5th, 2027. In the meantime, the MT Cats organization will now be gearing up for the 3rd leg of the 2026 season. Join us in Sidney on Saturday July 18th for the 18th Annual Monster Cat Roundup.
Complete Final Results -- 27th Annual Milk River Catfish Classic
Click HERE
Posted in: Milk River Catfish Classic
