Milk River Catfish Classic

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 which brought smoke down from Canada.  Combine those outdoor elements with less than ideal river flows and it made for an interest evening on the water for the 160 anglers that made up the 80 teams competing.  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.  The entire top twenty cleared the 20 lb. barrier proving that even some of the most difficult conditions or no match for a full field of veteran Cat Classic anglers.   

June 01, 2024 by Montana Cats Staff

6/1/24 Glasgow, MT - When an event reaches 25 years it is commonly referred to as that event's "Silver Jubilee".  It's only natural to want something special to happen when celebrating a quarter century of growth and sustained success.  That something special happened in 2024.  The Milk River Catfish Classic celebrated its 25th tournament in simply incredible fashion.  

June 04, 2023 by Montana Cats Staff

Glasgow, MT 6/3/23 -  Just when you think you've seen it all, the Cat Classic will surprise you with conditions one might deem "impossible".  After two consecutive years with unseasonably low water; we had nearly record river flows and at least minor flooding throughout tournament boundaries as the main channel and it's tributary creeks swelled with the onslaught of early summer rainfall.  The Tampico section in particular, saw rapid overnight rise, going from 2,000 to 5,000 CFS from midnight on Friday to Midnight on Saturday.  The previous record flows for tampico was just 2,800 CFS 2010 and 2012.  Every section, downstream of Beaver Creek, was dramatically effected during tournament hours.        

June 05, 2022 by Montana Cats Staff

Glasgow, MT 6/4/22 -  Low water.  That was the theme for this year's version of the Milk River Catfish Classic.  How would the fishermen adapt?  Would fishing become increasingly difficult?  Would teams still find a way to put together impressive baskets of fish?  Yes, fishing proved to be very difficult on an otherwise beautiful evening, however, many teams adapted and simply found a way.  Eighty teams brought 276 cats to the scales at the famous midnight weigh-ins in downtown Glasgow.  Forty two teams caught their limit of five Channel Cats, but only five teams brought in over 20 lbs.  Those numbers, unfortunately, bore a stark resemblance to the low water years of the early 2000's.    

June 05, 2021 by Montana Cats Staff

Glasgow, MT 6/5/21 - The Cat Classic is the gift that keeps on giving!  Simply unbelievable.  On a week where it seemed big fish would be hard to come by, it proved to be anything but.  With very lower water conditions and a heat index in the 90's for the days leading up to the tourney there was an expectation among anglers that this years tourney would be a real challenge and the resident population of catfish in the Mighty Milk would be tight lipped on tourney night.  Leave it the Cat Classic to throw everyone a wrench and come out swinging.  The fishing was fantastic again this year for the 80-team field as twenty eight teams weighed in over 20 lbs. of fish!  That ties the all-time record set in 2017 and 2019.