Missouri River Catfish Clash

August 17, 2025 by Montana Cats Staff

8/16/25 Williston, ND - The Missouri Catfish Clash comes to Williston every August and regardless of the weather, the water level, or the number of teams entered in the event.  You can always count on two things.  Big fish will be caught and fun will be had!  The 2025 version of the Clash had plenty of both.  The event got underway at 9:00 AM Central time and a field of 37 boats enjoyed a beautiful day on the water.  The event was a traditional eight hour tournament with teams due back for riverside weigh-ins at 5:00 PM.  32 teams would ultimately bring fish to the scales with eighteen of those teams bringing in over 20 lbs. on a five fish limit.         

August 17, 2024 by Montana Cats Staff

8/17/24 Williston, ND - For the second consecutive Montana Cats circuit event we had newcomers breaking through for a tourney championship!  This time it was brothers; Kyle and Daniel Brown, both of Billings, MT. who showed up and showed out.  The Brown's were fishing the "Williston section" for the first time in their lives and were not even able to get their planned day of pre-fishing in on Friday.  Due to boat problems on Friday morning, the anglers had to spend the whole day tracking down tools/parts in Williston and getting their boat ready in time for tournament day.  This did not deter the dedicated anglers and they still managed to put together the best day out of an entire 43 boat field.  

August 19, 2023 by Montana Cats Staff

8/19/2023 (Williston, ND) – This year's Missouri River Catfish Clash proved to be the most difficult fishing in the 13 years of the event.  41 boats competed in the tournament and only nine teams would break the 20 lb. barrier.  Nothing less than 30+ pounds had ever taken the tournament championship at the "Clash", until this year!  Joshua Pruitt, Bismarck, ND., and Caleb Wells, Williston, ND. would ultimately grind out the victory.  They become only the second team to ever win a Montana Cats event while bringing four fish into a five fish weigh-in.  Their 4-fish basket tipped the scales at 25.12 lbs.; narrowly defeating last year's Champion, Eric Braunberger, Miles City, MT., and his partner Aaron Roble, also of Miles City.  The Miles City duo weighed in 25.03 lbs. on five fish.  

August 20, 2022 by Montana Cats Staff

8/20/2022 (Williston, ND) – They needed a big day.  They delivered.  Eddie White and Eric Braunberger, both of Miles City, MT., were trailing four other fishermen for this year's Angler of the Year honors heading into the final event of the season.  Anything less than a tournament championship would have probably meant falling short of the coveted prize.  At the end of the day, their run and gun approach pounding "cover" paid off with a Missouri River Catfish Clash title.  The champs weighed in 32.21 lbs. on five Channel Cats to give them exactly what they needed to secure AOY honors.  

August 21, 2021 by Montana Cats Staff

8/21/2021 (Williston, ND) – Low Water. That was the theme of the 11th Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash held in Williston, North Dakota over the weekend.  The event came into question mid-week due to the low water levels and issues with the boat launch at tournament headquarters.  Thankfully, Montana Cats worked collectively with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to ensure safe access for all the anglers and assured that the event would go on as planned.  Despite conditions that had not been seen over the last decade of the event, and a drop in prop boat attendance, 42 boats still signed up to give it a go.