Monster Cat Roundup

July 18, 2026 by Montana Cats Staff

7/18/26 Sidney, MT. - The 18th Annual Monster Cat Roundup featured 35 teams and numerous anglers that had their eyes on the top prize, but in the end it was a father-son duo that put it all together and won their first ever Montana Cats tournament title.  Abraham Hawkins and Kenneth Hawkins, both of Billings, MT., followed up last year's runner-up finish in Sidney with 36.04 lbs.  It isn't easy going top two in a tournament in back to back years but Team Hawkins has been quietly ascending on the Montana Cats Circuit for the last half a decade and now they may be here to stay!  The highlight of the day for the winning squad came when Abraham boated a 15.08 lb. giant, the second largest Channel Cat in tournament history.  Only Nicole Peterson's 16.02 lb. Cat from 2020 is larger throughout the 18 years of the event.  Abraham credited the addition of an oxygen system to his boat livewell setup; which helped keep their fish healthy on a day where water temperatures exceeded 80 degrees.  

July 19, 2025 by Montana Cats Staff

7/19/25 Sidney, MT - The National Weather Service had warned of problematic weather, however, participating anglers had no idea the real storm that was about to ensue.  It first came at 8:30 AM in the form of thunder, lightning, pouring rain, and high winds.  After 3:00 PM it came in the form of a record-breaking basket of fish that likely no one seen coming.  The bout of extreme weather did hit earlier than anticipated and it provided plenty of loud booms, cracks, and a nice light show.  It also brought a hard and steady rain along with it, but ultimately it did not alter the fish activity on the lower Yellowstone River.  The post-spawn Channel Cats came out to play and the field of 40 jet boats were there to challenge them every step of the way.  In the 17th year of this event; a record six teams cleared the 30lb. barrier and just under half of the field brought over 20 lbs. to the scale.  

July 20, 2024 by Montana Cats Staff

7/20/24 Sidney, MT - For 16 years Steve and Ashley Harris have brought mid-summer fun to Sidney, MT. in the form of a Catfish Tournament on the Yellowstone River.  The annual Monster Cat Roundup is practically a religion for those that carve out the same weekend every single year to spend it in the Eastern Montana wilderness chasing BIG fish.  The Montana Catfish Association is one big family and this event and the greater Sidney area make up a large part of our organization.  This year's weather would cooperate and bring a clear sunny day to Richland County.  In return, the field of 48 would have the best day of fishing in tournament history. 

July 24, 2023 by Montana Cats Staff

7/15/23 - Sidney, MT. - It was another great day on the Yellowstone River for the Annual Monster Cat Roundup!  This year provided more unique challenges for the 37 teams in attendance.  It happened to be the 3rd highest river levels in the 15-year history of the event as the streamflow hovered at 30,000 cubic feet per second.  Only the inaugural year and the flood year of 2011, provided higher water.  Our recent cooler summer temps also kept the water temperature nearly 8 degrees cooler than the tournament average.  Despite those obvious differences, fishing still proved to be quite difficult for much of the field.   
One team stood above all others, however, as the father-son duo of Todd Lindsay, Laurel, MT., and JJ Lindsay, Billings, MT., absolutely obliterated the field with a heaping basket of cats that tipped the scales at 37.03 lbs.  It proved to be nearly 11 lbs. clear of the runner-up team and marks the 2nd largest margin of victory in tournament history.  Todd turned an incredible trick on tournament day as he landed the TWO largest Cats of the day. An 11.08 lb. whopper and a 9.14 pounder to go with it.  Todd remarked, "It was 10:00 AM and we had 37 pounds.  After that, we did continue to catch 5 pound fish and we could have had a 2nd basket of nearly 25 lbs."  This marks the first Montana Cats Circuit win for the Lindsay family and one this is extremely well deserved!  Todd, JJ, and Kellie have been cutting their teeth on the circuit for 5+ years and they are not afraid to put in the time.  Congratulations to the whole family.

July 22, 2022 by Montana Cats Staff

7/16/22 - Sidney, MT. - There always seems to be two mainstays at the Monster Cat Roundup.  The anglers should always expect a challenging bite and they should never forget the sunscreen.  This year provided more of the same.  The summer heat peaked in the mid 90's this time around, but despite those difficult conditions it is safe to say the 50-boat field won this version of the battle!  Twenty teams weighed in over 20 lbs. breaking the previous record of seventeen teams with 20+ pounds in 2020.  Teams reported solid weights, but limited numbers.  In what has become customary at this post-spawn event, a five fish limit presented it's own unique challenges.     
No one "cracked the code" quite like Glendive anglers, Cole Plouffe and Brett Burman.  The veteran Catfishermen deployed a mobile strategy that helped them land over 40 catfish throughout the duration of the event.  Those are numbers unheard of in this Sidney section for this time of year.  Cole stated, "We caught over 20 Cats in one spot and had 35+ pounds by 10:00 AM".  It is the first Monster Cat Roundup title for either angler, but it is a 6th tournament championship for Plouffe during his Montana Cats Career.  Moving himself into a tie with Chad Dawson and the Wise Guys (Bobby and Robert) for 3rd All-Time in career circuit victories.  Congratulations gentleman on a great day on the water!