Montana Catfish Association - News & Updates

February 25, 2014 by MT Cats Staff

2/26/14 – Every year around this time the catfish crowd starts to get a little restless. It’s like clockwork. The calendar flips to March and it doesn’t matter if its still 20 below with the wind chill outside, it could just as well be 70 degrees and sunny because the “catfish fever” is in full effect. Some common cures for this type of fever you might ask? Warmer temperatures, longer days, and trip and tackle preparations are just a few ways to start the healing process. It’s always a good time to start cleaning the fishing storage at the house or in the garage and do a little gear cleaning and maintenance as well. By taking these steps it’s easier to decide what needs to be fixed or purchased for the upcoming open water season. It is also a great time to start scratching off a few summer weekend days for some leisurely fishing with the friends or family. For the avid tournament angler, what better time than to get signed up for anyone of the outstanding events scheduled for 2014 on the Montana Cats Tournament Circuit? For us on staff, March isn’t all that bad. March signifies that we are that much closer to catfish season and it won’t be long before we see the bend in our rods and the pulling of our drags. When that time comes, the “catfish fever” will have subsided and will be replaced with months of fishing adventures.........

September 09, 2013 by MT Cats Staff

For the past 27 years, Bruce Storlie of Glendive, MT., has been hunting elk on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge far west of the Crooked Creek recreation area on Fort Peck Reservoir. He has made it a habit of chasing big game during the morning, while chasing cats all afternoon. This year, however, would turn out to be unlike any of the previous 26 years. At 11:00 a.m. on September 26th, while fishing with his hunting partner and brother, Mike Storlie, Bruce set the hook on a massive fish. Bruce remembered joking with his brother at the time of the initial fight, “I think I got the new state record catfish here.” Bruce knew it was big; after all they had caught catfish up to 18 lbs. on previous hunting trips to the area. But this was something bigger and much stronger than ever before. Fishing with only 10 lb. monofilament and his reel nearly out of line all together, Bruce decided to step out of the boat that was wedged near the shore and start walking after the fish with fear that it might just snap him off. After walking an estimated 3/4 of a mile and battling him for nearly a half hour, Bruce was finally able to wrestle the behemoth to shore.

Taking his time to catch his breath, the two immediately knew it was the biggest catfish they had ever seen. Conversation shifted to getting the beast on a scale right away and find out just what they were dealing with. Bruce had a 28 lb. Deliar spring scale on hand, so they put the fish on it and it immediately bottomed it out. The brothers had another 8 lb. Deliar and worked feverishly to try and rig something up using both scales in order to get a more accurate weight but to no avail. They did however, have a tape measure available, and measured the length at an incredible 40″, with a 25″ girth. They both came to the conclusion that the fish was more than likely in the 32 lb. range. Recalling previous conversations had with other anglers and friends, Bruce was quite sure the current Montana State record was 32 lbs. Mike agreed.

tual catch.

August 25, 2013 by Montana Cats Staff

The 2013 Montana Cats Circuit came to a conclusion over the weekend and the culmination will not soon be forgotten. In what will go down as one of the most impressive days of fishing in circuit history, twenty-three teams brought in over twenty pounds to the scales. You are staring at a top ten finish in the Clash in years past with those types of numbers, but it was going to take much more than that in 2013!

August 17, 2013 by MT Cats Staff

8/17/13 East Grand Forks, MN – The Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail hit the waters of the Red River at Grand Forks, North Dakota. In the event over 80 of the top anglers from 9 different states were competing not only for the cash and prizes, but the opportunity to qualify for the 2013 Cabela’s King Kat Classic. This year’s Cabela’s King Kat Classic will be held September 26-28, 2013 on Kentucky Lake at Camden, Tennessee Be sure to check out our new website at King Kat USA. It’s a new site with new and exciting information on our events along with special information for catfish anglers.........

July 13, 2013 by Montana Cats Staff

The 5th Annual Monster Cat Roundup was quite the show this past weekend in Sidney, MT. The event had a little bit of everything. New records in both total weight and big fish, a record number of boats, a circuit veteran crew winning their first ever tournament championship, and a hailstorm. Yes this was a memorable event for all involved.