Montana Catfish Association - News & Updates

July 16, 2011 by Montana Cats Staff

What a weekend! In what can only be described as outstanding, the 12th Annual Milk River Catfish Classic weekend is officially in the books. 2011 was no ordinary year for the Classic. Due to a “100 year” flood on the mighty Milk because of record snowfall and an unseasonable amount of spring rain, the Cat Classic was rescheduled for the first time in tournament history.

July 09, 2011 by Montana Cats Staff

The 3rd Annual Monster Cat Roundup took place in Sidney, Montana over the weekend. The festivities were once again kicked off on Friday night with the social and calcutta of the fishing teams at the Ranger Lounge. A record number of people showed up to bid on their favorite anglers and enjoy some good fishing conversation. Jerry Andreason and Jessie Williams with Good Ol’ Boys Auctioneering put on a show with the calcutta and provided some good entertainment for the crowd. Tournament director, Steve Harris, of the Montana Catfish Association, presented the rules and regulations. As the opening night came to a close there was some nervous anticipation in the air and plenty of excitement to get it all started.

June 10, 2011 by MT Cats Staff

Savage, MT 6/11/11 – The 8th Annual Savage Volunteer Fire Dept. Catfish Tournament brought an all-new ball game this year. Only two weeks prior to the event, the Savage area was dealing with all-time record flows and high water. This in turn dramatically changed the traditional tournament landscape. Anglers had to deal with extremely high fluctuating waters, impassible muddy banks, and unstable weather leading up to the tournament. The prevailing thought was that it would be a struggle to catch the illusive “slot fish” needed to take home the top honors. (teams are only allowed to weigh-in 12″ to 18″ channel catfish) When anglers gathered on Friday night for the annual calcutta, the tournament organizers promised the event would go on as planned and it would be a success. 61 teams filled the competition nearly six weeks in advance. Despite the weather and high water, there was the usual excitement in the air.

This year’s event would smash tournament records, unfortunately in a way the anglers would like to avoid. Their thoughts and concerns came true as it turned out to be the most difficult Savage tournament on record. The statistics were staggering; only eleven teams would catch a fish, and twenty-one total catfish would hit the scales. Not a single team weighed in their limit of five “slot fish”, and one 17″ slot fish would be good enough for sixth place and a spot in the prize money. Tournament veteran, Jim Messer, would captain the championship squad. Jim’s team weighed in four cats at 5.175 lbs., blowing away the field by more than 6 tenths of a pound. Shawn Conradsen captained the runner-up squad, catching four fish at 4.455 lbs. Local angler, Bink Miller, cashed in on a separate cash pool reserved for the big fish contest. Bink’s big cat tipped the scales at 7.955 lbs.

As is customary at the Savage catfish tourney, the fire dept. hosted the community and tournament anglers to a farm raised catfish feed following the weigh-ins and award presentation. Despite the high water, the event once again went off without a hitch. The fire dept. and the whole community of Savage should be commended for their outstanding hospitality and ability to put on such a fun-filled event. The 9th Annual Savage Volunteer Fire Dept. Catfish Tournament will return to Savage on Saturday, June 9th 2012. As a reminder, returning teams will be mailed entry forms next April, they will have until May 1st to fill out the form and return. On May 1st the tournament will open to the public and new anglers will be able to join in on the fun. Hope to see you all next y

May 31, 2011 by MT Cats Staff

Back in June 1998, a breakthrough was made in the catfishing world. That year the First International Catfish Symposium was formed, referred to as “Catfish 2000”. Catfish 2000 was a meeting of the minds in Davenport, Iowa. It consisted of the finest professors, biologists, fisherman, and conservationists involved with the species. The knowledge that was shared at that meeting and the published proceedings has served as the basis of our current understanding of the entire species. For the next decade, the findings from that Symposium had been referenced and studied by nearly everyone involved in the sport of catfishing. As is so often the case in all areas of science, great advancements had been made over the course of twelve years. A large amount of studies had been performed and new information was now available for everyone in the catfish world.

We at Montana Cats, like so many others, knew that a new Symposium could very well be just around the corner. It was announced in the fall of 2009 that the 2nd International Catfish Symposium, Catfish 2010, would be coming to St. Louis, Missouri in June. In the months after the announcement, the anticipation began to build on what would be included at the Symposium. Even the legendary Bill Dance was excited about it, inviting everyone to the event.. This year’s addition would include a catfish

May 07, 2011 by Montana Cats Staff

The Yellowstone Challenge, brought to you by the Montana Catfish Association in conjunction with Cabelas, returned to Huntley over the weekend and welcomed a record 42 boats to the competition. An unseasonably cold spring gave way to three straight days of beautiful weather leading up to the event, and that’s just what the doctor ordered. The weigh-ins provided all the proof one needed to see that the big fish were active and the anglers were in prime form.