Tutorow and Han win The Catmasters at Helena
Beautiful Weather and Lots of Fish Characterized the Tournament
Plenty of nice fish were caught at Helena, AR on the Mighty Mississippi in The Catmasters event presented by SeaArk Boats. SeaArk Territory Sales Manager Jeremy Coe emceed the event that attracted eighty-four teams from 16 states. This event is the second in the trail’s points race that will end in Alabama in 2021.
The $20,000 points race will be determined based on the team with the highest scoring 3 tournaments of the 7 tournaments on the trail. It is important to note that to be eligible for the points race teams must register.
Teams consist of the captain and two co-anglers. All teammates including the alternate must be declared at the beginning of the season or at the 1st participating event. No changes in team structure will be allowed. The seven tournaments include Caruthersville, Helena, Possum Kingdom, Grand Lake, Lake Texoma, Lake Tawakoni, and the three-day Classic on Wilson, Wheeler, and Guntersville in Alabama.
The City of Helena, led by Mayor Kevin Smith, hosted the event that was strongly supported by industry leaders like SeaArk Boats, B’n’M Poles, and more.
First Place
The top spot at Helena went to Casey Tutorow and Andrew Han. They made the trip from Indiana to compete under the name of “Team Indy. They brought 131.04 pounds to the scales to claim the First-Place prize.
“We started the day upriver and caught 5 fish within the first couple of hours,” reported Tutorow. “We had caught a perfect under fish at 33.5 inches and some other 20-pound fish.”
At that point, Tutorow and Han decided to make a move. They traveled about 20 miles downriver where they made a couple of successful passes.
“We caught a 76 and then a 40,” Tutorow said. “At that point, we decided it was best to go weigh in early. We bump fished all day using skipjack on ledges. Our fish came from water ranging from 30 to 87 feet deep. Helena is an incredible fishery. We can’t wait to get back.”
Second Place / Big Fish
The runner-up spot and Big Fish went to Ryan Lawrence from Alabama and Mark Blauvelt from Ohio, Team Nashville. They teamed up to bring 130.5 pounds to the scales. Their bag included big fish of the tournament at 78.31 pounds.
Lawrence and Blauvelt prefished for two days and found a few decent fish by bumping a few miles downstream from Helena. What they found prefishing was good enough to set their strategy for tournament day.
“We bumped the same two-mile stretch of the river several times with B’n’M Bumping Rods,” reported Blauvelt. “We caught 18 blues for the day. The majority of our fish were in the 15- to 25-pound range. Our weigh-in fish include the 78-pound Big Fish, a 35 pounder, and a 19 pound under.”
The team bought fresh skipjack from Yammer and Sons. They reported that most of their fish came from 35 to 50 feet of water.
“Many of the fish were coming up from under the baits to hit them,” added Blauvelt. “The big fish came at 1 pm in the hottest part of the day. It was a very strong and healthy fish. In fact, all the fish were very healthy. Ryan and I want to thank both Catmasters and the City of Helena for putting on a great tournament! “
Third Place
After a slow start to the day, Larry Muse, Dino Meador, and Frank Meador claimed the third-place spot with124.30 pounds in their three weigh-in fish. Their bag included second big fish which led the big fish competition for most of the day in the lower 70-pound range.
“We got stuck on a sand bar in the fog,” said Muse as he described their day. “We didn’t wet a hook until 8:30. Then the trolling motor malfunctioned. We quit fishing at 1:30 and headed for the weigh-in.”
In those few hours between 8:30 am and 1:30 pm, Larry, Dino, and Frank demonstrated what a great fishery Helena has to offer.
“We were bumping hot current,” reported Muse. “The trolling motor was set on 7 and were still going 2 mph. I knew the pressure that had been put on the sweet current spots all week and that lessened the chance of catching a really big fish there.”
Understanding the pressure that had been put on the slower current areas, Muse led the team to fish the hot current in the hope of getting a couple of good quality fish and they did just that.
“We threw back five long fish,” Muse said. “And that’s not counting the two we weighed in. Given the 3-fish limit, we tossed back 37-, 41-, 43-, 44-, and 45-pound fish. We had an awesome day in anyone’s book. We want to thank the Catmasters for putting on the tournament and the city of Helena for supporting it.”
The Remaining Top Ten
4th Quinton Robbins & John Adams 120.32 lbs
5th Spud Barton & Aaron Churchwell 117.52 lbs
6th Cedric Poyner & Randy Dodd 117.45 lbs
7th George Young Jr & Tim Spencer 117.45 lbs
8th Marty Gerloff & Roger Gerloff Jr 103.18 lbs
9th Tom Petrowski & Henry Neafus 99.31 lbs
10th Joe Stringer & Chase Stringer 97.07 lbs
Tip Finishing Youth
Ryan Berglund on Team H & B was the Top Finishing Youth Angler. He was fishing with his dad, John Berglund, and John Hoverson.
Top Finishing Veteran
The Top Finishing Veteran Award, presented by Heroes Outdoor Therapy, went to Frank Meador who fished with his boys, Larry Muse and Dino Meador on Team SpongeBob.
Points Race
After two tournaments, Team Stringer Guide Service (Joe Stringer & Chase Stringer) is leading the Points Race with 376 points.
Epilogue
In addition to the spectators in attendance, many more fans were able to follow the event on a multi-camera live feed which documented the event. Following the weigh-in, all fish were returned to the river.
“We had a lot of great fish weighed in on Saturday in Helena,” said Tournament Director Brian St. Ama. “I want to thank our sponsors, SeaArk Boats, B’n’M Poles, Partners Bank, Visit Helena Arkansas, and Helena Mayor Kevin Smith! Thank you to all the anglers that participated. We look forward to seeing you at future events!
