Hunter Jones and Tyler Moses caught their big fish early
to lead the way to the win on the Mighty Mississippi.
Catfish anglers from thirteen states traveled to the Mississippi River for a King Kat Tournament Trail even presented by Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s. Nineteen teams gathered at Caruthersville, MO to test their catfishing skills against other anglers and Mother Nature.
Competitors were vying for $7,000 in cash and prizes, and an opportunity to qualify for the $120,000 Classic Championship to be held November 1 and 2, 2019, on the Tennessee River (Wheeler Lake) at Decatur, Alabama.
Teams gathering at the S. P. Reynolds Boat Ramp for weigh-in had been challenged by a 30-degree cold snap and a rising river. Air temperatures in the Caruthersville area started out in the 30’s before climbing to daytime highs in the 60s. Winds were out of the west at 5-10 MPH.
Results for the Top Catfish Teams
Hunter Jones from East Prairie, MO and Tyler Moses from Killen, AL teamed up at Caruthersville to bring 148.2 pounds to the scales and claim the top spot. Their bag included the Big Kat of the tournament at 68 pounds. The team earned $2,600 for the win and added $380 for Big Kat and an additional $300 Driftmaster Bonus for using all Driftmaster Rod Holders on the boat.
Jones and Moses fished upriver towards Cape Girardeau. They began targeting fish on the ledges in 50 feet of water. They used a combination of fishing on the rope, bumping, and drifting to catch 10 fish on skipjack to claim the win.
“Our over fish came off anchor in 50ft of water on sand,” reported Jones. “It came early in the morning before we moved to drifting in water that ranged from 25 to 50 feet to catch the other fish. We left the big fish because we knew we had to find under fish to have a chance to win.”
“We didn’t do anything too special,” offered Moses. “We started off on anchor and had 4 fish including the two overs we weighed. Then we started drifting for the unders and over time we found the right ones. We fished a lot of different scenarios and managed to put it all together (with some luck of course).”
“The unders made the difference for us,” concluded Moses. “We had 49 pounds in our three unders and that’s what makes or breaks many length-law weigh-ins.”
The runner up spot went to Jason and Daryl Masingale. The Paragould, AR team had a total weight of 138.86 pounds, including the second big fish at 56.94 pounds to earn a check for $1,100.00.
Team Masingale targeted fish upriver about 25 miles. They were fishing in 15-20 feet of water on the bank. Their big fish also came off the anchor before changing strategies by moving deeper and drifting skipjack. They caught a total of 15 fish on the day.
“We had a blast because we caught several fish today,” reported Jason. “Our fish pulled up tight to the channel ledge. Because of the cold front, we started on the anchor.”
“The anchor strategy was effective but after several moves, we changed to the drift,” added Jason. “The drift bite stayed productive as we scratched out the remaining fish and culled throughout the day.”
The third spot went to the WavePro team of Justin Cook from New Franklin, MO and Gary Ryan from Columbia, MO. Last year’s Classic winners weighed 129.7 pounds to earn a check for $800.00.
Cook and Ryan ran their Excel 230 StormCat and WavePro seats downriver to the Osceola, AR area. They anchored all day using skipjack for bait. They targeted fish in 25 to 40 feet of water and landed 15 fish on the day with 6 fish over 34 inches. Teams were only allowed 2 fish over 34 inches so 4 big fish went back as they searched for unders.
The Remaining Top Ten Teams
4th Place – Charles LaPlant and Mike Davis – 107.36
5th Place – Young, Harkness, Bill Dance 103.14
6th Place – David Shipman and Hunter Shipman – 86.80
7th Place – Sam Brooks and John Raines – 82.90
8th Place – Tom Petrowski and Henry Neafus – 78.28
9th Place – William Stewart and Jason Heinbaugh – 7144
10 Place – Joe Hardy and Barry Wilson – 64.52
Epilogue
Tournament director, Jeremy Coe thanked the Caruthersville Chamber of Commerce, the City of Caruthersville for hosting the tournament. He also thanked the Grizzly Jig Company for all their hard work to create a successful tournament.
National Sponsors
Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s, Excel Boats, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Humminbird, Minn Kota, B’n’M Poles, Gamma Line, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Ego Nets, Xtreme Bait Systems, Clear Boards, EFX Graphics, Catfish Now, Fin n’ Frames, WavePro, and Crown Trophy
For more information on the championship and other King Kat activities visit their website at www.kingkatusa.com. Anglers can also follow the trail on the King Kat Facebook Page.
