Anthony Murphy, Brant Bullock, and Mike Thomas Take Top Spot at the CatMasters on Wheeler
by Ron Presley
A 5-fish weight approaches 300 pounds to take the win at Decatur, AL.
The CatMasters launched 91 boats on day one of their event out of Decatur, Alabama. Anglers could opt to fish Wheeler, Wilson, or Guntersville Lakes. The two-day event allowed a maximum of 3 fish per boat per day at the scales. Only 2 fish could be over 34 inches.”
Emcee/Stage duties at the February 10-11, 2023 event were performed by Ty Nall and Skinny Busby while Bryan St Ama ran the live stream camera. Many other volunteers filled other necessary duties to make the tournament run smoothly. Jesse Swanson produced the live feed so fans at home could keep up with the action.
The tournament is part of the ACA Tournament Alliance so competing ACA members are also competing for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes and a chance to win a SeaArk boat package in an ACA drawing.
Day one ended with Anthony Murphy, Brant Bullock, and Mike Thomas leading the field with 179.31 pounds in 3-fish. They also recorded the Big Fish for Day 1 at 85.54 pounds. Second Place was held by Donnie and Lonnie Fountain with 130.38 pounds. Lewis Miller and Jason Arrington had the third place weight of 124.06 pounds. Second Big Fish on day one went to the team of Moxon Hammelman, Mark Robbins, and Josh Hammelman with an 81.52-pound trophy blue.
Day two anglers were greeted with cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 40s and expected to rise to the mid-50s. Winds were forecast at 11 mph with moisture expected after lunch. The weigh-in began at about 3:30 pm under cloudy skies, windy conditions, and steady rain.
First Place, Big Fish Day One, Big Fish Day Two, and Overall Big Fish
The top spot at Decatur went to Anthony Murphy, Brant Bullock, and Mike Thomas with a spectacular two-day weight of 296.02 pounds in only 5 fish. Team Kat-Tagious’s total weight was made up of 3 fish on day one which weighed 179.31 pounds and 2 fish on day two which weighed 116.71 pounds.
Their bags included Big Fish Day One at 85.94 pounds and Big Fish Day Two at 86.41 pounds which gave them Overall Big Fish. The two days of fishing earned them the first-place check of $10,800 plus Big Fish bonuses of $1,200, $1,200, and $5,000 for the Draggin Master Overall Big Fish Bonus for a total payday of $18,200. Anthony Murphy also won Veteran Big Fish Honors for $250.
“What an absolute way to show what the Tennessee River System is capable of,” recalled Murphy following the tournament. “We caught 4 fish on day one and 2 fish on day two. Our day one fish came on whole skipjack and the day two fish came on fresh-cut chunk shad.”
Team Kat-Tagious was fishing off the rope in deep mud and wood. Their fish came from water that ranged from 25 to 35 feet deep in areas where they used their electronics to spot the fish and then set up on them.
“The fish were holding tight,” reported Murphy. “Precision anchoring was key to placing those baits directly in front of the fish. I believe that fresh bait was very important in getting them to bite.”
Murphy applauded the X-Treme Bait Tanks on board for keeping the bait fresh, Big Cat Fever Rods for handling the big fish, Slime Line Heavy Cover Leader for fishing around the structure, and RS Nets for finishing the job at the boat.
“That bait came out of the tank in better condition than they went in,” praised Murphy. “And the Big Cat Fever Rods are the best rods on the market in my opinion. They have never let me down. That 86-pounder on day two was caught on a medium action rod!”
“Catmasters put on a great tournament,” concluded Murphy. “And I commend all the competing anglers for the hard work and sportsmanship they demonstrated.”
Second Place
The runner-up spot went to Donnie and Lonnie Fountain with a 2-day total weight of 274.15 pounds and earn the second place check of $4.200. The brothers finished day one in second place and made a strong run for the lead on day two.
Team Fountain came to the scales early on day two with 2 great fish. The biggest blue weighed 69.49 pounds and the second weighed 58.17 pounds for a 2-fish total of 127.66 pounds to immediately take the tournament lead. They returned to the water to try to get their under. They added a 16.11 pound under to finish day two with 143.77 pounds and hold the lead with 274.15 pounds. That weight held up until the last boat with Team Kat-Tagious weighed in.
“We fished Wheeler Lake for an unbelievable two days,” recalled Donnie. “We caught 435 pounds total on day one which we culled to 3 fish weighing more than 130 pounds for our day one weight. We got set up on day two and started fishing at 7:00 am. By 8:15 we had put over 400 pounds in the boat—all overs. We brought the biggest two in early to weigh.”
Lonnie and Donnie fished both days on the rope. They fished upriver from Ingalls Harbor using skipjack for bait. They put a lot of fish in the boat, catching 15 fish on the first day and 13 on the second day. All of their fish came on skipjack heads.
“Days like those are a fisherman’s dream,” concluded Donnie. “Most of all I want to thank the Lord for all our blessings and thanks to our families for putting up with us being gone so much. Thanks also to our sponsors, Anvil Rods, Dry Creek Marine, Driftmaster Rod Holders, BK Boards, and River Rat Reel Repair.”
Third Place
Bringing in the 3rd place bag were Lewis Miller and Jason Arrington. Fishing under the team name of Wintergreen Catfishin, they put together a two-day weight of 203.62 pounds to earn the third-place check of $3,000.
“We didn’t prefish any,” noted Miller. “But we had fished Wheeler Lake a few times in the past. Weather conditions steered us away from dragging so we set out with the intention of anchoring.”
When TVA cut down the power generation Miller and Arrington decided to head to the lake side of Wheeler. They checked a spot that had held fish for them in the past.
“We started scanning with my Garmin electronics,” stated Miller “We marked a great fish first thing Friday morning. We set up and by 7:12 am we had a great over. It was Jason’s new personal best blue at 67.20 pounds.”
Miller reported that the new personal best came off cut skipjack. As the day progressed the team found another blue in the mid-40s and a decent under that gave them a 124.06 pound on their first day of the tournament. They were holding down the 3rd spot after day one.
“The weather changed on day two,” reported Miller. “The wind was shifting, it was cloudy, and rain was predicted. We had marked 2 fish at the end of the day Friday and went to see if they were still hanging around that area. With the changes in weather conditions, they had pushed out.”
That finding put Miller and Arrington back on the search. They found a few smaller fish but not what they were looking for. They stayed with the hunt and just before noon, they marked a big fish and set up on it.
“Within 10 minutes the rod started to fold over,” recalled Miller. “It was a 66-pound blue cat. Pairing it with an under from earlier, we ended the day with 79-plus pounds giving us a total weight of 203.66 pounds for both days!”
“We want to give a shoutout to Catch the Fever and their awesome Hellcat Rod Series,” concluded Miller. “Thanks also to Maci’s Fish and Finds for all our terminal tackle and gear. We aren’t sponsored or prostaffed anglers but we have a passion that we pursue every chance we get!”
Other Winners
The CatMasters at Wheeler paid 10 places. The remaining top 10 teams and weights are listed below along with the Youth Angler Award, Top Finishing Female Award, and Veteran Big Fish Award.
4th Place – Mike and Jackson Mitchell, and Rick Sexton – 191.77 – $2,400
5th Place – Bill Sutton and Mac Moneta – 189.19 – $1,800
6th Place – Bill White and Cindy White – 170.33 – $1,500
7th Place – Jimmy Burton and Justin Fricke – 169.74 – $1,200
8th Place – Josh Hammelman and Mark Robbins – 166.76 – $1,100
9th Place – Michelle Sanders and Michael Sanders – 165.88 – $900
10th Place – Aaron Churchwell and Robert Thomas – 163.06 $850
Youth Angler – Peyton Childress fishing with Kevin Childress and Justin Arthur. The team finished 25th in the tournament. Peyton earned a check for $250.
Top Finishing Female Angler – Cindy White fishing with Bill White. The team finished 6th in the tournament. Cindy earned a check for $250.
Veteran Big Fish – Anthony Murphy from Team Kat-Tagious with a 86.41-pound blue. The team finished 1st in the tournament. Anthony received a check for $250.
Final Thoughts
The anglers fishing Wheeler, Wilson, and Guntersville Lakes proved once again what a great fishery the Tennessee River is. Catfish fans witnessed some very nice weights in the 2-day event. Day-one anglers posted 3,737.33 pounds at the weigh-in. Day two saw another 2387.06 pounds cross the scales for a two-day total of 6,124.39 pounds.
“We would like to thank all those who participated,” stated Tournament Director Bryan St Ama. “A special thanks goes to Don Dukemineer with Decatur Morgan County Tourism for all the help he gave us this weekend and for everything he does for the catfish community. Thanks to Ty Nall, Skinny Busby, Don & Wanda Nall for their continued support. We had a great tournament with a great group of anglers participating from all over the country.”
“The tournament industry for catfishing has come a long way in fish conservation,” continued St Ama. “It is always great to see how anglers have evolved in their preparation for conservation efforts in taking care of fish throughout the tournaments. We especially want to thank them for their hard work.”
St Ama also thanked the tournament sponsors SeaArk Boats, B’n’M Poles, Rigrap, Parks Planer Boards, Suzuki Marine, Monster Rod Holders, Marine Master Trailers, and Catfish Now.
“Overall the CatMasters crew enjoyed another event where we were able to expose trophy catfishing to the public in a sport we are truly passionate about,” concluded St Ama.
You can check out future event dates, information on the points race, and other relevant information at the CatMaster Website and follow them on Facebook.
