Ever since being addicted to the catfish scene I have heard about Aaron Wheatley’s Monsters on the Ohio catfish tournament. I almost made it in 2016, but a hurricane had other ideas about where I needed to be. A conflict in 2017 kept me away again. Finally, this year I have plans to make the 14-hour drive to Owensboro to see for myself why everyone talks so highly about this popular catfish tournament.
English Park in Owensboro, KY is the site of the ninth annual Monsters on the Ohio and there are plenty of activities planned for anglers, kids and spectators. All the details can be found by following the tournament on Facebook or visiting the website at www.monstersontheohio.com.
In preparation for my trip to Owensboro, I decided to look back at the last three tournaments to see who won and what kind of weights they brought to the scales. I also checked to see who caught the Big Fish each year and what it weighed.
Monsters on the Ohio – October 10, 2015
The 2015 tournament registered 182 boats from 23 states. That translated to about 383 men, women, and children fishing the Ohio River out of Owensboro. The 2015 tournament paid out over $45,000 in cash and prizes.
At the end of the day, it was Larry Muse, John Stevens and Don Dalton with the winning weight of 127.3 pounds. Their bag included a monster 63-pound blue.
“We suspended on fish most of the day,” reported Muse. “We culled around 30 fish. I guessed we had about seventy pounds at 1:00 when I noticed a little increase in the current. I went to a bank where I won the Sea Ark tournament a couple of years ago to see if we could get a big fish and boy we did. We picked up a 25 and a 63.”
Muse went on to thank tournament director Aaron Wheatley and Owensboro KY for a well-run Monsters on the Ohio. He also thanked everyone engaged in sponsoring the growing sport of tournament catfishing.
Big Fish honors in 2015 went to Chance Hurley and Roger Keown with a 73.0-pound brute. The team also won 17th Place with a total weight of 73.0 pounds, proving that it only takes one to win.
Monsters on the Ohio – October 8, 2016
The seventh annual Monsters on the Ohio tournament launched a record 192 boats on the Ohio River at Owensboro, KY. Catfish teams traveled from all across the U.S. to compete for cash and prizes. The winners earned a check for $8,000.
Jeremy Ransom and Travis Robertson claimed the 2016 Monsters on the Ohio crown with 104.4 pounds.
“Our success came because we did not harass the fish we found before the tournament,” said Ransom. “I had been on those fish for about 10 days, but only dropped baits on them two times before the tourney.”
“There was no secret to what we achieved,” added Robertson. “We had great input from other anglers and we put it all to good use. We developed our plan from our scouting the week before. When we came back down this week we did not over-fish before tournament day. We took it easy on them, caught a few, and then left them alone. We caught our fish in 35 to 40 feet of water. Some were caught dead sticking and others were on the Dragon Tail.”
Big Fish for 2016 went to Jody and Tricia “Trish” Beavin. The B’n’M Poles team posted a 53.4-pound monster blue to earn big fish braggin’ rights.
Monsters on the Ohio – Sept. 14, 2017
Monsters on the Ohio 8 brought 180 catfish boats to Owensboro, KY to compete in one of the most anticipated catfish tournaments in the nation. Given the makeup of two- and three-angler teams there were nearly 400 anglers fishing the tournament.
Tyler Moses and Bill Parfitt were crowned the eight annual Monsters on the Ohio champs. Their bag of 112.2 pounds included the second biggest fish in the tournament at 57.7 pounds. It was a true team effort with both anglers contributing one of the overs to the total weight.
“We locked down and ran down near Henderson,” said Moses. “The fish we found were holding tight to trees and we just back bounced through them all day long with fresh skipjack.”
“We had all of our fish by 10:00 am,” concluded Moses. “We were lucky enough to get the right bites and have the weight hold for first place. It was uneventful fishing. We caught what bit and got lucky that it was enough. It is an accomplishment when you are fishing against a huge group of the best anglers out there.”
Big Fish in 2017 went to Chad Waugh and Don Elder Jr. They boated a 67.1-pound beast to claim the big fish prize. That Big Fish turned out to be Waugh’s new personal best. It was also the second biggest fish to ever be weighed in at the Monsters tournament.
Fish Care at Monsters on the Ohio
This year, just like all previous years, the health of the fish will hold a top priority. Wheatley has long been an advocate for the health and propagation of trophy catfish. That passion led him to naturally include catfish conservation as an important element of his tournament strategy.
Conservation has become more important to anglers in general and is, in fact, one of the reasons that Wheatley started Monsters on the Ohio.
“With me being from here in Kentucky, conservation is one of the reasons I started my tournament,” explained Wheatley. “I wanted to show the guys at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KFW) what the possibilities are with this natural resource that is right here in our waters.”
As a tournament angler and director, Wheatley considers the most important part of taking care of fish is from that point when the boat comes out of the water to when the fish gets to the scales and is then returned to the river. With that notion in mind, he does several things to enhance the process.
- Keep the weigh-in line short. Wheatley does this by leaving boats in the water until the weigh-in line is ready for them.
- Provide drivers for the tow vehicle. This eliminates the time anglers have to get in and out of the truck to participate in the weigh-in. It saves a lot of time and it is accomplished with volunteers who have the same desire as Wheatley to protect the fish.
- Small fish are pulled out of the livewell before the boat gets to the stage. The anglers can then concentrate on the big ones once the stage is reached. This step is good for the spectators too, who get a better look at the big fish.
- Weak fish are put in a 200-gallon tank to received oxygen and resuscitation. Once the fish has recovered and is in good shape it is released back into the Ohio River.
“We absolutely go all out to protect the fish,” said Wheatley. “They come up out of the water, they are weighed, they are checked by fish and wildlife, and they are taken straight back to the water, which is only 50 feet from where they are weighed. I don’t know of anything else we could do to make the weigh-in go faster.”
This Year’s Monsters on the Ohio – October 13, 2018
The ninth annual Monsters on the Ohio will kick off on Friday, October 12 with a Captains Meeting at Owensboro Sportscenter, 1215 Hickman Ave, Owensboro, KY. The doors open at 3:30 for registration and the Captains Meeting starts at 6 pm central time.
As last year’s winners, Moses and Parfitt will be boat number one in the 2018 event. When I asked Tyler Moses what he was thinking about as he and Bill were preparing to defend their title he had a couple things on his mind. His thoughts are on bait, current, and the competition.
“I’m thinking that bait may be tough,” responded Moses. “The current will help the fishing some, assuming there are no massive cold fronts.”
“It will take a good bit of luck to win again,” concluded Moses. “But I would rather fish against the best because that is what makes a win valuable when you manage one.”
There are spectator activities beginning at noon on Saturday and the weigh-in begins at 3:00 pm. The public is invited and welcomed to attend.
