by Ron Presley
Striving for a tournament of distinction.
The Bill Dance Mississippi River Monsters (MRM) catfish tournament has a new look and a new feeling of excitement. Highlighting the facelift is the new recently released logo featuring a mean and angry looking catfish and the words, “Join the fight.”
For those catfish anglers choosing to “Join the fight,” they will find a rejuvenated and dedicated George Young, Jr. doing all he can to give anglers a tournament of distinction. The fishing is generally good on the Mississippi River out of Memphis and this year should be no different. For any angler wanting to catch the catfish of a lifetime, this is a good chance to do it.
For those anglers interested in warming up for the big event and maybe putting some gas money in their pocket they can come early and prefish. The week preceding the tournament has been dubbed “Monster Week.” Wednesday and Thursday of Monster Week offers a bounty of $500 for the biggest catfish weighed in each day. All you have to do to be eligible is to register for the tournament.
Friday will be seminar day and the Captains Meeting. James “Big Cat” Patterson, Bryan St. Alma, Rob Benningfield, Jason and Daryl Masingale, and Stacey Gaston are lined up to share catfishing information with attending anglers between 1 and 4 o’clock at Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid.
The Captains Meeting will be in West Memphis at the Eugene Wood Community Center, 212 West Polk, West Memphis, AR. One participant from each team MUST be present for this mandatory meeting and all registered anglers will have the opportunity to cash in on some great sponsor products to be given away after the rules discussion.
The process of launching boats and livewell checks at Mud Island begins at 3:00 am. Fishing hours are from 7:00 am – 3:00 pm with all boats required back to the ramp at Mud Island by 4:00 pm. From there they proceed to the weigh-in at Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid where the afternoon activities begin at 1:00 pm. Following the weigh-in, the 2019 MRM champs will be crowned and a new fully loaded Grizzly Tracker boat and trailer worth more than $20,000 will be awarded.
Keep informed of current announcements and updates by following Mississippi River Monsters on their Facebook page and bookmark their website at www.mississippirivermonsters.com.
Tournament registration is open on the website by clicking the “Registration” tab.
