As the sport of catfishing grows, so does the anticipation of yearend tournaments. The Cabela’s King Kat Southern Championship will take place on Lake Wateree at Camden, South Carolina. Qualifying anglers are already planning for the big event.
The Championship is a two-day event on October 6 and 7, 2017. Just as the sport is growing, so are the prizes for wining. This year’s first place winner will take home a Alumacraft 2072 side console boat valued at $25,000.00. The boat is equipped with a 90HP Mercury 4-stroke engine, Minn Kota foot control trolling motor, Humminbird Helix series electronics, Driftmaster Rod Holder package and Cat River Anchor.
The team of Aaron Churchwell and Jake Herman are already making plans for the big event. Interestingly, Churchwell and Herman joined forces as a team after fishing against each other. “Aaron and I started out fishing against each other on the Coosa River in Rome, GA,” stated Herman. “Now we fish together as a team.”
“At the championship, we are going to start out at the dam,” forecast Churchwell. “We plan to fish on the rope and catch a limit of 5 fish up in the tail race. If we can do that we will run down the lake and look for some bigger fish. After we leave the dam we will be dragging with planner boards.”
“Wateree has good numbers of blues in it,” continued Churchwell. “Some can be good sized too. The last time we fished it everyone there was saying use white perch, but we caught all our fish on bream and shad. We are looking forward to returning to Wateree and representing our sponsors, Tomcat Rods, Elite Rod Holders, and Katfish Clothing.”
Paul Blackwell will be fishing from his new 2018 SeaArk Procat 240 with his partner Madison Atkins. “We’ll go the weekend before the tournament and fish,” offered Blackwell. “Then, the day before we will just look around and make sure we still know where the fish are. We’ve found that we do better by fishing a week before and just looking the days leading up to blast off. Our final strategy will depend on water temp, weather and how the pre fishing went. Of course, we will want a variety of perch and gizzard shad for bait.”
“I’m looking forward to the championship on Wateree,” concluded Blackwell. “We consider it a home lake even though it’s two and a half hours away from us. In my opinion it’s one of the best blue cat lakes in the south, especially for numbers. We always seem to catch a lot of fish and have a great time when we go. Most of the bigger tournaments are a haul for us and it’s nice to have a championship in our backyard.”
Registration
Registration will be held Thursday, October 5 at the Camden City Arena, 517 Bull Street, Camden, SC from 5-7 pm. Captains Meeting/Seminar will follow at 7pm. Participating anglers must be a member of the King Kat Association to fish.
Legal waters for the Southern Championship are all of Lake Wateree, with fishing beginning each day at 6:30 am until 3:00 pm. All anglers must be in the weigh-in line by 4:00 pm.
The tournament weigh-in will be held both Friday and Saturday at Clearwater Cove Marina, 2029 Baron Dekalb Street, Camden, SC. In the interest of conservation only 5 live fish are allowed to be weighed in. All fish will be released after the tournament.
For a complete list of rules visit the website: www.kingkatusa.com or phone Cabela’s King Kat Headquarters at: (502) 384-5924.
Sponsor and Host Lodging for this Event
The Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center would like to welcome all Cabela’s King Kat anglers and their guest to the area and hope they take the opportunity to enjoy the many attractions in the area. For more information please call: (803) 432-2525 or visit their website at: www.kershawcountychamber.org.
Host lodging for the event will be the Colony Inn & Breakfast Cafe, 2020 W. Dekalb Street, Camden, SC. For reservations call (803) 432-5508. The number of rooms may be limited so it is recommended that participants make their reservations early.
Free Kids Fishing Rodeo
In conjunction with the tournament the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail will hold the Cabela’s King Kat Kids event on Saturday, October 7 at Clearwater Cove Marina, 2029 Baron Dekalb Street, Camden, SC.
The event is free of charge and open to all youth 12 and younger. Sign up is from 8:00 am till 9:00 am. The Kid’s Fishing Event will start at 9:00 am and run until 11:00 am. All children will receive a prize just for entering. Bring your favorite rod, reel and bait and show your true fishing ability. All children must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Prizes for winners will be given in two age groups, 0-7 and 8-12. The event is free to all children 12 and under with all participants eligible for a chance to win one of the six, Outdoor Promotions $1,000.00 scholarships.
Outdoor Promotions and their participating anglers have contributed nearly $342,000.00 to the “Kids” Scholarships since 1997. “We are very proud to be a part of the education process for the youngsters who participate in our tournaments as adult/youth teams and those who fish in the Outdoor Promotions Kids Fishing Rodeos,” said a King Kat official.
NATIONAL SPONSORS:
Cabela’s, Adventure Products EGO Nets, RigRap, B ‘n’ M Poles, Minn Kota, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Driftmaster Rodholders, Gamma Line, Humminbird Electronics, World Fishing Network – WFN, Rippin’ Lips, Keep Alive, Cat River Anchors, Sunsect Sunscreen & Insect Repellent, Humminbird Lakemaster Maps, Digital EFX Wraps, Tentology, Crown Trophy, Gill Rainwear, Catfish Now and Whisker Wear.
Check out the website at: www.kingkatusa.com and like Cabela’s King Kat Facebook Page to stay up to date with their tournament and related activity.
