Paul Hurt wins RigRap Wheel Spin on Catfish Weekly
On Monday, March 5, 2018, Catfish Weekly’s RigRap Wheel landed on CatfishNow for an angler from San Marcos TX. There are a million stories in the catfish community, 54-year-old Paul Hurt’s is just one.
“I started fishing like most, very young,” offered Hurt. “I was catching panfish and small channels at first. Then I started fishing for bass, but not seriously until I moved to Florida and got into tournament fishing.”
After a stay in Florida, Hurt moved back to Texas where he lives now. Then, a trip to Virginia to visit a relative changed his fishing interests again.
“My my son-in-law, who is a Sgt. in the Army, returned from Germany and was stationed in Ft Belvoir VA. It is on the Potomac River and they have a marina on base. That’s where I caught my first 20+ pound blue cat. I was hooked instantly. I knew I was done bass fishing.”
With the hook set, so to speak, Hurt sold his Skeeter bass boat and bought a 2010 SeaArk center console. He is now part of a tournament team with some other family members.
“We just started tournament fishing this year,” explained Hurt. “The opportunity came when my son-in-law transferred to Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio. Our team name is Reel Lazy Kats. Team members are me and two sons-in-law, Sgt. Carlos Rivera and Dr Vu Huynh, who is a clinical pharmacist.”
Team Reel Lazy Kats fishes the Central Texas Catfish trail and a local trail called Riverlife on the Guadalupe River. Paul’s fishing is mainly on the Guadalupe River and the three lakes it feeds–Canyon, Dunlap, and Placid.
“I try to go every week at least once,” revealed Hunt. “The problem is our schedules never match up so I end up fishing alone. I try to prefish the lakes in the tournament schedule, but if there isn’t time I usually fish Lake Dunlap in New Braunfels or Lake Placid in Segu.”
“We are really paying our dues this year. But we are learning a lot at each event. You have to be willing to lose to be a winner, but they better watch out next year,” joked Hurt.
Hurt says he learns a lot from catfish YouTubers, especially one particular channel that reports on the same waters that Hurt fishes.
“I really appreciate all those channel YouTubers who take the time to post content,” said Hurt. “I know it’s not easy. One guy that has really helped me is a guy from San Antonio. He basically fishes the same water we do. His channel is called Vegeta404. I have learned a lot from him.”
Hurt has had the opportunity to fish the Potomac and the James Rivers in VA when he visits his daughter and son-in-law, but his fishing dream is tournament related.
“I know I have been blessed to fish what are probably two of the best catfish rivers in USA,” concluded Hurt. “But something I would like to do would be to fish every stop on the Cabela’s King Kat trail in one season and be competitive at each location. That would be a dream come true.”
Editor’s Note: Everyone likes to win stuff and Catfish Weekly is giving plenty of catfishing gear away. All you have to do is sign up for the giveaway on the Catfish Weekly Facebook page and tune in on Monday nights to listen to Lyle Stokes and Doc Lange. If your name comes in the random drawing then Lyle spins the wheel to see what you have won.
It’s free and it happens every Monday night at 7:00 pm central time, and sometimes in between. When the wheel lands on CatfishNow the winner gets their catfish story told on the CatfishNow website.
