King Kat Classic Win Goes to Warrick and Stump
by Ron Presley
Photo credit: King Kat
The 2023 King Kat Classic allowed 3 fish per day in the two-day event. It required more than 225 pounds in 6 fish to win it.
The King Kat Tournament Trail traveled to Huntsville, AL at Ditto Landing to hold their two-day Classic. The November 3-4, 2023 event attracted 48 teams from 17 states. Anglers were competing for a first-place prize of a new Lowe boat powered by a 150 hp Mercury engine valued at about $45,000.
Fifty anglers qualified for the Classic through the King Kat Tournament Trail and others qualified through the King Kat Affiliated Program and the field was completed through a bump-down process.
Anglers could weigh 3 fish each day consisting of blue cats, flatheads, or channel cats. Only 2 fish each day could measure more than 34 inches.
Following the first day of competition, the team of Ronnie Duncan and Frank White took the lead with a total weight of 126.42 pounds. Wheeler Lake is a big fish lake that gives anglers a great opportunity to shake up the leaderboard on day two. It did exactly that.
First Place
The top spot at the King Kat Classic went to Andy Warrick and Anton Stump. After setting in 6th place after day one with a total weight of 107.53 pounds they added 119.79 pounds on day two and moved up the leaderboard.
Warrick and Stump had a two-day total weight of 227.32 pounds to earn the King Kat Championship. In addition to Championship Cups, they took home a Lowe Boat powered by Mercury Marine, and valued at about $45,000.
The team prefished all week and dealt with 20-mph-plus winds. Fortunately, conditions improved as tournament days approached making it easier for them to drag.
“The weather on both tournament days was picture perfect for us compared to the first half of the week,” recalled Warrick. “We dragged baits both days on Spread Em Planner Boards and Dirty South Dragging Weights.”
The team rigged their Big Cat Fever Hell Cat Rods with Hooker Terminal Tackle 8/0 and 12/0 BackStabber hooks and deployed the rods from Smackdown Rod Holders.
“On day one our first spot did not produce a fish,” reported Warrick. “We decided to move about 7:30ish. We started a new drag and things started happening. We boated a small over that weighed 18 pounds in the first few minutes. Then our two big fish hit.”
With two nice fish in the boat, the team decided to go to the scales. They knew they had more than 100 pounds in the boat. They called ahead and let the weighmaster know they were coming in.
“Being low on bait we decided to go to the scales,” Warrick said. “We needed every minute of time to catch some fresh skips.”
The team returned to the same area where they finished day one. By 7:00 a.m. they had boated their first fish, a very small over. A few minutes later they hooked and lost a good fish.
“By around 8:00 am we caught another small over and was setting around 50 pounds,” reported Warrick. “Anton suggested we move out off of the ledge a little more and then things got interesting!”
After the move, Warrick boated his personal best blue at 58 pounds and Anton added his personal best at 61 pounds. In that short time, they had more weight in 2 fish than they had in total weight on day one.
“We spent the rest of the day trying to find a kicker with no luck,” noted Warrick. “We only boated 5 fish total on day two .”
“The experience of it all was the best part,” concluded Stump. “Along with the honor of fishing against the best catfish anglers in the nation.”
The team thanked King Kat for putting on the event. They also recognized Dry Creek Marine LLC, Catch The Fever, Spread Em Planer Boards, Dirty South Dragging Weights, SmackDown Catfishing, Hillbilly Towels & Sublimation, and Patriot Catfishing INC. for everything they do.
Second Place
The runner-up spot at King Kat went to Tim and Tommy Walsh. The Walsh brothers teamed up to bring 101.40 pounds to the scales on day one. Their 3-fish total weight put them in 9th place after the first day of competition.
“We had a remarkable two days of fishing,” said Tommy in a Facebook post. “We did what we do best, put your head down and grind.”
The team added 118.02 pounds on day two as they climbed up the leaderboard. Their two-day total of 219.42 pounds earned them the second-place spot and a check for $6,500.
“I want to thank King Kat,” said Tommy at the awards ceremony. “You guys are doing a great job. I love what’s going on. We’ll be back. I want those silver cups, I want to have me a drink out of that bad boy.”
Third Place and 2023 Points Champions
Twin brothers Donnie and Lonnie Fountain had a great tournament year. After being named King Kat Anglers of the Year on Thursday night before the tournament they went on to finish 3rd in the Classic at Huntsville, AL. The team had a total two-day weight of 216.06 pounds to earn the 3rd place check for $5,500!
They gave special recognition to Dry Creek Marine, ANVIL RODS, Dales Tackle, Driftmaster Rod Holders, B-Kat Boards, Bob Mann’s The Original “2 Hook Leaders,” and River Rat Reel Repair.
“Thanks to all the anglers who fish these events,” concluded Donnie in a Facebook post. “Without you, all this would not be possible. Thanks also to the King Kat Tournament Trail.”
Big Fish
Big Fish honors at the Classic went to Doug McAnally, Secody Howard, and Matt Russell with a 73.86-pound blue. They earned a $l,000 check from Cornfield Fishing Gear. They finished the tournament with a two-day weight of 194.57 to earn 7th place and add another $1,000 to their payday.
Final Thoughts
For a complete list of anglers and where they finished at the Classic visit the King Kat Live Results website by clicking here. You can view the results for each day and the combined results.
To stay abreast of what’s going on with King Kat visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
