Jones and Stout Win King Kat at Cape Girardeau, MO
Big Fish honors to Blair, Vaughan, and Nagy.
Catfish anglers from several states traveled to Cape Girardeau, MO on the Mississippi River for a King Kat Tournament Trail event presented by Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s. Thirteen teams gathered to test their catfishing skills against top catfish anglers and Mother Nature.
Anglers fishing the September 24-25, 2021 Region 4 Championship were vying for $20,260 in cash and prizes and the likelihood of competing in this year’s King Kat Classic Championship on the Red River at Natchitoches, LA, November 5-6, 2021. The Classic features a guaranteed payout of $125,000 in cash and prizes.
The Mississippi River produced a good bite on day one with plenty of big fish coming to the scales. Anglers could weigh 3 fish with no length limit applied. Day one was near perfect weather with lows in the 50s before climbing to near 80 at the weigh-in. The first day ended with Charles Blair, Doug Vaughn, and Alex Nagy leading the pack with 155.15 pounds in 3 fish. They also had big fish on day one at 68.74 pounds. The top five teams broke the 100-pound mark with 3 fish.
The day-two weigh-in started strong with Hunter Jones and Chris Stout adding 130.5 pounds to their day one total for 269.00 pounds in 6 fish in the two days of fishing. That put them in the Smooth Move Hot Seats where they remained for the rest of the day.
First Place
Teaming up to take the top spot was B’n’M pro-staffer Hunter Jones and Chris Stout. They brought in 130.5 pounds on day two for a tournament total weight of 269 pounds in 6 fish. They had 139.40 pounds on day one. Consistency paid off as their two days of fishing earned them the first-place check of $10,000.
Jones from East Prairie, MO, and Stout from Jackson, TN were fishing several methods to catch their fish on the Mississippi River. They caught about 10 fish on the day.
“We fished downriver both days,” recalled Jones. “We were targeting water about 25 to 30 feet deep. We used a combination of bumping and anchoring. Our fish came off of sand roller bottoms out toward the middle of the river.”
Jones and Stout began each day drifting and catching several fish. However, their bigger fish came off the rope. They did best when they were walking baits from their anchored position. The key was to keep them walking back very slowly.
Day two gave them a bit of a scare when they got to the ramp to unload the boat.
“We got to the ramp and realized we didn’t have a key to the boat,” joked Jones. “Luckily one of the keys off my key ring for the truck worked.”
The team thanked equipment sponsors B’n’M Poles and Boss Kat Hooks for their support.
“We also want to thank our spouses,” concluded Jones. “They put up with us and all our time we spend gone fishing.”
Second Place and Big Fish 
After leading day one, Charles Blair from Altenburg, MO, Doug Vaughan (OL Crow) from Winfield, MO, and Alex Nagy from Warsaw, IL claimed the runner-up spot with a two-day total weight of 215.07 pounds to earn a check for $4,000.
Their Big Kat of the day from day one weighed 68.74 pounds and held up as Big Kat for the tournament. It added $260 to their earnings.
The three-man team used the traditional method of bumping to catch their trophies. They reported a full moon and blue skies on day one with a shower to begin day two. They fished the entire tournament using Rippin Lips 8/0 tournament-grade circle hooks.
“We were targeting current seams with structure,” reported Nagy. “We also were trying to stay in the 25 to 30 feet deep range. We used frozen skipjack and picked apart a 3 mile stretch of river.”
“It was some fast current,” continued Nagy. “We needed a lot of trolling motor to keep us slowed down. We also were able to fish longer in the area we found fish with the lithium batteries from Pro Guide.”
The team thanked their sponsors Rippin Lips, SeaArk Boats, Suzuki, Pro Guide Batteries, Monster Rod Holders, Smooth Moves Seats, Off Shore Tackle, Cat River Anchors, and Tree-line Trimming and Removal.
They obviously practiced good fish care too. Nagy lost a hat to a juiced-up blue cat at the weigh-in on day one. The team caught 8 to 10 fish which they culled to their 6 fish limit in two days of fishing.
Third Place
It was a family affair for the third-place team. Les Thompson Sr, Les Thompson Jr (Nooner Hall), and Trenton Thompson fished under the name of Team DeWitt. They got a good started on day one with 114.90 pounds and finished the tournament with the third-place winning weight of 206.66 pounds to earn a check for $1,500.
Not being familiar with the Big Muddy at Cape Girardeau, MO, the team got started pre-fishing on Thursday afternoon to set their strategy.
“It was a challenge,” reported Nooner. “We finally found what we were looking for in terms of the water we like to fish. We found some nice fish around structure in 30 to 40 feet of water.”
Team DeWitt didn’t have time to catch fresh skipjack so they relied on frozen bait that they had caught a couple of weeks ago.
“We bumped all day the first day,” said Nooner. “We caught some nice fish that put us in a really good spot after day one.”
They reported a tougher bite on day two which started out raining with temperatures in the mid to upper fifties. As the day progressed the temperatures rose to near 80 degrees under sunny skies and a light east wind.
“We only had 4 bites on day two,” continued Nooner. “We caught 3 out of the 4 bites and had a monster fish get off! The one we had been looking for finally hit and we couldn’t get it in the boat. We tried different techniques from bumping to anchoring and drifting, but none of them seemed to work so we went back to bumping.”
“The bite was tougher,” explained Nooner. “But the difference-maker between day one and two was being able to catch the fish we needed that hit. Although it’s hard to do, after losing that big fish, we stayed positive for the rest of the day and fished hard. We just couldn’t come up with anything else. Luckily what we had was enough weight to move us up from 4th going into day two to 3rd place overall.”
The team thanked their sponsors for their support. They include The DeWitt Company, T Force Worldwide, Tomlin Trucking, Smackdown Catfishing, Drury Hotels, MulTbar, Grizzly Jig Company, Big River Cats, and REEL EM UP.
“We would also like to think Cabela’s King Kat for a great tournament,” concluded Nooner.
Fourth Place
Justin Borgfield from Daisey, MO, and Jake DerHake from St. Charles MO finished in the fourth spot with 194.18 pounds to earn a check for $500.
Borgfield and Derhake also bumped to catch their fish. They were targeting water in the 15 to 24 feet range using skipjack for bait. They reported a relatively good bite, catching several fish each day.
Epilogue
Tournament director, Willy Pranker thanked the City of Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau for their support.
“I would also like to thank the Auburn Place Hotel and Suites,” said Pranker. “They served us well as the host hotel. We look forward to returning to Cape Girardeau on the same weekend next year.”
The 2021 Championship
This year’s King Kat Classic Championship will be held on the Red River at Natchitoches, LA, November 5-6, 2021. The Classic features a guaranteed payout of $125,000 in cash and prizes. The points race is set to pay $30,000 to the top 20 places based on the competitor’s top-five finishes.
National Sponsors
Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail sponsors include Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Gamma Line, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Ego Nets, EFX Graphics, Catfish Now, Fin n’ Frames, Cat River Anchors, Smooth Move Boat Seats, Power-Pole, Lowe Boats, Crockett Creek Beef Jerky, and Garmin.
For more information on the championship and other King Kat activities visit their website at www.kingkatusa.com. Anglers can also follow the trail on the King Kat Facebook Page.
