King of Buggs Goes to Cody Andrews, Josh Mullis, and Dean Matthews
by Ron Presley,
Photos courtesy of King of Buggs
Big Fish honors at the King of Buggs event also produced a new member of the 100-pound club with a 112.41-pound blue.
The October 12-13, 2023 King of Buggs Island/Kerr Lake (KOB) tournament produced a new one-day weight record and a new member of the 100-pound club. Tournament Founder, Jonathan Keats reported that 42 teams, 104 anglers, and 52 sponsors from several states participated in the event out of Clarksville, VA.
King of Buggs was a 100% Payout, ACA Division 1 event with all activities held at Occoneechee State Park where $22,000 in cash and products were distributed. It featured a free Big Fish contest on the Friday preceding the competition. The tournament began each day with a blast-off at 7 am. Anglers began fishing at 6 am with lines out at 3 pm with the final drive-through weigh-in beginning at 3:30 each day (scales opened at 8 am to 1 pm for anglers needing to weigh early).
KOB is a two-day catch-and-release tournament. Anglers were allowed a maximum of 2 fish per boat each day with no more than 2 catfish allowed in the boat at any time. The winners were determined by the total weight of 4 fish.
At the end of the competition, more than 200 pounds in 4 fish was needed to win. A one-day record weight was broken, and the Big Fis topped the 100-pound mark.
First Place and Big Fish 
The top spot at the 2024 King of Buggs was claimed by Cody Andrews, Josh Mullis, and Dean Matthews. Fishing as Team Hometown they weighed a whopping two-day total of 204.27 pounds to take the crown. Their Sunday total of 174.60 pounds in two fish set the new King of Buggs record for a one-day weight. They also had Big Fish of the tournament at 112.41 pounds.
Andrews, Mullis, and Matthews graphed several areas, especially wind-blown banks in setting their strategy.
“We found a couple of areas holding a lot of good fish,” reported Andrews. “We chose not to fish in those areas during pre-fishing. We didn’t want to put pressure on those particular fish.”
Team Hometown started slow, weighing only 29.67 pounds on opening day. The wind changed directions and scattered the fish that they had located earlier and they lost a good fish too.
“We caught a couple of small fish early in the day,” recalled Andrews. “Then around 1 pm that afternoon, we had a 50-pound class fish break off at the boat. Unfortunately, the fish got tangled up in multiple lines at the boat. Our weight for day one was roughly 29 pounds.”
Their day-one weight left them far down the leaderboard, but day two was to be a different story.
“On day two we returned to the same general area,” reported Andrews. “We pulled Team Keatts Planer Boards on a ledge but set up a little deeper than day one.”
The team caught a few fish early but their luck was about to change. Around mid-morning the bite that all anglers are looking for came. They had pinned cut white perch on an Ironside Trophy Hook and waited for a bite.
“Around 10 am we caught the 112-pound fish,” Andrews stated. “The Mad Katz Medium Action Rod handled the fish perfectly. I fought the fish for about 15 minutes and realized how big it was when I first saw it come up about 8 minutes into the fight. We continued to pull boards for another 80 yards with minimal bites.”
Given the slow bite, they decided to pull up and start the drag over. It was the right decision. On the next pass, they put a 62-pounder in the boat. Both fish were caught on a ledge with a lot of structure in about 32 feet of water.
“We want to send a big thank you to Mad Katz, Matt Knight, Ironside Catfishing, and Team Keatts Planer Boards for all the support,” concluded Andrews. The King of Buggs tournament was a very well-run tournament. Those who have never fished it, need to reconsider for 2025. Huge thanks also to Jonathan Keatts and his staff for a great tournament. All in all, Team Hometown had another phenomenal tournament.”
Second Place, Top Lady Angler, Top Veteran 
The runner-up spot went to Team Fisher. Kelvin Fisher, Vander Fisher, and Kelli Fisher teamed up to bring 174.36 pounds to the scales and claim second-place honors. Kelli Fisher won the Top Lady Angler and Kelvin Fisher won Top Veteran honors.
Third Place and Big Fish Friday 
Team Cat Baby was Bill “Flathead” Sutton and Mac Moneta. They pulled down the third-place weight of 148.56 pounds. Team Cat Baby also won the Big Fish Friday competition with a big ole 69.60-pound blue to add $1,000 cash to their payday.
Fourth Place 
Fourth Place went to Team Gators. Curtis Walker and Wallace Jones put 132.67 pounds in the boat to claim fourth place.
Fifth Place 
Rounding out the top 5 was Team Creek Bank. Andy Jennings and Travis Tullis took the fifth spot with 125.51 pounds.
Top Junior Angler 
Young Jax Wagner fished hard as he competed with Team Reel Hooked. He was fishing with his dad Nelson Wagner and grandfather Terry Wagner.
“Jax worked his tail off,” said Nelson following the tournament. “This kid was up and at it, driving the trolling motor, catching fish, putting out boards, and never complaining. He was so happy he was almost crying. I can’t wait to see this kid’s future in the fishing world!”
Top First Responder 
The Top First Responder was Tommy Hite. He was fishing with Curtis Weston and Bradley Peregoy on Team Kat Nasty.
Final Thoughts
The King of Buggs had 52 sponsors who collectively donated $22,000 worth of cash /products used in a raffle. Sponsor support is one of the key ingredients that made this tournament a huge success.
The Big Fish Friday event is a popular part of the tournament. It allowed anglers to prefish and provided a clear indication of what was in store for the competition on Saturday and Sunday.
“The excitement began on Saturday,” reported tournament founder Keatts. “Team Fisher weighed a 67.30-pound big fish and a total weight of 112.60 pounds to put them in 1st place going into day two.”
Day two of the competition started off strong with a 50.12-pound blue cat being weighed in early by Team Ant. Later in the day, Team Fisher was holding the lead with a total two-day weight of 174.36 pounds and a solid lead over the field. Then, a rumor circulated that a 100-pound plus fish was coming to the scales.
“Although Team Fisher had a solid lead there was still one more boat waiting to weigh,” Keatts said. “Team Hometown only weighed 29.67 pounds on day one, but boy did they show off on day two. They weighed in a true Buggs Island giant blue catfish that helped make them become the 2024 Kings of Buggs Island Champions while setting a new lake record for the highest single-day two-fish weigh-in with 174.60 pounds!”
Keatts thanked his tournament directors, Kevin Moore, Tommy Ruffin, and Bradley Peregoy for their help with the tournament. He also thanked all the volunteers who contributed to the success of the tournament.
“It’s a true honor to be able to host such a great event and draw in so many talented anglers from across the nation,” Keats continued. “Buggs Island Lake has proven time and time again to be one of the greatest blue catfish lakes in the country and we are proud to call it our home lake.”
“I would like to thank the good Lord above for allowing me to host such a great event and for keeping all the anglers safe on and off the water,” concluded Keats. “Thank you again to all our sponsors and anglers who supported this event. We look forward to making next year’s King of Buggs even bigger!”
For more information on King of Buggs visit their Facebook page.
