The local team also claimed Big Kat Honors.
Catfish anglers from four states traveled to Tuttle Creek Lake at Manhattan, KS for a King Kat Tournament Trail event presented by Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s. Twenty-one teams gathered to test their catfishing skills against other anglers and Mother Nature.
Anglers fishing the August 29, 2020 event were vying for $4,920 in cash and prizes, and an opportunity to qualify for the $120,000 Classic Championship to be held October 30 – 31, 2020 on Milford Lake in Milford, KS.
The anglers were faced with inclement weather to begin their day on Tuttle Creek. The morning was characterized as stormy with rain and lightning. By 1:05 pm, leading up to weigh-in, the temperature was a mild 72 degrees and a slight breeze was felt. It was totally opposite from the beginning of the day when the weather was very rainy.
Many anglers found a pretty good bite. Some reported catching more than 20 fish from which to cull their 5 weigh-in fish.
Results for the Top Catfish Teams
First Place and Big Kat
The top spot on Tuttle Creek went to Samuel Kracht from Blue Rapids, KS, and Mackenzie Delrosso from Randolph, KS. The team brought a whopping 117 pounds to the scales to claim first place and earn $2,600. Their bag included Big Kat of the tournament weighing 43.18 pounds and added $420 to their earnings.
Kracht and Delrosso fished the north end of the lake. It was an area about a mile from where the mouth of the Big Blue River enters Tuttle Creek. The team began fishing with shad for bait which caught some smaller fish. When they switched to cut perch and bigger baits the larger fish came to the boat. Delrosso was credited with catching the Big Kat.
“The big fish was caught in the mouth,” joked Delrosso, who was fishing his first tournament ever. “It was caught up north near the bridge around 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning.”
“We had a great day,” added Kracht. “We used Parks Planer Boards to drift a shallow flat on the upper end of the lake. We used several different fresh cut baits. They were feeding on about everything. Overall, we had 23 fish for almost 380 pounds of total weight. It was a great day!”
Second Place
Council Bluff anglers Tyson Burnett and Gerald Shivers teamed up with Craig Norris from Meridian, KS to claim the runner-up spot. They had a bag weighing 77.94 pounds to take second place and earn $1,100.
After launching at about 5:15 in the morning, Burnett, Shivers, and Norris fished the north side of the lake using shad for bait. Early fishing resulted in 2 channel cats and then, about 8:00 am what they called “the real fishing,” began.
The team did not note a difference between the morning and afternoon bite, catching about the same numbers in the morning as in the afternoon. On the day, they caught 12 cats under 35 inches, 8 channel cats, and 2 overs in a great day of fishing.
Third Place
Rounding out the money spots was Kevin Parks from Leroy, KS and Ryan Gnagy from Milford, KS (The home of the 2020 King Kat Classic). Parks and Gnagy pooled their catfishing skills to weigh 72.78 pounds and earn a check for $800.
Parks and Gnagy reported a day started out wet but dried up pretty quickly. They remained all day on the north end of the lake where they used shad to catch 9 or 10 fish. They spread the bait out on Parks Planer Boards to cover a lot of ground. The team fished in shallow water ranging from 1.5 feet to 7 feet deep. They caught around a dozen fish on the day.
Mentioning the weather again, they reported experiencing every type of weather except snow. As local anglers to the Milford Lake area, they are looking forward to fishing the King Kat Classic in October at Milford, KS.
The Remaining Top Catfish Teams
4th Place – CJ Blakenship and Kevin Miller – 71.18
5th Place – Bryan Pinick and Bryan Merritt – 53.78
6th Place – Michael Thomas and Jeff Bucher – 50.04
7th Place – Chance Nolan and Lane Nolan – 41.08
8th Place – Ty Wolf and Troy Kulhmann – 40.82
9th Place – Eric Horton and Jordan Horton – 38.08
10th Place – Brian Thomas and Shane Park – 36.50
Epilogue
Tournament director, Tim Fortner thanked the Manhattan Convention & Visitors Bureau for making the event possible. A special thank you also went out to the Wildcat Marina and their staff for their hospitality towards staff and anglers.
The 2020 Championship
This year’s Cabela’s King Kat Classic Championship will be held October 30 – 31, 2020 on Milford Lake in Milford, KS. The Classic features a guaranteed payout of $120,000 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, Excel Boats, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Humminbird, Minn Kota, B’n’M Poles, Gamma Line, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Ego Nets, EFX Graphics, Catfish Now, Fin n’ Frames, WavePro, Kiobassa Sausage, and Crown Trophy Wave Pro.
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.
