Four Pro Catfish Teams Split Top Prize at Helena, Arkansas
by Ron Presley
With tough river and weather conditions expected for day 2, the top 4 teams chose to split the Mega Pot after one day of fishing. Each team received a check for $23,750 for their day of catfishing.
The 2022 Mississippi River Monsters Mega Bucs Pro Series tournament was held out of Helena AR on a low and challenging Mississippi River. Scheduled for October 21-23, 2022, spectators at the event witnessed a field of 50 professional anglers fighting it out under tough conditions.
Mega Bucs was an optional 2-day elimination tournament capped at 50 boats. At the end of day one, the top 4 finishing teams had the option to compete on day 2 or if unanimously agreed upon they could split the prize money allocated to the top four places and the tournament would end after one day of competition. The votes were counted and the decision was to “take the money and run.” The teams each earned a check for $23,750.
Additionally, places 5 through 10 earned checks and as part of the ACA Tournament Alliance, each ACA Member Angler registered for the tournament had their names entered into a lottery to win a SeaArk Boat at the end of the year.
The event began at the Isle of Capri Casino-Hotel, Lula, MS with team photos and a mandatory Captains Meeting.
Anglers were allowed to fish from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm on tournament day with the weigh-in beginning at 6:00 pm at the Cherry Street Pavilion. Anglers were allowed a maximum of 3 fish per boat with no size limit. At the end of the day, a total of 3,130.85 pounds were weighed and released to determine the day’s winners.
First Place
Casey Tutorow and Andrew Han claimed the top weight at Mega Bucs with a total 3-fish limit that weighed 161.40 pounds. Their biggest fish of the day weighed 60.70 pounds and was the second biggest fish of the tournament.
The team arrived at Helena late Sunday night. They covered around 100 miles of river as they set their tournament strategy. They reported catching fish from one end of the river to the other. During their prefishing time, they boated 5 fish over 60 pounds and one that weighed 75 pounds. They were confident that they had a good plan for tournament morning.
The team caught all their fish during the first hour of fishing. They were targeting water that ranged from 40 to 70 feet deep where they spot-locked to stay on them.
“We got on the fish quick,” reported Tutorow. “We boated a 25 and a 12-pound fish within the first 15 minutes. Soon after that, I landed a 50-pound blue. While we were netting that fish Andrew’s Rod went down with a 60-pounder. We were very excited and quickly got our fish situated in the SeaArk lifewell and started back at the fishing.”
Within 10 minutes Han landed a 51-pound fish. A little later they boated a 35-pound blue and decided to head to the scales early hoping that their weight would put them in the top four.
“We weighed our fish by 9:30 am,” recalled Tutorow. “We were off the water the rest of the day. This tournament was top-notch in every way. It was well run from start to finish. It definitely set the standard for what big-time catfishing will be about.”
“George Young Jr. and his staff did an incredible job,” concluded Tutorow. “The decision to split was a tough one but with inclement weather expected the next day we made the call to split.”
Tutorow and Han also thanked their sponsors which include Rippin Lips Fishing Products, SeaArk Boats, B&R Marine, Monster Rod Holders, and Spreader Planer Boards.
Second Place
The runner-up spot went to Rob Benningfield and Ricky Eiselt. Not unfamiliar with good finishes, this Kentucky team brought 153.65 pounds to the scales to claim the second heaviest weight on day one.
“We caught bait Wednesday after work and headed down to Helena,” reported Eiselt. We fished all day Thursday and caught some 20’s and 30’s”
“Prefishing was slow for us but it normally is,” recalled Benningfield. “We spent lots of time looking and fishing for new stuff. Low water levels made a lot of the river easily fishable compared to normal but the lack of useable ramps made it hard to scout long distances away.
To make the next day easier, Benningfield and Eiselt camped out on a dyke Thursday night to get more time on the water the next day.
“On Thursday night we sleep on the water,” explained Eiselt. “Since we had run so far and no ramps were usable because of the low water we wanted to maximize our fishing time on Friday.”
The team found a good area Friday where they got 2 good pulldowns but not much else. They only boated a 12-pounder so they decided that their tournament day strategy would be to make the long run back to where they had found better fish and it paid off.
Due to low river conditions, many barges were staged and not running. That made the long run a little better for Benningfield and Eiselt. However, the barges staging hurt some other fishermen as the barges were staged right over some key areas.
“Luckily we were not affected by barges in our area,” offered Benningfield. “We bumped the whole time with skipjack heads being the best bait. We never used the anchor although we did walk baits from a spot-lock position to catch some fish. On tourney day we caught 10 to 12 fish spread all throughout the day. The bite was pretty good and we landed most all of our solid bites. We threw back several fish in the 20- to 30-pound range.”
Eiselt caught all the weigh-in fish according to Benningfield.
“He was on fire this weekend,” praised Benningfield. “He caught our big fish late in the day right before we were about to leave. He carried us!”
“Then for the next hour and a half or so the bite went cold,” said Eiselt. “We decided to move up a few 100 yards in the same area and set up on another spot. Within 20 minutes of being there, I had another freight train bite that turned out to be the 60-pounder.”
“We had talked about how much weight we would feel confident in going in with,” added Eiselt. “We agreed that if we could get 150 pounds that should take us to day 2. So about 2:20 pm, we begin our run back to the weigh-in. This was the biggest Mississippi River 3-fish weight we have ever had.”
When the weights were recorded and second place was established, the team had to make the big decision. Did they want to fish on day 2 or split the pot?
“The decision to not fish and split was not fun,” reminisced Benningfield. “I didn’t like the process. I would have rather been made to fish but the math and odds made splitting the smarter move to make.”
“Another added factor is that we ran a long way to our area and the wind Saturday and the expected wind on Sunday was rough,” added Benningfield. Mississippi River waves, when the wind is blowing against the current get really bad and dangerous. It’s hard on equipment and as much as we wanted to try our area again it was going to be hard on our equipment.”
“I really didn’t feel any extra pressure because of the format,” explained Eiselt. “We were just going to go out there and fish and whatever happens happens. I do wish the tournament would not have been up to the anglers to decide. It was a no-brainer not to risk the money and take the split and come home. Because at the end of the day it’s fishing and anything can happen.”
“But I love this tournament,” continued Eiselt. “I wish it was considered a 2-day event and the top 10 teams qualified for day 2 and then they total your 2-day weight. But I had an awesome trip. George Young and his crew did an awesome job making this thing happen. Catfishing continues to grow and the payouts continue to climb and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.”
“I think the tourney was run well and kudos to George and the city for getting the Helena ramp useable,” continued Benningfield. “I like the idea of a limited entry tourney with big payouts.”
“Congratulations to the top 10 finishers,” concluded Eiselt. “And thanks to everyone who had a part in making this tournament possible! Thanks also to Excel Services for supporting us in this tournament. And thanks to Catfish Tech (Vince Nadosky) who we buy all our electronics and lithium batteries from. Lithium is super important on the Mississippi and helps with the bumping game tremendously!”
Third Place and Big Fish
Third place went to Team Dewitt. The well-known tournament team is made up of Les Thompson and Les Thompson, Jr. (Nooner Hall). They were fresh off a win at MRM a month earlier in Memphis. They continued their good fortune at Helena with a stringer that weighed 136.65 pounds.
Their bag included Big Fish of the tournament at 69.25 pounds to earn the Big Fish Check of $5,000 in addition to their $23,750 check as their share of the Mega Pot.
Teamed Dewitt traveled to Helena on Tuesday afternoon and hit the water Wednesday morning for some prefishing. They found some nice fish in places where they had fished before. They used Thursday morning to search out some new spots as backups in case they were needed. They ended the day trying on some small hooks, using some small baits, and catching 5-6 eater-size fish for supper.
“Friday we didn’t go out at all,” reported Nooner. “We tied rigs and got everything ready. With that much money on the line, we didn’t need to lose a good fish because we were too lazy to change out our leaders and hooks.”
“This tournament had the largest payout ever in catfish tournaments,” continued Nooner. “We didn’t think about that. We just treated it like another day of fishing.”
On tournament day Team Dewitt did not catch a fish until 9:00 am, reporting that the wind affected their game plan some.
“We adjusted to the wind and kept hitting our spots,” recalled Nooner. “We fished hard and caught some nice fish all throughout the day. The big fish come off anchor around 3:00 pm.”
By the end of the day, they knew they had a good weight but weren’t sure if it would be enough to claim a spot in the top four. That’s how this tournament is different than others. Anglers didn’t have to be in first place on day one to continue. You only had to be in the top 4 to earn the right to decide to fish a second day or split the pot.
“The decision to split wasn’t that hard for us,” explained Nooner. “That’s guaranteed money in your pocket. We just bought a house last week so that money would come in handy for that. I think the wind was a major factor in the decision to split. The wind was supposed to be even worse on day two. Tournament day was a long day we were whooped by the time we got back to the house.”
Nooner ended by thanking the team’s sponsors for their support. They are Dewitt Company, T-force Worldwide, Drury Hotels, Grizzly Jigs, Big River Cats, Tangling With Catfish, SmackDown Catfishing, MulTbar, and Tomlin Trucking.
“We would also like to thank George Young Jr, the Ramsey brothers, and the whole MRM crew for another great ran tournament,” concluded Nooner.
Fourth Place
Team Fields and Tramm brought the fourth-place weight to the scales. Dan Fields from Indiana and Chris Tramm from Paducah, KY may have been the most unlikely team in the tournament. They bagged a stringer that weighed 136.50 pounds to claim their spot in the top four and earn a check for $23,750.
A good friend of Tramm’s, Jon Land, suggested that he team up with Dan Fields to fish the Mega Bucs event. Land had already registered for the event with Dan as his teammate. When it turned out Land couldn’t go, he convinced Tramm to take his place and the new team was formed. They checked with the tournament director and made it legal.
“I was excited about fishing the biggest payout ever,” stated Tramm. “And putting up $2,500 to get in it was a little stressful. I had fished there a lot in the past so I knew the river but had moved to Colorado and had not been on it for 15 years.”
“In talking with Dan, he told me, if you put me on big fish I will catch them,” recalled Tramm. “We prefished a couple of days and I caught most of the fish. On tournament day I found em’ and he caught em!’”
The team tried drifting, suspending, and anchor fishing. Most of their good bites were coming while fishing on the rope so they adopted anchor fishing for most of the day.
“We finally found a good bunch of fish,” Tramm said. “We had about 15 spots marked and started fishing each one. We were thinking that if we gave them all a little time we should come up with some good fish, and we did. It worked out pretty well.”
Tramm thought there were a couple of things affecting the bite. With the low water, the fish were not biting in the places where they normally would be. In the channel which was supposed to be 17 feet deep, he saw a barge stranded in 7 feet of water.
“No one has seen it that low,” commented Tramm. “It leveled the playing field. Additionally, with the water at 62 degrees, I think the fish were transitioning from summer to winter patterns and that was a big part of it.”
So Tramm and Fields anchored most of the day using skipjack. They brought some bait from home and caught some while prefishing. They had fished the MRM in September which helped them develop their strategy.
“When we fished the MRM in Memphis about a month ago I got the idea that the fish were already moving to slower water,” advised Tramm. “We caught fish all day long.”
Tramm thanked the Mississippi River Monsters crew for doing such a good job running the tournament. He ended with a special thank you to his partner Dan. They expect to fish together some more in the future.
Remaining Top 10
5th Place – Nolan Rummel and Cristopher Harland l– 113.60
6th Place – Chris Stout and Hunter Jones– 112.30
7th Place – Adam Long and Wes Wilkinson – 112.00
8th Place – Carl Morris and Rob Parsons – 110.00
9th Place – Dominic Pellegrino and Lance Lutke – 107.95
10th Place – Jason Masingale and Daryl Masingale– 107.65
Final Thoughts
Mega Bucs was a well-ran tournament with a different format than most catfish tournaments. The was much praise from the anglers competing in the event.
Chris and Cory Ramsey, along with Jessie Adams were on hand to perform the stage duties and make the weigh-in go smoothly for the anglers. There was also a large crew of volunteers on hand to contribute to the effort.
Originator and tournament director, George Young Jr. was happy with the event even though it did present its problems.
“What can I say but wow,” commented Young following the event. “It was an exciting and challenging week to be a tournament director. For the last two weeks, we battled a low Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas. The boat ramp was the biggest issue, but with lots of help and suggestions from the anglers, the city officials, myself, and Mr. Glen Thomas, we managed to get the boat ramp in fine shape for the anglers.”
The next challenge came from the wind the day before and on tournament day. It was a challenge for the anglers on the river and very challenging for the crew to set up the presentation on the Cherry Street stage.
“After many attempts, we decided to not do yard display of banners,” explained Young. “The wind kept ripping them down. We are very sorry for this because we wanted this stage to be the best that it could be.”
Overall the first-ever Mega Bucs was a huge success. There was a lot of excitement in the air about the big money, $120,000 to be exact, on the line. At the end of day one, each of the top 11 teams brought more than 100 pounds to the scales. Ten of them would earn checks.
“It took nearly 140 pounds to make the final four,” said Young. “The number one team had just over 161 pounds.”
“Some of the best anglers from around the country put their money on the line,” concluded Young. “They paid a $2,500 entry fee to compete in the first-ever mega bucks event. As the Tournament Director, I’d like to say thanks to all the participating teams and all the sponsors in the City of Helena, Arkansas. Thanks also to Mr. Glen Thomas for all of his hard media work and for making the MRM one of the greatest catfish tournament trails out there. Thank you all.”
