Monsters on the Ohio 8 brought 180 catfish boats to Owensboro, KY for one of the most anticipated catfish tournaments in the nation. Given the make up of two- and three-angler teams that translates to nearly 400 anglers fishing the tournament.
Tournament director, Aaron Wheatley present the guaranteed first place prize to the new Monsters on the Ohio Champions, Tyler Moses and Bill Parfitt.
The Sept. 14, 2017 tournament also produced the second largest catfish to ever be caught in the tournament, a 67.1-pound blue brought in by Team 63.
First Place
The new Monsters on the Ohio Champs are Tyler Moses and Bill Parfitt. Their bag of 112.2 pounds included the second Biggest Fish Award with a 57.7-pound blue.
“We locked down and ran down near Henderson,” said Moses. “The few fish we found were holding tight to trees and we just back bounced through them with fresh skipjack all day.”
It was a true team effort as both angers contributed one of the overs to the stringer.
“We had all of our fish by 10:00,” concluded Moses. “We were lucky enough to get the right bites and have the weight hold for first place. It was uneventful fishing. We caught what bit and got lucky that it was enough. It is an accomplishment when you are fishing against a huge group of the best anglers out there.”
Second Place
John Higginbotham has only been tournament fishing since he retired. Last week he finished second place in one of the largest catfish tournaments in the nation.
“I guess I been tournament fishing about four or five years,” reported Higginbotham. “We fished just up from Owensboro. We didn’t lock through up or down. We stayed right there in that pool.”
“We were spot locked, fishing on the bottom,” continued Higginbotham. “We fished about three different places using shad, skipjack and mooneye. I wouldn’t say any was better than another.”
It was a special tournament for Higginbotham. He was fishing with his daughter Misti.
“That was the first tournament Misti had fished with me. We caught about a dozen or so fish for the tournament to get the five fish that weighed 101.7 pounds. Our big fish weighed 41 pounds. It was special to be fishing with her.”
The father/daughter team not only finished second in the tournament, their five fish also earned Misti the Highest Placing Female Angler Award in her first encounter with the tournament trail!
Third Place 
Brent Riddle and Terry Cook claimed the third-place spot and prize. They fished the Cannelton Pool using skipjack for bait to weigh in 94 pounds.
“Terry and I ran upriver around 75 miles,” reported Riddle following the tournament. “We were fishing in 35-foot water on the rock banks. We were spot-locked all day.”
The team reported nice weather with temperatures around 84 wiyh 10 mph winds.
“Monsters on the Ohio is a really good time,” concluded Riddle. “There are lots and lots of spectators and everyone always seems to have a really good time at that tournament. It is attracting a lot of anglers every year. There were people that came from California to fish this year. There were a couple other guys who drove 1100 miles to get to Owensboro.”
Big Fish
Chad Waugh and Don Elder Jr. boated a 67.1-pound beast to claim the Big Fish prize.
“Monsters on the Ohio 8 was awesome,” said Waugh. “Don andd I ended up with a 6th place finish. We also won the biggest cat with a 67.1-pound blue.”
That Big Fish turned out to be Waugh’s new personal best. It was also the second biggest fish to ever be weighed in at the Monsters tournament.
According to Waugh, he hooked the fish, but it was definitely a team effort to put her in the boat. He had just begun to take off his rain gear when the big fish hit.
“I was removing my rain gear and had one leg out,” descried Waugh. “And, BAM! The big fish bit and the fight was on. She first came right to my side of the boat. Then she passed under five rods and went to the other side of the boat. It was a sight to behold. Me with one leg in the rain gear, trying not to fall.”
“Don was dancing around relaying the rod under the other five rods,” continued Waugh. “We finally got on the same side as the fish. Don was swift with the net and we landed her.”
“This fish was so fat, it couldn’t sit up in the livewell and kept rolling on her side,” offered Waugh. “We decided it would be best to take her to the scales. Don babysat that fish all the way back to the ramp. We put her in the oxygenated tank and rushed back out on the water to catch more fish.”
Waugh said he wasn’t thinking about photos at the time, just the wellbeing of the fish, which was released to fight another day.
Other Winners
The Highest Placing Female Angler was Misty Higginbotham.
The Highest Placing Youth Angler was Byer Blakely / Rylee Blakely
4th Place – Josh Vanover and Tony Weathers – 84 pounds
5th Place – Anthony Murphy and Mike Snyder – 80.6 pounds
(Anthony and Mike also fished for free as the winners of the free entry raffle)
Final Remarks
The Monsters on the Ohio Facebook page has a post that outlines just what it takes to pull off a successful event like Monsters on the Ohio.
The list begins with SUPPORT, from anglers, sponsors, the community and friends! Second is ORGANIZATION, and it would be hard to find a better organized tournament. Third element is DRIVE to be the best possible. And fourth is RESPECT from all involved.
The post ended saying thank you, “…to each and every one of you anglers, sponsors, community members and friends! Only 364 days till we do it again! Would not trade you for nothing! Thank you so much !”
Kudos to Aaron Wheatley and his crew on another successful Monsters on the Ohio Tournament. Kudos also on the effort they put into taking care of the fish. Monsters on the Ohio is one of those tournaments that anglers look forward to fishing, and the people of Owensboro make them welcome.
