SLCC Win Goes to Team Catastrophic Failures
by Ron Presley
Photo credit: SLCC by Kevin Lakin
Forty-one teams braved the elements on Santee Cooper. They challenged high winds and cold temperatures looking for the heaviest 3 catfish they could find.
The Santee Lakes Catfish Club (SLCC) held a recent tournament out of Canal Lakes Fish Camp. Anglers were competing to see who could weigh the best stringer of 3 fish in the one-day event.
The November 23rd, 2024 event attracted 41 teams. SLCC rules allow 4 team members per boat but limits are based on a 2 person team. Registration and livewell checks were made the morning of the tournament with fishing beginning at 7:00 AM. Teams were required to return to the weigh area by 3:30 PM.
No one is too surprised when the wind blows on Santee. Most anglers expect it will blow then expect it won’t. Competitors were allowed to fish Lake Moultrie, the lower lake, only. They were greeted with 10-15 mph winds and very cold temperatures.
“For 2 days leading up to the tournament the dangerous winds of Santee blew steadily,” confirmed Mark Coburn, the trail’s popular weighmaster. “The boats crept out of the canal around 6:30 am on tournament morning and the winds continued to blow quite strong.”
“Forty-one boats were doing battle with Mother Nature and the fish for about half of the day,” continued Coburn. “As they moved into the afternoon the temperatures warmed and the winds began to stall. The boats were due back at Canal Lakes by 3:30 pm and the weigh-in began.”
Thirty-four of the 41 boats entered brought fish to the scales. The lower lake cooperated with some excellent weights entered on the day. When all the weights were tallied it required more than 120 pounds in 3 fish to take the win.
First Place 
The top spot went to Team Catastrophic Failures. Mike Durham and Vern Reynolds weighed a 3-fish limit of 121.55 pounds to claim 1st place.
The team attempted to scout around a little on Friday. But the wind was so bad it was hard to tell much about what was going on. They marked a few fish and some bait on a deeper flat before the wind got too bad.
“We decided to start where we marked a few fish on Friday,” reported Durham. “If that spot didn’t pan out we were just going to go fishing the rest of the day. We did catch four fish in that first spot before 8:30 am but the biggest was about 15 pounds.”
Finding small fish only the team moved to an area where they had caught fish this time of the year. They made one drift but didn’t get a bite.
“We decided to go back to where we caught fish that morning,” continued Durham. but there were a couple of other boats in the area that were a little too close for us to set up on without being in the way so we went on across and just started looking some flats over.
“We marked some busted-up bait with a few big arches around a hump that was 25 feet deep on the top and about 33 feet deep around it,” Durham explained. “We made a drift and culled a couple of small fish.”
Then the excitement started. They doubled up with a 53-pound flathead and a blue that would go about 17 pounds. Those two fish got tangled up and landing them got pretty sketchy.
“The lines got wrapped around the planer board,” Durham said. “So the fish were fighting against each other and it was sawing up and down on the board. I’m confident that the Mad Katz Structure Kat line played a huge role in landing that fish. We were very surprised to see a flathead when it finally surfaced. It’s always an accident if we catch one of those.”
After that excitement, the drift continued but the bite slowed down. They drifted a little further and decided to reset and make the drift again. They got another double. One was the second flathead that they would take to the scales and the other fish was the only blue they weighed.
“We ended up with 10 fish on the day,” concluded Durham. “All those fish were in water that ranged from 30 to 33 feet deep and all were caught while drifting. One fish was caught on perch and the rest on gizzard shad.”
The team praised the Mad Katz products they used and thanked Matt Knight for his support.
Second Place 
The runner-up spot went to Team Krazy Donkeys made up of Anthony Williams and Kyle Leggette. Anthony and Kyle teamed up to bring 102.65 pounds to the scales to claim the 2nd place prize.
Third Place 
Barry Moore and Wesley Bridges took 3rd place honors. Fishing as Team Lock Jaw, they brought 80.15 pounds to the scales to claim their place on the leaderboard.
Fourth Place 
Devin Lawson, Michael Noffz, and Tracy Tilson pulled down the 4th place spot. They fished together asTeam Gut Bucket and brought a total weight of 79.45 pounds to the scales.
Big Fish 
Big Fish of the tournament went to solo angler Randy Gwinn. He brought a 56.65-pound blue cat to the scales to earn Big Fish honor.
More Winners
You can view a complete rundown of all the anglers with weights on the SLCC Facebook page where Ralph Willey has posted a pdf of the final results.
Final Thoughts
Catfish tournaments on Santee Cooper are always highly anticipated events. Both lakes Marion and Lake Moultrie are big fish destinations. This most recent event on Moultire was no exception. Even with the high winds and cold temperatures, it required more than 120 pounds in 3 fish to earn the top spot!
There was one mishap on the day, but the catfish community responded strongly as they always do. Team Barely Bobbin with Captain Stephen Knode lost a motor going across the rough water in the morning. The Motor mounting bolts broke from the constant pounding caused by high winds. SLCC anglers were quick to lend assistance to the unfortunate anglers. Chuckie Ouvry and Bradley Starnes towed the disabled boat to safety.
To stay in touch with the Santee Lakes Catfish Club follow them on their Facebook page. For those interested in live action from the SLCC weigh-ins they are streamed live on Facebook at renowned Weighmaster Mark Coburn’s Facebook page.
The next SLCC event is scheduled for January 11, 2025. It is a Lake Moultrie and Marion competition out of Canal Lakes
