Grand Lake anglers caught plenty of fish—big ones were harder to come by.
Sixty-nine teams representing 159 catfish anglers converged on Grand Lake of the Cherokees on December 11-12, 2020 for a Catmasters tournament. Plenty of fish were caught at the popular Oklahoma lake. The total weight coming to the scales was 4,157.12 pounds,
The Catmasters event was presented by SeaArk Boats. Leslie VanDerau with Heroes Outdoor Therapy served as emcee. Given her own military background and her love for fellow veterans she never failed to recognize the veteran anglers as they came across the stage at weigh-in.
Ty Lee Nall with CatMasters kept things moving in his role as weighmaster. The Grand Lake event is one of several in the trail’s points race that will end with a three-lake event in Alabama in 2021.
The City of Grove Oklahoma hosted the event that was strongly supported by industry leaders like Team Catfish, SeaArk Boats, B’n’M Poles, and many more.
The Winners
The top spot at Grand Lake went to Trey Franklin, Asa May, and . They teamed up to bring 145.83 pounds to the scales in the two days of competition.
“Our first day started out great,” reported Franklin. “We were culling fish by 8:15 and decided to target some bigger fish. By 8:45 we landed a 41-pound blue. We continued targeting overs and landed one around 16 pounds.
Franklin, May, and Banaszak continued to push hard with the hopes of culling another fish. Their work paid off as they ended up with 27 fish in the boat on day one. Their best five put them in the lead after day one.
“Day two was a lot slower bite to start out with,” continued Franklin. “The wind direction was shifty where we were fishing. The inconsistent wind direction made it tough to control the boat.”
Unlike day one when they caught a lot of fish early, they didn’t land their first fish until 9 am on day two. It was a 16.5-pound blue that got them started on their day two bag. They were using a mix of cut shad, between 6 to 8 inches long, and the heads to tempt the whiskered fish.
“The wind finally settled down,” explained Franklin. “We were able to continue fishing on the river channel where we were pulling fish in from the day before.”
“We were drifting up and down the area with planer boards,” continued Franklin. “The water ranged from 40 to 65 feet deep. We fished a pattern that went in and out of the channel and that’s what helped us to win on day two. We only landed 11 fish the second day, but it was the fish we needed.”
“We knew that Grand Lake wasn’t known for its big fish,” added Banaszak. “Our plan was to find feeding fish and stay on them. We wanted to knock up the weight on our under 30 fish as high as we could and hope for a few overs.”
“The most exciting part was probably getting the first big fish in the boat,” Banaszak said. “The weather did make a complete 360 from day one to day two. But we stuck to the same game plan both days and it worked out. Grand Lake is a great place to fish if you like catching a bunch. It is hard to get the larger fish though.”
May doesn’t fish as much as the other two team members but really enjoyed the tournament. He makes time to get on the water and learn more about catfishing when he can.
“The best part for me during the tournament was just getting to meet all the good people within the sport,” said May. “We just went in with a solid plan of keeping it simple and doing what we know. I also enjoyed seeing the faces behind the products we are using and knowing they make everything happen for us. Grand Lake was just a really awesome experience with great people.”
“There was nothing too unusual except for the weather,” concluded Franklin. “Day two was characterized by really shifty wind, then flat calm, then heavy rain followed by light rain. The tournament was awesome. Bryan and the CatMaster crew do a really great job!”
Second Place/Top Finishing Youth Angler
The runner up spot goes to the Eagle Mountain Maniacs team. Terry Nathan Terry and Cole Wilson. Terry and Cole brought 136.47 pounds to the scales to claim second place and give Cole the Top Finishing Youth Angler award.
“Catmasters is the very best catfishing tournament trail by far,” said Terry in a Facebook post. “The best tournament fisherman across the nation fish it. The competition is at the highest of quality. I have tremendous respect for the teams that fish the Catmasters tournament trail.”
Third Place
The third-place spot at CatMasters on Grand Lake 2020 went to Team Grand. Jesse Vaughn, Matt Dodge, and Frank Vaughn. They brought a two-day weight of 125.78 pounds to the scales.
Big Fish/Top Finishing Veteran Boat
The first-place team nearly had big fish too. Their bag included a 41-pound blue cat, but Robert Wood and Zach Jones knocked them out with a 41.99-pound blue to take Big Fish honors and hand the Top Finishing Veteran award presented by Heroes Outdoor Therapy. to Zach.
Top Finishing Female
Jennifer Kegin, fishing with Kevin Kegin, claimed the Top Finishing Female award. Their boat weighed a total of 125.54 pounds.
The Points Race
The $20,000 points race will be determined based on the team with the highest scoring 3 tournaments of the 7 tournaments on the trail. It is important to note that to be eligible for the points race teams must register.
Teams in the points race consist of the captain and two co-anglers. All teammates including the alternate must be declared at the beginning of the season or at the 1st participating event. No changes in team structure will be allowed. The seven tournaments include Caruthersville, Helena, Possum Kingdom, Grand Lake, Lake Texoma, Lake Tawakoni, and the three-day Classic on Wilson, Wheeler, and Guntersville in Alabama.
Going into the Grand Lake competition, Team Stringer Guide Service (Joe Stringer & Chase Stringer) were in the lead. By the end of the Grand Lake event, new anglers had taken the lead. Team Mega Cat made up of Mick Petree and Smoky Brown will carry the lead into the next event.
Epilogue
In addition to the spectators in attendance, many more fans were able to follow the event on a multi-camera live feed that documented the event. Following the weigh-in, all fish were returned to the lake.
“We had a lot of great fish weighed,” said Tournament Director Brian St. Ama. “I want to thank our sponsors, SeaArk Boats, B’n’M Poles, Rigrap, Parks Planer Boards, Cat River Anchors, Monster Rod Holders, Team Catfish Tackle, and all the others that helped make the tournament happen. Thanks to the City of Grove, OK for the use of their facilities. Finally, thanks to all the anglers that participated. We look forward to seeing you at future events!”
