TCO Win Goes to Hunter Jones, Chris Stout, and Bill Dance at Savannah
by Ron Presley,
Photos courtesy of Twisted Cat Outdoors by Tom Stolze
Bill Dance scores big fish of the tournament as he contributes to the win!
Twisted Cat Outdoors (TCO) catfish tournament trail visited the Catfish Capital of the World. Savannah, TN, and the Tennessee River were the site of their recent competition. The October 12 event was part of the town’s National Catfish Derby which has been in operation for more than 80 years.
Thanks to students and instructors at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Crump a sculpture representing the Catfish Capital of the World was installed at Savannah City Hall. The Tennessee Arts Commission funded the sculpture as a public art project in 2016 (See photo of 1st place winners by sculpture).
The tournament attracted 20 teams competing for the heaviest bag of 5 catfish (Channel, Blue, Flathead). Anglers were allowed to use any public ramp in Hardin County, including Pickwick but locking to Wilson Lake was not allowed. Fishing began at 7:00 am and ended at 3:00 pm. Anglers were required to be at the scales by the Hardin County Courthouse by 4:30 or be disqualified.
The weigh-in was in downtown Savannah in front of the Courthouse on Main Street. When all the weights were recorded the top weight and Big Fish honors went to the same team with a bag of 5 impressive cats that weighed nearly 150 pounds and a Big Fish at more than 60 pounds! Eighteen out of the 20 registered boats came to the scales with fish to weigh.
First Place and Big Fish 
The top spot at Savannah went to an all Tennessee team. Hunter Jones, Chris Stout, and Bill Dance teamed up to bring a 5-fish limit to the scales that weighed a massive 149.92 pounds. Their bag of cats included the Big Fish of the tournament at 60.74 pounds.
The team earned the $2,500 first-place check and added the $500 Castaway Customs MWSC Big Fish award to boost their total earnings to $3,000. They also received two pairs of Purpose Built Optics as a bonus for winning first place!
The win comes just one week after Jones teamed up with Justin Shepard to win the TCO event at New Madrid where the big fish was Jones’s personal best 100.03-pound blue cat.
“We started Friday catching some fresh skipjack,” noted Jones. “Then it was time to go do some scouting. We got to the first area we wanted to look at when the motor started acting up so we limped back to the ramp. Luckily Chris can fix anything so a few hours later we were back going.”
The mechanical issues prevented them from checking all the areas they wanted to. The lack of prefishing opportunities led the team to make a risky decision about where to fish on tournament day.
“We knew that we could catch fish,” said Stout. “But we were not confident that we could catch a big one! Even if we did get one we didn’t think we couldn’t catch two.”
So a discussion at the hotel resulted in the team taking a huge gamble. They decided to go fish in an area that they did not prefish.
“That night we knew we had to make a decision on what area we wanted to fish,” revealed Jones. “We decided to go to a new stretch of water and fish it blind. Tournament morning was foggy and cool as we eased into an area looking for fish on the sonar.”
“Our gamble paid off,” declared Stout! “We didn’t catch the number of fish that other teams did. We managed 7 catches all day and one of those was a softshell turtle that took both myself and Hunter to reel in!”
The team used two catfishing techniques on tournament day. Some of their fish came while dragging skipjack in 35 to 45 feet of water. Other fish, including the big one, came while spot-locked in that same range of water, also using skipjack.
“Bill caught the big one,” informed Stout. “The big blue came when anchored (spot-locked). It really slammed the rod down. We all knew it would be a big one the instant it bit.”
“I think I can speak for Hunter when I say the biggest highlight for us was having Bill in the Boat and winning the tournament, concluded Stout. “Winning on my ‘home’ waters is also meaningful, especially after Hunter won on his home waters last week. We are both ecstatic and have had another great tournament season. We look forward to 2025!”
“Chris and I had a blast with Bill Dance in the boat,” confirmed Jones. “There is never a dull moment and lots of stories and laughs when he is onboard!”
“That big fish fought like a scalded ape,” said Dance as he reflected on the 60-pound blue cat he added to the winning bag. “I just want to thank Alex and Liz for putting on a great tournament and to Hunter and Chris for the opportunity to fish it. It was a great day for Hardin County.”
Jones and Stout also praised Alex and Liz Nagy for putting on a great show, indicating that’s the reason they support them and the TCO when possible.
Second Place 
The runner-up spot at Savannah went to Aaron Jarrell, Joe Lunsford, and Vance Goff. They teamed up to bring a total weight of 131.39 pounds to the scales and earn the 2nd place check for $1,300.
Jarrell, Lunsford, and Goff were the second team to weigh more than 100 pounds and held the lead until the first-place team weighed.
Third Place 
Third place went to Jason Masingale, David Coughlin, and David Wooley. They teamed up to catch and weigh a total of 126.87 pounds of Tennessee River catfish. They earned a check for $1,000.
“There is a lot of history at this event,” said Masingale. “I have always wanted to fish this tournament and was excited to get the opportunity. Congratulations to all the top-finishing teams!”
Fourth Place 
Larry Muse, Dino Meador, and Frank Meador nailed down their place with a total weight of 103.91 pounds to earn the fourth-place check of $500.
“We had a great time bumping the Tennessee River with the new Meat Hunter Rods Poseidon bumping rods,” said Larry Muse. “Alex Nagy did a great job with the National Catfish Derby.”
Fifth Place 
The 5th spot went to Randy Welcher and Nathan Blint who also weighed in more than 100 pounds. They had a total weight of 103.30 pounds and earned the 5th place check for $400.
Note: To view more Tom Stolze photos and more winners from the event visit the Twisted Cat Outdoors Facebook page.
Final Thoughts
Holding a catfish tournament in Savannah was a new experience for TCO, but not for the city of Savannah. TCO joined in a more than 80-year-long tradition of chasing catfish at the National Catfish Derby in the Catfish Capital of the World.
“Twisted Cat Outdoors was proud to make an appearance at the 86th Annual National Catfish Derby in Savannah, Tennessee,” said TCO Tournament Director Alex Nagy. “Famously known as the “Catfish Capital of the World, Savannah saw twenty teams from 10 states come to town to fish the Tennessee River. The results were nothing short of incredible. The top five teams broke the 100-pound mark and the competition was fierce.”
“The atmosphere was filled with excitement,” recalled Nagy. “From the anglers bringing big fish to the scales, the response of the spectators, and the support from a city that thrives on its rich catfishing heritage, it was very exciting to be a part of this historic event and its continued growth.”
Nagy thanked the anglers for fishing and the sponsors for supporting the catfish community with special thanks to the city of Savannah and Hardin County. The next TCO event will be held on Keystone Lake, on October 19th, 2024. Keystone is the final stop of the 2024 schedule.
The new points standings are available on the TCO Facebook page. Following Keystone, the top 50 anglers will be invited to the No Entry Fee Championship in Helena, Arkansas on November 2nd. More than $25,500 plus other prizes is on the line!
For more information on Twisted Cat Outdoors visit their website or follow them on Facebook. You can also tune in to TCO on Monday nights for a live show at 7:00 pm on Facebook and YouTube. Nagy discusses tournament action and features Twisted Cat Outdoors anglers and industry leaders.
