July 20, 2024 by Montana Cats Staff
7/20/24 Sidney, MT - For 16 years Steve and Ashley Harris have brought mid-summer fun to Sidney, MT. in the form of a Catfish Tournament on the Yellowstone River. The annual Monster Cat Roundup is practically a religion for those that carve out the same weekend every single year to spend it in the Eastern Montana wilderness chasing BIG fish. The Montana Catfish Association is one big family and this event and the greater Sidney area make up a large part of our organization. This year's weather would cooperate and bring a clear sunny day to Richland County. In return, the field of 48 would have the best day of fishing in tournament history.
An incredible THIRTY teams weighed in over 20 lbs; smashing the previous record of 20 over 20. Leading the way was Peter Bushman, Joliet, MT., and Nathanial Lyman, Billings, MT. with 33.5 lbs. This event marked only the second catfish tournament ever for the anglers and the first time either one of them had ever spent time on the "Sidney section" of the Yellowstone River. Pete earned big fish honors for the day with his 12.86 lb. giant, a fish that would ultimately prove to be the difference for the tourney championship. Congratulations gentleman, what an amazing story!
Some familiar faces earned runner-up honors. Brothers; Brenner (Glasgow, MT.) and Jason Flaten (Elko, NV.) finished with 32.07 lbs. It is an eighth career Top 3 finish for Brenner in the Monster Cat Roundup. 3rd Place hardware went to the Braunberger's out of Miles City. Eric and his son Lucas continued their impressive recent run with 31.58 lbs. 4th place was Steve and Danielle Linder. The father-daughter team out of Glendive finished with 31.45 lbs. Rounding out the top 5 were local anglers; Jimmy Decker and Steve Lowrey with 30.65 lbs.
It was an impressive 3rd leg of the 2024 Montana Cats series. Any time records are broken, it's a testament to the body of the water and to the quality of anglers that continue to fish our events. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in this year's tournament and are looking forward to filling this at 60 teams once again in the future. The continued success of this event also lies with our long-term sponors, such as the Ranger Lounge. The Ranger always provides a fun atmosphere for the Friday night festivities and continues to host the post-tournament feed that remains free to all participating anglers.
The 2024 season will come to a close with next month's Missouri River Catfish Clash in Williston, North Dakota. The culminating event is scheduled for August 17th. Do not miss any of the action as the event is once again set determine the Circuit Championship. An incredible 13 different anglers remain mathematically alive for Angler of the Year honors!
16th Annual Yellowstone Challenge COMPLETE RESULTS
Posted in: Monster Cat Roundup
