July 17, 2010 by Montana Cats Staff
Sidney, MT 7/17/10 – All eyes were on Eastern Montana once again this past weekend as the Montana Cats Circuit rolled into Sidney for the 2nd Annual Monster Cat Roundup. The Roundup, the 4th leg on the annual tour, burst onto the scene last summer and debuted with 23 teams. This years event ballooned to 35 teams, while continuing to grow into one of the finest catfish tournaments in the state. The weekend kicked off on Friday night with the Social and Calcutta of the fishing teams at the Ranger Lounge in downtown Sidney. The social was once again well attended and provided the perfect leadup to a long day on the water.
The entire field of 35 teams would gather at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning at the Sidney Bridge fishing access site. 25 boats were in the water and ready to perform, while the other 10 teams were fully prepared to brave it from shore. Tournament director Steve Harris, of the Montana Cats Field staff, had a few words of encouragement for the competitors and the released them in three separate flights. As flight numbers were relayed to the teams, a mad-dash ensued towards their boats for what proved to be an outstanding day of fishing.
When the dust finally settled, it was Brenner Flaten, of Wright, Wyoming, and Nate Molstad of Havre, Montana, that would put together the right combination and ride a nice limit of five catfish to the tournament championship. This is Molstad’s second tournament victory on the 2010 circuit, after capturing the Milk River Catfish Classic in June. The duo’s five fish tipped the scales at 19.28 lbs, besting the 2nd place team of Brady Mueller and Joe Carpenter, both of Sidney, MT, by a mere .22 lbs. Mueller and Carpenter’s 19.06 lb. limit also included the largest catfish of the day, a 7.66 lb. post-spawn beauty. The local Sidney connection of Chuck Buxbaum and Greg Burns finished in 3rd place with 17.2 lbs. The defending champions Chad Dawson, of Glasgow, MT, and Lars Sorensen, of Fort Peck, MT, rounded out the top four with a five fish limit of 13.21 lbs.
Cash Prizes were awarded to the top six teams in this 100 % payback event! Very few fisherman went home empty handed however, as The Montana Catfish Association, handed out a slew of high-end door prizes. Following the weigh-ins and award presentation, The Ranger Lounge hosted the post tournament social with a free pig roast for all tournament anglers. The anglers took full advantage, and enjoyed the time to talk a little fishing strategy with all those involved. The one common theme was that anticipation is already high for next years event.
The Montana Catfish Association fully expects this event to fill the 60-team field for the first time next season. So mark your calendars for the 3rd Annual Monster Cat Roundup to be held on Saturday, July 9th, 2011 in Sidney, MT. Next up on the Montana Cats Circuit is the final leg, The Inaugural Glendo NightCat. It will be held on Glendo Reservoir in Eastern Wyoming on Saturday August, 21st. Get ready for a good time, as it will be the circuits FIRST all night event! Please enjoy the pictures and complete final results from this past weekend below.
Pictures for this tournament can be found here.
| Brady Mueller | 7.66 lbs. | Big Fish Award |
| Sam Synth | 6.19 lbs. | Second Big Fish Award |
| 1. | Brenner Flaten, Wright, WY. – Nate Molstad, Havre, MT. | 19.28 lbs. |
| 2. | Brady Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Joe Carpenter, Sidney, MT. | 19.06 lbs. |
| 3. | Chuck Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. – Greg Burns, Sidney, MT. | 17.20 lbs. |
| 4. | Chad Dawson, Glasgow, MT. – Lars Sorensen, Fort Peck, MT. | 13.21 lbs. |
| 5. | Wade Rodgers, Sidney, MT. – Brad Hatter, Sidney, MT. | 13.10 lbs. |
| 6. | Justin King, Sidney, MT. – Derek Carda, Sidney, MT. | 11.71 lbs. |
| 7. | Trent Hansen Glendive, MT. – Faron Hansen Glendive, MT. | 11.63 lbs. |
| 8. | Jeff Unterseher Glendive, MT. Ben Unterseher Glasgow, MT. | 11.20 lbs. |
| 9. | Trevor Swisse, SIdney, MT. – Kelly Swisse, Sidney, MT. | 8.81 lbs. |
| 10. | Eric Steinbeisser, Sidney, MT. – Troy Jensen, Sidney, MT. | 8.22 lbs. |
| 11. | Chad Nelson, Sidney, MT. – Steve Harris Sr., Sidney, MT. | 8.17 lbs. |
| 11. | Sam Syth, Savage, MT. – Dan Gustafson, Savage, MT. | 8.17 lbs. |
| 13. | Larry Mindt, Sidney, MT. – Beth Mindt, Sidney, MT. | 7.97 lbs. |
| 14. | Stacy Fullmer, Sidney, MT. – Eric Bartelson, Sidney, MT. | 7.44 lbs. |
| 15. | Corey Nay, Sidney, MT. – Tena Nay, Sidney, MT. | 7.25 lbs. |
| 16. | Jeremy Reese, Sidney, MT. – Carmen Reese, Sidney, MT. | 6.28 lbs. |
| 17. | Levi Sage Lambert, MT. – Tami Sundheim, Fairview, MT. | 6.12 lbs. |
| 18. | Lenny Larson, Sidney, MT. – Tracy Petrie, Sidney, MT. | 6.07 lbs. |
| 19. | Justin Jones, Sidney, MT. – Trevor Speldrich, Sidney, MT. | 5.75 lbs. |
| 20. | Jeremy Lundemo, Sidney, MT. – Kelli Montandon, Sidney, MT. | 5.70 lbs. |
| 21. | Darren Eschenbacher, Savage, MT. – Troy Hafele, Glendive, MT. | 5.69 lbs. |
| 22. | James Kelly, Three Forks, MT. – Kelvin Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. | 5.38 lbs. |
| 23. | Matt Reynolds, Sidney, MT. – Lance Kuylen, Sidney, MT. | 5.19 lbs. |
| 24. | Robert Clifton, Sidney, MT. – Roy Fischer, Sidney, MT. | 4.19 lbs. |
| 25. | Nick Norberg, Sidney, MT. – Bob Crandall, Sidney, MT. | 4.06 lbs. |
| 26. | Jimmy Decker, Sidney, MT. – Steve Lowrey, Sidney, MT. | 3.98 lbs. |
| 27. | Lane Labatte, Sidney, MT. – Jared Poland, Sidney, MT. | 3.90 lbs. |
| 27. | Dick Moore Hardin, MT. – Liz Mix, Sidney, MT. | 3.90 lbs. |
| 29. | Ted Gorder, Sidney, MT. – Jodie Huff, Sidney, MT. | 3.32 lbs. |
| 30. | Troy Cotter, Sidney, MT. – Heather Cotter, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. |
| Mark O’toole, Sidney, MT. – Charles Allen, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Kevin Roth, Sidney, MT. – Stacy Severson, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Jason Severson, Sidney, MT. – Gage Knight, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Pat Reynolds Savage, MT. – Justin Schmierer, Savage, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| 35. | Keith Lester, Sidney, MT. – Oscar Gillespie, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. |
Posted in: Monster Cat Roundup
