May 08, 2010 by Montana Cats Staff
Huntley, MT 5/8/10 – What a weekend! When the Montana Catfish Association was searching for a catchy nickname for their newly found tournament back in the fall of 2006, they settled on “The Challenge”. Little did we know, it would turn out to be the perfect fit for this annual Yellowstone River event. The tournament is held on the 2nd weekend of May every year, which usually ensures unstable weather. Additional challenges include the fact that its held during mid-day and in typical very unstable river flows. This years version was no different for the field of 60 teams.
Following the theme from previous years, most of the teams would find the Yellowstone River difficult to conquer. More than half the field came up empty handed, as only 26 teams weighed in cats. Despite difficult fishing, it didn’t stop a few teams from having outstanding days on the water. Fourteen teams broke the 10 lb. barrier, while the top five all cleared the magical 20 lb. mark. The drastic weather changes leading up to the event and the extremely low water conditions didn’t stop the dynamic duo of, Art Adame and Larry Green. Adame, of Ballantine, and Green, of Billings teamed up to bring in their limit of four cats tipping the scales at 30.45 lbs. This marks the 2nd consecutive Yellowstone Challenge championship for the two fine local anglers. Not only did they become the first ever back to back champions, but they did so in dominating fashion. Art and Larry came up just short of their own Yellowstone Challenge record, while breaking the 30 lb. mark once again and separating themselves from the field by more than 5 lbs.
Garvin Remme and Leonardo Valenzuela, both of Billings, took runner-up honors with a very impressive basket of fish weighing in at 24.87 lbs. Tournament veterans Tom Ringo, of Ballantine, and Nick Christman, of Huntley, rounded out the top three. They were catapulted up the leader board, when Tom landed a massive 13.16 lb. hawg. The trophy catfish is a new Yellowstone Challenge Record, smashing the previous record set by Levi Walter in 2009. It marks the largest catfish ever caught in a Montana Cats sanctioned event. Congratulations Tom Ringo!
The calcutta and social event held at the Pryor Creek Bar on Friday night broke an attendance record as teams, family, and friends showed up to bid on their favorite teams and “shoot the proverbial bull”. This years event went off without a hitch and continues to be a high-quality event for all ages. Seeing 40 jet boats and 20 avid shore anglers in the parking lot getting ready for a day out on the stone, is a sight to behold. Montana Cats would like to thank all of the volunteers and sponsors that made this years edition such a success, as well as all of the competitors. We hope to see everyone back in 2011. Next up on tour, is the prestigious Milk River Catfish Classic held in Glasgow, MT on June 5th.
The Montana Catfish Association would like to thank Mike Ruggles and the Montana Fish and Game crew for the weighing, measuring, and tagging of every fish caught during the tournament. We are also, once again, proud to announce a zero percent mortality rate, as all fish were returned safely to the Yellowstone River.
Pictures for this event can be found here.
| Tom Ringo | 13.16 lbs. | Big Fish Award |
| 1. | Art Adame, Ballantine, MT. – Larry Green, Billings, MT. | 30.45 lbs. |
| 2. | Garvin Remme, Billings, MT. – Leonardo Valenzuela, Billings, MT. | 24.87 lbs. |
| 3. | Tom Ringo, Ballantine, MT. – Nick Christman, Huntley, MT. | 24.57 lbs. |
| 4. | Richard Theis, Billings, MT. – Matt Theis, Billings, MT. | 23.68 lbs. |
| 5. | Jason Farner, Billings, MT. – Jeff Hosa, Billings, MT. | 21.78 lbs. |
| 6. | Rod Seder, Billings, MT. – Ron Mackney, Billings, MT. | 17.83 lbs. |
| 7. | Dan Broyles, Billings, MT. – Geri Broyles, Billings, MT. | 16.40 lbs. |
| 8. | Brenner Flaten, Wright, WY. – Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT. | 15.47 lbs. |
| 9. | Steph Cantrell, Billings, MT. – Dave Wise, Billings, MT. | 15.42 lbs. |
| 10. | Brad Stewart, Billings, MT. – Tom Madden, Billings, MT. | 14.10 lbs. |
| 11. | Rick Davis, Billings, MT. – Siler Giles, Billings, MT. | 13.16 lbs. |
| 12. | Brad Cole, Billings, MT. – Eric Wolff, Billings, MT. | 11.53 lbs. |
| 13. | Dan Walter, Billings, MT. – Levi Walter, Billings, MT. | 11.11 lbs. |
| 14. | Jeff Kilwern, Billings, MT. – Frank Cook, Billings, MT. | 10.72 lbs. |
| 15. | Zach Buck, Rosebud, MT. – Glen Simonson, Forsyth, MT. | 8.22 lbs. |
| 16. | Cory Rigby, Billings, MT – Gary P. Cantrell, Billings, MT. | 7.75 lbs. |
| 17. | Robert Wise, Billings, MT. – Bobby Wise, Billings, MT. | 7.59 lbs. |
| 18. | Kevin Niles, Billings, MT. – Kristi Niles, Billings, MT. | 7.54 lbs. |
| 19. | Larry Hampton, Billings, MT. – Harry He Does It, Billings, MT. | 6.79 lbs. |
| 20. | Terry Jones, Billings, MT. – Paul Waller, Billings, MT. | 6.55 lbs. |
| 21. | Ryan Smith, Billings, MT. – Kevin Van Donsel, Colstrip, MT. | 5.83 lbs. |
| 22. | Lane Mitchell, Billings, MT. – Steve Mitchell, Judith Gap, MT. | 4.94 lbs. |
| 23. | Kent Hagen, Billings, MT. – Wylie Warneke, Columbus, MT. | 4.31 lbs. |
| 24. | Robert Tallent, Forsyth, MT – Colin Dubois, Forsyth, MT. | 3.63 lbs. |
| 25. | Bruce Bergerson, Billings, MT. – Dave Atkinson, Billings, MT. | 3.52 lbs. |
| 26. | Andy Godtel, Bilings, MT. – Ben Bailery, Red Lodge, MT. | 2.90 lbs. |
| 27. | Bryon Armour, Lewistown, MT. – Hooper Armour, Lewistown, MT. | 0 lb. |
| Spencer Cantrell, Billings, MT. – Kassie Temple, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Charles Ferguson, Big Timber, MT. – Will Grundhauser, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Bruce Bates, Billings, MT. – Jonathan Bates, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Nate Molstad, Havre, MT. – Zach Gilliland, Butte, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Keith Ratcliff, Billings, MT. – Steve Reidy, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Steve Harris, Sidney, MT. – Chad Mueller, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Randy Gibson, Shepherd, MT. – Dennis Brown, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Larry Field, Billings, MT. – Doug True, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Edward Seiders, Billings, MT. – Wade Bomar, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Don Adamson, Billings, MT. – Jeff Adcock, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Ken Bixby, Shepherd, MT. – Joey Bixby, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Lindsey Nielson, Billings, MT. – Johnny Nielson, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Thomas Blazina, Billings, MT. – Wallas Bradberry, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Pat Carter, Billings, MT. – Matt Brown, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Mark Striegel, Pompeys Pillar, MT. – Tyler Striegel, Ballantine, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Brian Bornhoft, Billings, MT. – Glenn Bornhoft, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Dallas Borden, Billings, MT. – Matt Crozier, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Scott Swanson, Laurel, MT. – Bobby Oblander, Laurel, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Chuck Sturgill, Billings, MT. – Colin Sturgill, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Rodney Sturgill, Billings, MT. – Tyler Sturgill, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Tom Cantrell, Billings, MT. – Beth Cantrell, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Kevin Anthony, Billings, MT. – Brett Anthony, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Timber Kloldejchuk, Forsyth, MT. – Arlen Klodejchuk, Coram, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Richard Bradberry, Livingston, MT. – James Bradely, Bozeman, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| JD Smith, Billings, MT. – Bruce Baracker, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Jon Cartwright, Billings, MT. – Mike Birrer, Bridger, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Nick Silva, Billings, MT. – Michael Staniforth, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Dustin Lachenmaier, Billings, MT. – Kirk Thomas, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Jason Snyder, Huntley, MT. – Parker Snyder, Huntley, MT | 0 lb. | |
| Michael Crisafulli, Billings, MT. – Kyle Decker, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Chad Nelson, Sidney, MT. – Lori Nelson, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Wes Smith, Billings, MT. – Zach Smith, Billings, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| 60. | Steve Russel, Billings, MT. – Patrick Skorupt, Billings. MT. | 0 lb. |
Posted in: Yellowstone Challenge
