Missouri River Catfish Clash

August 17, 2024 by Montana Cats Staff

8/17/24 Williston, ND - For the second consecutive Montana Cats circuit event we had newcomers breaking through for a tourney championship!  This time it was brothers; Kyle and Daniel Brown, both of Billings, MT. who showed up and showed out.  The Brown's were fishing the "Williston section" for the first time in their lives and were not even able to get their planned day of pre-fishing in on Friday.  Due to boat problems on Friday morning, the anglers had to spend the whole day tracking down tools/parts in Williston and getting their boat ready in time for tournament day.  This did not deter the dedicated anglers and they still managed to put together the best day out of an entire 43 boat field.  

August 19, 2023 by Montana Cats Staff

8/19/2023 (Williston, ND) – This year's Missouri River Catfish Clash proved to be the most difficult fishing in the 13 years of the event.  41 boats competed in the tournament and only nine teams would break the 20 lb. barrier.  Nothing less than 30+ pounds had ever taken the tournament championship at the "Clash", until this year!  Joshua Pruitt, Bismarck, ND., and Caleb Wells, Williston, ND. would ultimately grind out the victory.  They become only the second team to ever win a Montana Cats event while bringing four fish into a five fish weigh-in.  Their 4-fish basket tipped the scales at 25.12 lbs.; narrowly defeating last year's Champion, Eric Braunberger, Miles City, MT., and his partner Aaron Roble, also of Miles City.  The Miles City duo weighed in 25.03 lbs. on five fish.  

August 20, 2022 by Montana Cats Staff

8/20/2022 (Williston, ND) – They needed a big day.  They delivered.  Eddie White and Eric Braunberger, both of Miles City, MT., were trailing four other fishermen for this year's Angler of the Year honors heading into the final event of the season.  Anything less than a tournament championship would have probably meant falling short of the coveted prize.  At the end of the day, their run and gun approach pounding "cover" paid off with a Missouri River Catfish Clash title.  The champs weighed in 32.21 lbs. on five Channel Cats to give them exactly what they needed to secure AOY honors.  

August 21, 2021 by Montana Cats Staff

8/21/2021 (Williston, ND) – Low Water. That was the theme of the 11th Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash held in Williston, North Dakota over the weekend.  The event came into question mid-week due to the low water levels and issues with the boat launch at tournament headquarters.  Thankfully, Montana Cats worked collectively with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to ensure safe access for all the anglers and assured that the event would go on as planned.  Despite conditions that had not been seen over the last decade of the event, and a drop in prop boat attendance, 42 boats still signed up to give it a go.  

August 15, 2020 by Montana Cats Staff

8/15/2020 (Williston, ND) – After 10 years, the Missouri River Catfish Clash can still take an anglers breath away!   The beautiful stretch of water from the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers to the far west reaches of Lake Sakakawea is simply outstanding and continues to produce trophy Channel Catfish year in and year out.  This year's event capped a decade of impressive performances by some of the finest catfish anglers throughout Montana and the Dakotas.  49 teams enjoyed a fine day on the water with twenty teams weighing in at least twenty pounds.  

August 17, 2019 by Montana Cats Staff

8/17/2019 (Williston, ND) – Since 2011, the Missouri Catfish Clash has given local anglers a chance to consistently battle with BIG Channel Cats.  It is no longer a secret.  Tournament boundaries stretch from the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri River's in far western North Dakota and head east to the western reaches of Lake Sakakawea. offer fisherman a chance at a trophy nearly every time their baits hit the water.  It's a given every single year for the champion team to have a basket with over a 7+ lb. average and it's no surprise that the event is one of the most popular on tour.

This year the event had 53 boats, up 13 from 2018, as anglers from Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin battled on a cool, wet unseasonable day.  Many of the tournament fisherman were on the water pre-fishing on Friday and enjoyed sunny skies and upper 80 degree temperatures.  Saturday featured a high in the low 60's with rain sporadic throughout tournament hours.    

August 23, 2018 by Montana Cats Staff

The 8th Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash took place in Williston, ND. over the weekend as 40 boats hit the water on a beautiful sunny day. The Clash never seems to disappoint in terms of the number of catfish caught or the overall size of the fish and this year was no different. An impressive, NINETEEN teams weighed in over TWENTY pounds. Only once before in the tournament’s 8-year history has there been more 20-pound baskets brought to the scales. (23 in 2013) To make things more exciting, thirty-five of the forty teams weighed in fish and big cats tipped the scales with regularity.

August 25, 2017 by Montana Cats Staff

We couldn’t have asked for better conditions for the 2017 Catfish Clash, as 53 boats set out to conquer the Mighty Missouri this past weekend! The Williston section always provides big fish and plenty of them. The days leading up to this year’s 7th annual “Clash” were consistent and in-turn it provided a bit of river stability that all anglers were able to enjoy.

August 20, 2016 by Montana Cats Staff

The 2016 Missouri River Catfish Clash was off and running Friday August 19th with the catfish social and Calcutta at the Four Mile Bar in Williston, North Dakota. Fifty-one teams showed up for the festivities and plenty of tips and techniques were shared amongst the anglers. A record amount of bidding was the perfect intro to an absolutely stunning day on the water. Tournament fishermen couldn’t ask for much better than 70+ degrees, sunny, with little to no wind. Teams were released in flights of ten beginning at 9:00 am from the Lewis and Clark boat launch just outside of Williston. Most teams struggled early, but they were consistently catching fish every hour from there on out.

August 15, 2015 by Montana Cats Staff

This year’s Missouri River Catfish Clash started off with a bang; filling the 60 team field for the first time in tournament history. With extremely hot and windy conditions fishermen were forced with a serious challenge as they were released Saturday August 15th at 9:00 am from the Lewis and Clark boat launch just outside of Williston, ND. Catching fish wasn’t a problem for most teams; however, catching the “BIG” ones seemed to be the challenge.

August 16, 2014 by Montana Cats Staff

Another memorable Catfish Clash weekend is in books! This past Saturday, forty five teams gathered around the Missouri River at Lewis and Clark Bridge in Williston, ND for the 4th Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash. The Montana Catfish Association once again hosted the event, and for the 4th year in a row, a record number of teams competed.

August 25, 2013 by Montana Cats Staff

The 2013 Montana Cats Circuit came to a conclusion over the weekend and the culmination will not soon be forgotten. In what will go down as one of the most impressive days of fishing in circuit history, twenty-three teams brought in over twenty pounds to the scales. You are staring at a top ten finish in the Clash in years past with those types of numbers, but it was going to take much more than that in 2013!

August 18, 2012 by Montana Cats Staff

The 2012 version of the Montana Cats Circuit will always be known as the year of the “RECORD”. For the third time this year a new standard was set. And for the second time this year, one of the fishermen was Chad Dawson. Chad, of Dickinson, ND. joined forces with Lars Sorensen, of Williston, ND., to take down the field at the 2nd Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash held over the weekend in Williston. The duo focused their efforts on submerged cover and deep water to land over twenty catfish on the day.

August 20, 2011 by Montana Cats Staff

The 2011 Montana Cats Circuit came to a dramatic conclusion over the weekend with the Inaugural Missouri River Catfish Clash in Williston, ND. In the state’s first ever Montana Cats event, there was plenty of familiar faces to go around. Featuring twenty-one teams from Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota the tournament would prove to be highly competitive. As is customary with all circuit events, the weekend kicked off with a calcutta of the fishing teams. The calcutta and social were sponsored and hosted by the 4-Mile Bar. Following the auction, the rules meeting was conducted by tournament director, Steve Harris, of the Montana Catfish Association.