June 07, 2014 by Montana Cats Staff
6/7/14 Glasgow, MT – You might ask; is there a weekend that is quickly becoming synonymous with Eastern Montana? What about the 1st Saturday of every June? Ask your average Joe, especially in North-Eastern Montana, and chances are they know the Milk River Catfish Classic will be exploding on the Glasgow, Montana area for a few days. The Montana Catfish Association takes pride in bringing this top flight event to you year in and year out and this year did not disappoint.
What a weekend! If you weren’t able to make it to the festivities this year, start penciling in June 5th and 6th, 2015 on your respective calendars. This year had it all; live band entertainment, an exciting calcutta auction, stable river conditions, great weather, impressive fishing, and an incident that resulted in a lifetime ban for a pair of catfish anglers. If you missed us in 2014, you missed a great event all the way around.
Friday night entertainment brought the band, Trouble Expected, out of Miles City, MT. center stage to perform on Glasgow’s famous front street. The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID – Glasgow, MT.) provided a $1,000 grant to fund this year’s live music choice. A HUGE thanks to them for stepping up and helping us take this event to new heights. Friday night also included a social with the catfishing teams, the calcutta auction, a street dance, and food fresh of the grill courtesy of the locally owned “Auzzy’s cook shack”. Well over five hundred people showed up to kick off the Cat Classic weekend just right.
Saturday brought a few things that Catfish Classic veteran squads haven’t been experiencing in previous years. Stable river conditions and fairly mild weather. It was a breath of fresh air to a lot of the teams involved. The Classic has become a tournament known for its fluctuating river conditions and its rainy nights. This year brought back the memories of a decade ago, however, as the river was similar in depth and flows throughout the week leading up to the event and the rain clouds stayed away for all but a few portions of the tournament boundaries.
The conditions provided many teams with optimal opportunity to put some big weights on the scales and many took full advantage. Nobody got it done quite like the duo of Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. and Cade Flaten, Glasgow, MT. The Glasgow natives pre-fishing and decision making paid off in the form of a 15th Annual Milk River Catfish Classic Championship! Chad and Cade were able to have a night tournament anglers can only dream about. Arriving at their first fishing location after the release, the anglers didn’t waste any time putting the winning basket together. Amazingly, they caught four of their five “keepers” within the first forty-five minutes of fishing. Chad explained, “All we could do was yell and keep fist pumping each other. It was just a rush of emotion. I’ll never forget it!” The team’s 7.74 lb. winning margin is the third largest in Catfish Classic history.
Jason Maynard, Dickinson, ND., and Scott Swanson, Glasgow, MT., followed up last year’s sixth place finish with an impressive runner-up finish. The Glasgow natives used Frogs and multiple locations to land their limit of five cats at 27.11 lbs. Jason let out a boisterous yell on stage as proof to the duo’s excitement and relief with their awesome basket of fish. Rounding out the top three was Shawn Wersal and Jake Aune, both of Glasgow. Jake and Shawn’s basket tipped the scales at 25.74 lbs. and earned them their highest finish ever in the prestigious event. Congrats to these three fine teams and all of the teams on a great night of fishing!
Fourteen teams brought in over twenty pounds to the famous midnight weigh-ins in downtown Glasgow, where over five hundred enthusiastic onlookers cheered their efforts. Scott Swanson, of Laurel, MT., was awarded the Jumbo Whiskers Award, sponsored by Whisker Seeker Tackle and The Montana Catfish Association in the amount of $300. Scott’s sumo cat came in at 10.08 lbs. The Big Whiskers Award, celebrating the second biggest Channel Cat of the night, went to Kirk Capdeville, of Hinsdale, MT. His 9.00 lb. Cat was good enough for $100. Only eleven teams came back to weigh-ins empty handed in 2014. Nemont Beverage CEO, Tim Jennings, was awarded the 4th Annual Aaron Chatten Memorial Award for his contributions to the Catfish Classic over the last eight years.
The tournament didn’t come to a conclusion without an unfortunate turn of events for one young catfishing duo. The well-known Belgrade/Bozeman connection of Gage Gordon and MacKenzie Reid have made a name for themselves the past three years on the Montana Cats Circuit. On this day, however, it’s not the name they wanted to make for themselves. Gage and Mac were caught fishing outside of tournament boundaries by tournament patrol. The incident was one that they had been warned about in the Fall of 2013 at the Missouri River Catfish Clash. The teammates will now pay the ultimate price, immediate disqualification and a permanent ban from all future Montana Cats sanctioned events.
Montana Cats would like to thank the following sponsors for supporting the 2014 Catfish Classic: Nemont Beverage Corporation (Busch Light), Farm Equipment Sales, REM Concrete Pumping, TBID, All Awards (Lewistown, MT.), Montana Bar, Thompson and Sons, Scottie Nation Apparel, Ag Land Co-Op, D&G Sports and Western, Newton Motors, B ‘n’ M Poles, Whisker Seeker Tackle, Cat River Anchors, and Hi-Line Gobblers. Also a special thanks to the City of Glasgow, Markle’s Hardware, Austin Auctions, Glasgow Flower and Gift, Shelly George Photography, and The BS Buzz.
Amazingly, at the time of this press release the 16th Annual Milk River Catfish Classic, scheduled for June 6th, 2015 is already FULL at 80 teams, 254 days ahead of schedule! Not bad ladies and gentlemen. The Montana Catfish Association plans on implementing a new registration policy for the 2016 Cat Classic. Stay tuned for more developing information on this matter. Don’t panic, however, as Montana Cats offers two more extraordinary events for the 2014 season. Next up, the 6th Annual Monster Cat Roundup scheduled for Sidney, Montana on Saturday July 19th. As of press time, there are only FOUR spots remaining for this event, so act fast! The culminating event will be the 4th Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash scheduled for Williston, ND. on August 16th. We have plenty of spots available for this showdown and entry forms are available on the website.
Pictures for this event can be found here.
| Scott Swanson | 10.08 lbs. | Jumbo Whiskers Award |
| Kirk Capdeville | 9.00 lbs. | Big Whiskers Award |
| 1. | Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. – Cade Flaten, Minot, ND. | 34.85 lbs. |
| 2. | Jason Maynard, Dickinson, ND. – Scott Swanson, Billings, MT. | 27.11 lbs. |
| 3. | Shawn Wersal, Glasgow, MT. – Jake Aune, Glasgow, MT. | 25.74 lbs. |
| 4. | Adam Morehouse, Glasgow, MT. – Kirk Boyer, Glasgow, MT. | 24.21 lbs. |
| 5. | Willy Lauckner, Nashua, MT. – Chris Kolstad, Glasgow, MT. | 22.66 lbs. |
| 6. | Matt Tribby, Tyler, TX. – Todd Young, Glasgow, MT. | 22.58 lbs. |
| 7. | Allan Harrington, Glasgow, MT. – Tara Harrington, Glasgow, MT. | 22.44 lbs. |
| 8. | Aimee Kloeckner, Billings, MT. – Timm Canen, Glasgow, MT. | 22.41 lbs. |
| 9. | Bryon Armour, Lewistown, MT. – Hooper Armour, Lewistown, MT. | 21.14 lbs. |
| 10. | Bo Boreson, Billings, MT. – Vance Anderson, Glasgow, MT. | 21.05 lbs. |
| 11. | Luke Morehouse, Glasgow, MT. – Calvin Kemmis, Glasgow, MT. | 20.99 lbs. |
| 12. | Shannon Albert, Hardin, MT. – Rodney Hudyma, Glasgow, MT. | 20.68 lbs. |
| 13. | Ed Sugg, Glasgow, MT. – Storm Jackson, Glasgow, MT. | 20.29 lbs. |
| 14. | Larry Hockhalter, Glasgow, MT. – Seth Ingram, Glasgow, MT. | 20.04 lbs. |
| 15. | Tyler Viste, Glasgow, MT. – Jason Tatafu, Glasgow, MT. | 19.48 lbs. |
| 16. | Kyle Watson, Dickinson, ND. – Colton Hill, Dickinson, ND. | 18.83 lbs. |
| 17. | Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT. – Jason Molstad, Glasgow, MT. | 18.67 lbs. |
| 18. | Justin King, Sidney, MT. – Jer Hopstad, Billings, MT. | 17.98 lbs. |
| 19. | Mark Combs, Glasgow, MT. – Seth Combs, Glasgow, MT. | 17.69 lbs. |
| 20. | Tracy Krause, Great Falls, MT. – Katie Kuka, Glasgow, MT. | 17.56 lbs. |
| 21. | Nate Molstad, Havre, MT. – Jerry Molstad, Glasgow, MT. | 17.55 lbs. |
| 22. | Norm Braaten, Fort Peck, MT. – Scott Fossum, Glasgow, MT. | 17.50 lbs. |
| 23. | Brien Gault, Glasgow, MT. – Autumn Gault, Glasgow, MT. | 16.96 lbs. |
| 24. | Scott Swanson, Laurel, MT. – Jeremiah Johnson, Laurel, MT. | 16.88 lbs. |
| 25. | Louie Monson, Glasgow, MT. – Randy Cumber, Glasgow, MT. | 16.58 lbs. |
| 26. | Dexter Monson, Glasgow, MT. – Dirk Monson, Glasgow, MT. | 16.54 lbs. |
| 27. | Brian Mix, Glasgow, MT. – Kelvin Morehouse, Glasgow, MT. | 16.13 lbs. |
| 28. | Tyler George, Sheridan, WY. – Ryan George, Billings, MT. | 15.92 lbs. |
| 29. | Callahan Belling, Lustre, MT. – Randy Elletson, Glasgow, MT. | 15.83 lbs. |
| 30. | James Kelly, Three Forks, MT. – Chuck Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. | 15.60 lbs. |
| 31. | Don Resseguie, Great Falls, MT. – Kevin Durell, Glasgow, MT. | 15.25 lbs. |
| 32. | Jessica Hallock, Nashua, MT. – Jesse Nickels, Nashua, MT. | 15.16 lbs. |
| 33. | Kyle Wing, Three Forks, MT. – Terry King, Glasgow, MT. | 14.97 lbs. |
| 34. | BJ Kemp, Glasgow, MT. – John Britzman, Glasgow, MT. | 13.73 lbs. |
| 35. | Marc Kloker, Glasgow, MT. – Joel Smith, Glasgow, MT. | 13.51 lbs. |
| 36. | Wayne Shipp, Glasgow, MT. – Della Shipp, Glasgow, MT. | 13.02 lbs. |
| 37. | Josh Keller, Havre, MT. – Levi Sugg, Glasgow, MT. | 12.84 lbs. |
| 38. | Danielle Hardie, Glasgow, MT. – Chelsea Sams, Glasgow, MT. | 12.27 lbs. |
| 39. | Erin George, Billings, MT. – Dave George, Glasgow, MT. | 12.17 lbs. |
| 40. | Eric Billmeyer, Havre, MT. – Casey Riggin, Glasgow, MT. | 12.11 lbs. |
| 41. | William Durell, Nashua, MT. – Aaron Durell, Glasgow, MT. | 12.08 lbs. |
| 42. | Mikayla Waarvik, Billings, MT. – Carla Olson, Glasgow, MT. | 11.79 lbs. |
| 43. | Travis Doke, Billings, MT. – Jessica Doke, Billings, MT. | 11.71 lbs. |
| 44. | Mitch McIntyre, Glasgow, MT. – Jim McIntyre, Glasgow, MT. | 11.17 lbs. |
| 45. | Kirk Capdeville, Hinsdale, MT. – Jeff Irving, Glasgow, MT. | 11.11 lbs. |
| 46. | Mike Merideth, Nashua, MT. – Stone Tihista, Nashua, MT. | 10.92 lbs. |
| 47. | Clayton Corey, St. Marie, MT. – Carmen Corey, Nashua, MT. | 10.64 lbs. |
| 48. | Brady Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Brandon Mueller, Sidney, MT. | 10.23 lbs. |
| 49. | Scott Redstone, Glasgow, MT. – Aiden Redstone, Glasgow, MT. | 9.79 lbs. |
| 50. | Kyle Bilger, Glasgow, MT. – Wyatt Pedersen, Glasgow, MT. | 9.60 lbs. |
| 51. | Aaron Hartsock, Glasgow, MT. – Dylan Hughes, Glasgow, MT. | 9.55 lbs. |
| 52. | Tyler Wattles, Billings, MT. – Aden Zoanni, Glasgow, MT. | 9.31 lbs. |
| 53. | Reid Coldwell, Glasgow, MT. – Cache Younkin, Glasgow, MT. | 8.27 lbs. |
| 54. | Doug Mahlum, Great Falls, MT. – Kane Mahlum, Great Falls, MT. | 8.14 lbs. |
| 55. | Bobby Wise, Billings, MT. – Robert Wise, Billings, MT. | 7.68 lbs. |
| 56. | Robert Harrington, Glasgow, MT. – Kat Geer, Glasgow, MT. | 7.43 lbs. |
| 57. | Walker Fischer, Alexandria, SD. – Bret Schindler, Glasgow, MT. | 7.29 lbs. |
| 58. | Ryan Feezell, Glasgow, MT. – Zack Burner, Glasgow, MT. | 6.86 lbs. |
| 59. | Paul Moore, Hinsdale, MT. – Jennifer Moore, Hinsdale, MT. | 6.30 lbs. |
| 60. | Bruce Peterson, Fort Peck, MT. – Zak Peterson, Glasgow, MT | 4.04 lbs. |
| 61. | Doug Marottek, Poplar, MT. – Derek Warner, Poplar, MT. | 4.00 lbs. |
| 62. | Wayne Linder, Glasgow, MT. – Paul Provencher, Glasgow, MT. | 3.60 lbs. |
| 63. | Darin Eschenbacher, Savage, MT. – Jim Wenzel, Sidney, MT. | 2.84 lbs. |
| 64. | Randy Plummer, St. Marie, MT. – Walter Alvernaz, Glasgow, MT. | 2.79 lbs. |
| 65. | Nick Pentas, Billings, MT. – Shawn Bergstrom, Nashua, MT. | 1.21 lbs. |
| 66. | David Irving, Glasgow, MT. – Rod Ost, Glasgow, MT. | 1.00 lbs. |
| 67. | Josh Marottek, Medicine Lake, MT. – Drew Henry, Glasgow, MT. | 0.42 lbs. |
| 68. | Scott Sanders, Glasgow, MT. – Robert Sanders, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Chad Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Kyle Mueller, Sidney, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Chris Partridge, Glasgow, MT. – Lucas Partridge, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | James Decker, Sidney, MT. – Steve Lowrey, Fairview, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Jeff Unterseher, Glendive, MT. – Ben Unterseher, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Blake Gauer, Park City, MT. – Zack Dasinger, Laurel, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Martin Blake, Glasgow, MT. – Melvin McNary, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Steve Norcutt, Glasgow, MT. – Brian Norcutt, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | CJ Kemmis, Glasgow, MT. – Colin Kemmis, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Eric Olson, Hinsdale, MT. – Kyle Palmer, Hinsdale, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Cowboy Murch, Glasgow, MT. – Bill Murch, Glasgow, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 68. | Patrick Gustafson, Sidney, MT. – Brent Harris, Sidney, MT. | 0.00 lbs. |
| 80. | Gage Gordon, Belgrade, MT. – MacKenzie Reid, Bozeman, MT. | DQ – BANNED |
Posted in: Milk River Catfish Classic
