Flaten and Molstad Win 2nd Clash Title

August 25, 2013 by Montana Cats Staff

8/24/13 Williston, ND – 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! Catfisherman came from near and far to compete in the 41-team field that would not only crown a new Catfish Clash champion, but also an Inaugural Montana Cats Circuit Angler of the Year. In customary Montana Cats fashion, the calcutta and social were held on Friday night at the 4-Mile bar in Williston to kick off the weekend and make sure the anglers knew what to expect when they hit the water Saturday morning.

Saturday brought heavy cloud cover for nearly the entire eight hours of fishing. This, however, didn’t keep the humidity down or the fish from biting. For the first time in the three year history of the event, West boundaries were lengthened all the way to the “confluence” of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers near the Montana-North Dakota border. The change to the fishing area allowed for the teams to spread throughout many miles of river, and many took full advantage of it as proven by the final weights. Rising above the rest in this year’s version of the Clash, was the tourney veteran crew of Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT. and Nate Molstad, Havre, MT., but it did not come easy. The duo’s basket was an amazing 44.09 lbs., which makes it the second biggest basket of fish in Montana Cats Circuit history. It turned out they would need every bit of it. The owners of that very record came in nipping at their heels. The 18-year old, now seasoned veteran crew, Gage Gordon, Belgrade, MT. and Mac Reid, Bozeman, MT. placed 43.11 lbs. on the scale, coming up less than a pound short of their 2nd career Montana Cats Circuit title. They would instead have to settle for their 2nd consecutive runner-up finish in the Clash. Brady and Nate were helped by Nate’s new tournament record 11.93 lb. trophy channel cat and can now claim two Clash championships on their resume’s following a victory in Williston in 2011. The victory marks a record 7th Montana Cats Circuit title for Nate, while Brady now boasts a record fifteen top five finishes in circuit events.

The rest of the top five was littered with names that have become synonymous with catfishing in the region. In third place, was the father-son combo of Bobby and Robert Wise, both of Billings, MT. Bobby and Robert were looking to win back-to-back circuit events, following their impressive victory at the Monster Cat Roundup in Sidney this July. They would fall just short. Their impressive basket of 36.78 lbs. is the 4th best weight in tournament history, but they would have to settle for the bronze this go around. The third place finish was also good enough to springboard the teammates into a tie for fourth place in the final Montana Cats Angler of the Year standings. In 4th place, Brenner Flaten, Wright, WY. and Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. weighed in at just under 33 lbs. Their fourth place finish comes on the heels of Chad’s first place victory at last year’s Catfish Clash. It marks the 17th top ten finish in twenty-two career outings on the Montana Cats Circuit for Brenner. James Decker and Steve Lowrey, both of Sidney, MT. made it an all-Montana top five when they brought in 31.97 lbs. Truly a memorable weigh-ins for all in attendance.

The event within the event, or the elephant in the room so to speak, was the crowning of the Montana Cats Angler of the Year. Those honors went to a familiar name. Your 2013 Montana Cats Co-Anglers of the Year are the ever-impressive teenage duo of Gage Gordon and Mac Reid. The Montana Cats Circuit Angler of the Year is determined by an individuals top three tournament performances of the season. Gage and Mac were unable to bring home a title this summer, but they ended with some valuable bragging rights in the end anyway. Strapped with their runner-up finishes in the Milk River Catfish Classic and the Missouri River Catfish Clash and throw in a third place finish in the Monster Cat Roundup and they had just enough to hold off veteran angler, Brady Flaten, by a mere two points in the standings. Brady swooped up 4th place finishes in both the Classic and the Roundup to go along with this weekend’s title. Congrats to all three men!

Last but not least, The Montana Catfish Association, would like to take this time to express our gratitude towards tournament directors, Steve and Ashley Harris. The husband and wife make a fine “tourney running” pair and the Montana Cats Circuit would not resemble what it does today without their tireless efforts. They have taken the time to get two tournaments off the ground. Next year will mark their sixth year as directors of the annual Monster Cat Roundup held in Sidney, MT. For the first time in four years, they won’t have to worry about keeping an additional eye on the Missouri River Catfish Clash. They will now be free to fish in and enjoy what they have created. Tournament director duties will now fall in the hands of respected catfish angler, Mr. Chad Dawson. Chad will round out our tournament director committee and will allow us to be even more efficient moving forward. If you are interested in being a key sponsor for the circuit or anyone of the four individual events drop us a line on our message board www.montanacats.yuku.com.

pictures

Pictures for this event can be found here.

big fish

complete results

Posted in: Missouri River Catfish Clash