August 23, 2018 by Montana Cats Staff
8/18/2018- Williston, ND – 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.
Despite all of the fantastic fishing, there can be only one champion for each event. That title went to seasoned catfish anglers, Brenner Flaten, Glasgow, MT., and Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND., who cleared the field by just 1 1/2 pounds with their basket of five cats weighing in at 33.28 lbs! The title marks a back-to-back championship for Flaten, who teamed up with Cole Plouffe to win the 2017 Catfish Clash. It is also a 2nd Clash title for Dawson. Chad topped the field in 2012 with Lars Sorensen. When asked about their day on the water, Flaten quipped; “It was a bit of a different day from last year. We caught 26 cats on the day, so the action was hot. We had 28 lbs. real early but then we had to upgrade four times late into the day. We fished extremely hard and it paid off.”
Taking runner up honors was the father-son duo, Josh Marottek, Medicine Lake, MT., and Charles Marottek, Poplar, MT., with 31.67 lbs. The Marottek’s are circuit veterans and have really been impressing over the last two seasons. It was just an outstanding day by the two of them.
Another father-son team, James and Luke Bergeron, of Sidney, MT. claimed hardware with a third place finish. Brothers, Rod Seder, Billings, MT, and Rob Seder, Hardin, MT., did it again with an impressive 4th place showing. Local anglers, Jeremy Workman and Brett Colebank, both of Williston, rounded out the top five at just under 30 lbs.
Just as impressive as the top five teams, were the big fish that the Missouri produced once again. Three cats came in at over 10 lbs. and that was led by Austin Bement’s 10.49. It was later passed up by Jeremy Workman’s 10.97. As impressive as Austin and Jeremy’s catches were, it wasn’t near enough to take big fish honors. That accomplishment went to Kirby Lynch, Williston, and his 12.39 pig. The giant fish was worth $700 cash and a beautiful plaque for the wall.
As is customary on the circuit, The B’n’M Poles Montana Cats Angler of the Year was also awarded following the conclusion of the Clash award ceremony. And for the first time in history, the AOY race was wrapped up prior to the Clash. Jason Flaten, West Wendover, NV., broke a NEW MT Cats Circuit record with 74 total points. Flaten took gold at both the Yellowstone Challenge in Huntley and the Milk River Catfish Classic in Glasgow and finished runner-up at Sidney last month at the Monster Cat Roundup. Jason and Brady Flaten also teamed up for a 19th place finish this weekend at the Clash. The Association takes an angler’s top 3 events out of 4 to compile end of the year AOY points. Flaten is the ninth different angler to either win or share the award in its 6-year history. There have been no repeat winners. Jason spoke to the crowd upon receiving the prestigious award, “I want to give credit to my three teammates during the year for this success, all three are great fisherman and I certainly couldn’t have done any of this without them. I was just along for the ride.” Congratulations to Jason on a record that might stand for years to come!
As the dust settles on another Montana Cats season we would like to personally thank ALL of the anglers who competed and made this just another memorable campaign. We also could not put on such efficient, respected events without the help of our sponsors. It is time to give a SPECIAL shout-out to our six circuit level sponsors; Whisker Seeker Tackle, B’n’M Poles, Cat River Anchors, Riverside Marine and Cycle of Miles City, Shelly George w/ Thrivent Financial, and RS Jet Boat Anchors.
We hope to see everyone in Huntley for the 13th Annual Yellowstone Challenge on May 11th, 2019.
Please enjoy the pictures from the event and the complete finals results from this past weekend below.
Pictures for this event can be found here.
| Kirby Lynch | 12.39 lbs. | Big Fish Award |
1 Brenner Flaten, Glasgow, MT., Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. 33.28 lbs.
2 Josh Marottek, Medicine Lake, MT., Charles Marottek, Poplar, MT. 31.67 lbs.
3 James Bergeron, Sidney, MT., Luke Bergeron, Sidney, MT. 30.40 lbs.
4 Rod Seder, Billings, MT., Rob Seder, Hardin, MT. 29.38 lbs.
5 Jeremy Workman, Williston, ND., Brett Colebank, Williston, ND. 29.36 lbs.
6 Kirby Lynch, Williston, ND., Clint Carnes, Williston, ND. 28.30 lbs.
7 Bobby Wise, Billings, MT., Robert Wise, Billings, MT. 27.38 lbs.
8 Todd Dooley, Sidney, MT., Becky Lange, Sidney, MT. 27.24 lbs.
9 Austin Bement, Williston, ND., Bob Bauer, Williston, ND. 27.07 lbs.
10 Troy Cotter, Sidney, MT., Heather Cotter, Sidney, MT. 26.41 lbs.
11 Chad Mueller, Sidney, MT., Adam Smith, Sidney, MT. 25.27 lbs.
12 James Decker, Sidney, MT., Steve Lowrey, Fairview, MT. 24.40 lbs.
13 Chase Rehak, Williston, ND., Cory Neer, Williston, ND. 23.72 lbs.
14 Steve Linder, Glendive, MT., Kelly Linder, Glendive, MT. 23.58 lbs.
15 Steve Harris Sr., Sidney, MT., Bill Harris, Sun Prairie, WI. 23.02 lbs.
16 Dan Achten, Laurel, MT., Amber Achten, Laurel, MT. 23.01 lbs.
17 Steve Norcutt, Glasgow, MT., Allan Harrington, Glasgow, MT. 22.01 lbs.
18 Steve Harris Jr., Sidney, MT., Loren Dempsey, Sidney, MT. 20.66 lbs.
19 Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT., Jason Flaten, West Wendover, NV. 20.48 lbs.
20 Casey Heller, Williston, ND., Jason Arnson, Williston, ND. 19.75 lbs.
21 Tyler Colebank, Williston, ND., Blane Stevens, Williston, ND. 19.16 lbs.
22 Todd Lindsey, Billings, MT., Kellie Lindsey, Billings, MT. 17.95 lbs.
23 Corey Nay, Sidney, MT., Kara Nay, Sidney, MT. 17.88 lbs.
24 Caleb Wells, Williston, ND., Joshua Pruitt, Watford City, ND. 15.02 lbs.
25 Tim Linder, Glendive, MT., Jon Marker, Sidney, MT. 13.26 lbs.
26 Mike Ramsey, Williston, ND., Walter Ramsey, Williston, ND. 12.08 lbs.
27 Micah Mersinger, Williston, ND., Gary Mersinger, Edwardsville, IL. 11.12 lbs.
28 Matt Reynolds, Sidney, MT., Carrie Nibock, Sidney, MT. 9.04 lbs.
29 Devin Davis, Williston, ND., Jeff Christian, Ross, ND. 6.30 lbs.
30 Kevin Howie, Billings, MT., Travis Kennedy, Billings, MT. 5.28 lbs.
31 Ryan Wilson, Williston, ND., Bobby Oliver, Williston, ND. 5.24 lbs.
32 Matt Degenstein, Williston, ND., Mindy Degenstein, Williston, ND. 4.88 lbs.
33 Clint Hecker, Sidney, MT., Cayden Hecker, Sidney, MT. 4.44 lbs.
34 Brian Bustad, Williston, ND., Johnah Erickson, Williston, ND. 3.73 lbs.
35 Derik Anderson, Dickinson, ND., Greg Adame, Dickinson, ND. 2.06 lbs.
36 Ryan Mehling, Hardin, MT., Presley Mehling, Hardin, MT. 0 lb.
Darin Gagliano, Banner, WY., Cody Veal, Story, WY. 0 lb.
Cody Hurley, Bismarck, ND., Mark Hurley, Williston, ND. 0 lb.
Cody Gibson, Sidney, MT., Trevor Swisse, Sidney, MT. 0 lb.
40 Nick Taylor, Williston, ND., Josh Taylor, Fargo, ND. 0 lb.
Posted in: Missouri River Catfish Clash
