May 10, 2008 by Montana Cats Staff
Huntley, MT 5/10/08– The annual Yellowstone Challenge is in the books and there were many impressive stringers recorded on this beautiful 65-degree day. A record 51 teams set out on the section of Yellowstone River stretching from the mouth of the Bighorn River to the East bridge in Billings. Bank and shore anglers were allowed to compete; as most teams experienced mixed results throughout the day, encountering a somewhat sporadic bite. Billings anglers, Ryan Smith and Kevin Van Donsel, took home the championship with an impressive four fish limit of 30.4 lbs., earning themselves a check for $700. They would also take home the Big Fish Prize, a large backyard grill valued at $300, for their Channel Cat weighing in at 10.4 lbs.
Twelve teams were able to weigh in a stringer at over 20 lbs. and nineteen teams weighed in at over 10 lbs., much higher totals than the inaugural event the previous year. Last years tournament was conducted in higher water conditions, while as this year offered more stability. Still with all of the quality weights coming in almost half of the field came in empty handed, as 24 teams turned in a goose egg. No section of river seemed to be better than the next, as the top teams were spread evenly throughout the entire tournament boundary.
Fish and Game was once again helpful this year, as every catfish weighed in was tagged and released back into the mighty Yellowstone River the night of the tournament. Montana Cats is happy to confirm a 0% mortality rate, which is one of our top priorities while hosting a tournament. A huge thanks also goes out to the anglers fishing this year’s tournament, as they continue to make a conscious effort to keep their fish in good shape throughout the entire event. That is the stuff we need to have happen to keep this event running at a high level. Thank You!
Tournament director Jason Flaten was satisfied with the outcome of this year’s event and is looking for improvements and continued growth into the future. With 51 teams battling it out this year, you can expect the field to fill to its maximum of 60 teams for the first time on Saturday May 9th, 2009. Please enjoy complete tournament results and pictures of the event by clicking on the links below. See you all next May!
Pictures for this tournament can be found here.
| Kevin Van Donsel | 10.40 lbs. | Big Fish Award |
| 1. | Ryan Smith – Kevin Van Donsel | 30.4 lbs. |
| 2. | Siler Giles – Rick Davis | 28.6 lbs. |
| 3. | Matt Theis – Richard Theis | 26.5 lbs. |
| 4. | Robert Wise – Bobby Wise | 26.1 lbs. |
| 5. | Art Adame Jr. – Larry Green | 23.7 lbs. |
| 6. | Keith Ratcliff – Steve Reidy | 22.7 lbs. |
| 7. | Phil Hageman – Bill Jones | 22.1 lbs. |
| 8. | Steve Frey – Matt Sand | 21.4 lbs. |
| 9. | S. Cantrell – S. Cantrell | 20.5 lbs. |
| Paul Waller – Perry Jones | 20.5 lbs. | |
| 11. | Cory Rigby – Gary Cantrell | 20.3 lbs. |
| 12. | Brenner Flaten – Brady Flaten | 20.1 lbs. |
| 13. | Charles Furguson – Will Grundhauser | 18.1 lbs. |
| 14. | Jason Partridge – Toby Kline | 17.1 lbs. |
| 15. | Rod Seder – Mark Ferster | 16.7 lbs. |
| 16. | Dave Wise – Dave Valdez | 14.1 lbs. |
| 17. | Zach Gilliland – Aundi Gilliland | 12.0 lbs. |
| 18. | Dan Hanson – Mitch Wright | 11.7 lbs. |
| 19. | Darren Decker – Ron Anderson | 10.5 lbs. |
| 20. | Dan Oblander – Austin Oblander | 9.9 lbs. |
| 21. | Mark Sullivan – Travis Amundsen | 9.4 lbs. |
| 22. | Mark Striegel – A.C. Dlutowski | 7.5 lbs. |
| 23. | Scott Swanson – Bobbie Oblander | 7.1 lbs. |
| 24. | Mark Goldammer – Tim Stockman | 6.3 lbs. |
| Pete Sanderson – Chris Hofmann | 6.3 lbs. | |
| 26. | Brad Cole – Eric Wolff | 5.3 lbs. |
| 27. | Dan Graham – Steve Russell | 2.1 lbs. |
| 28. | Jesse Ellis – Edward Kelly | 0 lb. |
| Allen Camarillo – Pat Bird | 0 lb. | |
| Josh Weinreich – Benji Schlicting | 0 lb. | |
| Brad Stewart – Tom Madden | 0 lb. | |
| Austin Bentz – Dennis Elliott | 0 lb. | |
| Randy Sanders – Shelly Sanders | 0 lb. | |
| Kevin Bentz – Dave McKinney | 0 lb. | |
| Cameron Jones – Steve Diaz | 0 lb. | |
| Ron Ford Sr. – Ron Ford Jr. | 0 lb. | |
| Maurice Glaster – Loren Schrag | 0 lb. | |
| Chris Joseph – JR Boespflug | 0 lb. | |
| Melvin McDuffie – Ryan Schmierer | 0 lb. | |
| Eric Majerus – Mike Crisafulli | 0 lb. | |
| Shaun Dotson – Angie Dotson | 0 lb. | |
| Timber Kolodejchuk – Wayne Kegley | 0 lb. | |
| Garvin Remme Jr. – John Kortright | 0 lb. | |
| Rudy Makinen – Mike Padilla | 0 lb. | |
| Dustin Lachenmaier – Kirk Thomas | 0 lb. | |
| Gavin Mckee – Dustin Smith | 0 lb. | |
| Pete Borowick- Brad Sisson | 0 lb. | |
| M. Erdman – M. Murretta | 0 lb. | |
| Preston Lyles – Preston Kline | 0 lb. | |
| Bill Hoffert – Cody Nyre | 0 lb. | |
| 51. | Shannon McClure – Jared Kidwell | 0 lb. |
Posted in: Yellowstone Challenge
