July 13, 2013 by Montana Cats Staff
7/13/13 Sidney, MT – The 5th Annual Monster Cat Roundup was quite the show this past weekend in Sidney, MT. The event had a little bit of everything. New records in both total weight and big fish, a record number of boats, a circuit veteran crew winning their first ever tournament championship, and a hailstorm. Yes this was a memorable event for all involved.
Bobby Wise, out of Billings, said it best after him and his father posted a NEW tournament record of 38.36 lbs. on five catfish to pull away from the rest of the field by nearly six pounds. “It’s about time, and it sure feels good”, stated Bobby. Bobby competing in his thirteenth career Montana Cats Circuit event finally broke through for a title following the three other top 10 finishes he already had on his resume. The achievement was made even sweeter fishing with his dad, Robert. And it couldn’t happen to better people either. Montana Cats would like to congratulate Team Wise on an unbelievable day on the water and a spot in our record books!
The battle for the rest of the top five was much much tighter and littered with a “who’s who” of Montana Catfishing. Coming in second place at the Monster Cat Roundup for a second time was the duo of Brady Mueller and Joe Carpenter, both of Sidney. Mueller and Carpenter weighed in 32.49 lbs. to place just ahead of the young guns, Gage Gordon of Belgrade and Mac Reid of Bozeman, who placed 31.75 lbs. on the scale. Amazingly, this is Gage and Mac’s fourth top three finish in a Montana Cats Circuit event in less than two years. The teammates are making a case to being the finest teenage catfishing duo in the entire country. Coming in hot on their heels in fourth place was Brady Flaten of Glasgow and Bryon Armour out of Lewistown. Their basket of 31.27 lbs. was an excellent showing considering they were following a runner-up finish at last years Monster Cat Roundup. Rounding out the top five was Blake and Lindsey Gauer, both of Park City, with 29.98 lbs. Blake is making a strong push to be the Inaugural Montana Cats Angler of the Year. Blake also has a fifth place finish at the Yellowstone Challenge and an eleventh place at the 80-team Milk River Catfish Classic to his credit this season. All of these outstanding weights took place with a storm patiently waiting in the backdrop. Rain began to come hard as the last ten teams rushed onto the stage to get their fish weighed in. As soon as the last team walked off the stage, hail began to pelt the competitors, vehicles, and boats. Thankfully it only lasted for ten minutes and didn’t come with quite the size of hail that it could have. As the weather began to break, tournament director Steve Harris announced that they would be presenting the awards and the door prizes at the Ranger Lounge.
Friday night was just as impressive as the event on Saturday. The social and calcutta of the fishing teams at the Ranger Lounge seen record attendance and an all-time high for the calcutta bidding. Over $11,200 was bid on teams this year, breaking last years record by more than four grand. The Calcutta’s continues to be an integral part of the Montana Cats Circuit events. They allow our teams the chance to put more money in their pocket for their efforts, but still allows the event to be very affordable for anyone that chooses to participate. Forty-six teams participated this year, with all but three fishing from boats. We expect to continue our rise to the sixty-team limit by as early as next year. Co-tournament directors, Steve and Ashley Harris, have tentatively decided to move the event one week back from this point forward. You can start your preparation for next years Roundup by placing July 19th, 2014 on your calendar. Come spend that weekend in Sidney, you simply won’t regret it.
This year’s race for the Inaugural Angler of the Year Award is coming down to next month’s 3rd Annual Missouri River Catfish Clash. The Clash will be held in Williston on August 24th. Six individuals are within seven points of each other so it is truly anyone’s ball game. Make sure you come and do battle at this tourney with what is sure to be a star-studded group of anglers. Not only will the Missouri River Catfish Clash Champion and Big Fish Winner be crowned, but also the Angler of the year will be presented with some incredible hardware courtesy of “All Awards” out of Lewistown and an additional check for $200.
Pictures for this event can be found here.
| Terry Decker | 11.01 lbs. | Big Fish Award |
| Brady Mueller | 10.85 lbs. | 2nd Biggest Fish Award |
| 1. | Bobby Wise, Billings, MT. – Robert Wise, Billings, MT. | 38.36 lbs. |
| 2. | Brady Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Joe Carpenter, Sidney, MT. | 32.49 lbs. |
| 3. | VACATED | 31.75 lbs. |
| 4. | Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT. – Bryon Armour, Lewistown, MT. | 31.27 lbs. |
| 5. | Blake Gauer, Park City, MT. – Lindsey Gauer, Park City, MT. | 29.98 lbs. |
| 6. | Brandon Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Devin Schieffer, Sidney, MT | 29.86 lbs. |
| 7. | Chad Mueller, Sidney, MT. – Kyle Mueller, Sidney, MT. | 25.83 lbs. |
| 8. | Loren Dempsey, Sidney, MT. – Josh Prevost, Sidney, MT. | 25.24 lbs. |
| 9. | Corey Nay, Sidney, MT. – Kenny Erickson, Sidney, MT. | 24.38 lbs. |
| 10. | Scott Schmidt, Sidney, MT. – Shane Litten, Sidney, MT. | 23.30 lbs. |
| 11. | CJ Truesdale, Miles City, MT. – James Hong, Miles City, MT. | 21.46 lbs. |
| 12. | Josh Beagle, Sidney, MT. – Kristin Beagle, Sidney, MT. | 20.81 lbs. |
| 13. | Dwight Boyce, Sidney, MT. – Jessica Boyce, Sidney, MT. | 20.69 lbs. |
| 14. | Shay Stanford, Savage, MT. – Donny Dillman, Savage, MT. | 19.89 lbs. |
| 15. | Mark O’Toole, Sidney, MT. – Chris Peterson, Sidney, MT. | 19.82 lbs. |
| 16. | Pat Gustafson, Sidney, MT. – Brent Harris, Sidney, MT. | 19.62 lbs. |
| 17. | Kelvin Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. – Ryan Schwettman, Sidney, MT. | 19.58 lbs. |
| 18. | Fran Syth, Sidney, MT. – Stacie Mindt, Fairview, MT. | 18.84 lbs. |
| 19. | Chuck Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. – Fred Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. | 18.63 lbs. |
| 20. | Darin Eshenbacher, Savage, MT – Jim Wenzel, Sidney, MT. | 18.61 lbs. |
| 21. | Justin King, Sidney, MT. – Jer Hopstad, Billings, MT. | 17.13 lbs. |
| 22. | James Kelly, Three Forks, MT – Rod Buxbaum, Sidney, MT. | 15.74 lbs. |
| 23. | Sam Syth, Sidney, MT – Gary Mindt, Fairview, MT. | 15.62 lbs. |
| 24. | Josh Schmitt, Sidney, MT. – Cody Dshaak, Sidney, MT. | 15.02 lbs. |
| 25. | Mike Shy, Sidney, MT. – Jed Escobedo, Sidney, MT. | 13.58 lbs. |
| 26. | Clint Hecker, Sidney, MT. – Colton Hecker, Sidney, MT. | 12.49 lbs. |
| 27. | Brenner Flaten, Wright, WY. – Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. | 12.31 lbs. |
| 28. | Eric Steinbeisser, Sidney, MT. – Jason Holt, Sidney, MT. | 12.13 lbs. |
| 29. | Jimmy Decker, Sidney, MT. – Steve Lowrey, Sidney, MT. | 11.24 lbs. |
| 30. | Terry Decker, Sidney, MT. – John James, Sidney, MT. | 11.01 lbs. |
| 31. | Kelly Sanders, Williston, ND. – Taylor Hendryx, Williston, ND. | 10.92 lbs. |
| 32. | Ben Unterseher, Glasgow, MT. – Jeff Unterseher, Glendive, MT. | 10.84 lbs. |
| 33. | Troy Hafele, Glendive, MT. – Val Damron, Glendive, MT. | 7.66 lbs. |
| 34. | Brant Carranza, Savage, MT. – Amanda Goulart, Savage, MT. | 7.27 lbs. |
| 35. | Lori Nelson, Sidney, MT. – Heidi Berglund, Sidney, MT. | 7.17 lbs. |
| 36. | Dona Flynn, Cartwright, ND. – Staci Lange-Rice, Savage, MT. | 3.29 lbs. |
| 37. | Jonny Nelson, Sidney, MT. – Doug Filler, Sidney, MT. | 1.69 lbs. |
| 38. | Matt Reynolds, Sidney, MT. – Carrie Niblock, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. |
| Troy Cotter, Sidney, MT. – Heather Cotter, Sidney, MT. | 0 lb. | |
| Jake Smith, Williston, ND. – Dave Johnson, Williston, ND. | 0 lb. | |
| Steve Harris Sr. & Chad Nelson of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. | |
| Mario Winsky & Dustin Peterson of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. | |
| Kelly Gustafson & Garry Gentry of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. | |
| John Sigala II & Jake Buttler of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. | |
| James Bergeron & Scott Ludwig of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. | |
| 46. | Trevor Swisse & Matt Barrus of Sidney, MT | 0 lb. |
Posted in: Monster Cat Roundup
