Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
23rd Annual Milk River Catfish Classic Final Results
Shelley George / For The Courier Ryan Johnson, Glasgow, Mont., and James Watkins, Hubbard, Neb., pose withtheir 2022 Catfish Classic Championship plaques and fishing reels. The Cornhusker duo reeled in 33.07 pounds of catfish from the Milk River June 4. Watkins also won the Jumbo Whiskers award with a 9.07 lb. cat.
Dave George unhooks a catfishreeled in by Candy Lagerquist on the Mik River during the 23rd Annual Catfish Classic. The two finished in 20th place with a 16.00 pound basket of catfish.
George and Lagerquist's catfish sit out of the aeorator for weighing and culling. The two anglers had caught six catfishbefore 8 p.m. prompting George to remark, "At least we won't get skunked."
Amber Achten exits the stage with one of her catfish.
A full basket of catfish on the weight scale at the famous Midnight Weigh-in of the 23rd Annual Catfish Classic.
The Catfish takes a dejected pose during the Midnight Weigh-in of the 23rd Annual Catfish Classic. Some of the early baskets were on the low side due to drought conditions on the Milk River but five teams finished with 20 pounds or more of catfish.
Low water. That was the theme for this year's version of the Milk River Catfish Classic. How would the fishermen adapt? Would fishing become increasingly difficult? Would teams still find a way to put together impressive baskets of fish? Yes, fishing proved to be very difficult on an otherwise beautiful evening, however, many teams adapted and simply found a way. Eighty teams brought 276 cats to the scales at the famous midnight weigh-ins in downtown Glasgow. Forty-two teams caught their limit of five Channel Cats, but at the end of the night only five teams would bring in over 20 lbs. Those numbers, unfortunately, bore a stark resemblance to the low water years of the early 2000s.
James Watkins, of Hubbard, Nebraska, and another Nebraska native, Ryan Johnson, of Glasgow brought a little Cornhusker flavor to this year's Cat Classic as they captured the crown with an impressive basket of 33.07 lbs! The two had talked of returning to a location where they had finished the tournament the previous year and caught a big fish. That strategy proved fruitful as they were able to sit in one spot all night and put together a limit of five cats averaging just over 6.5 lbs. That is a great day on a small river on any given year. James remarked, "I drove 745 miles to come here and do this, so it was a lot of fun!" Their limit of five also included this year's Jumbo Whiskers, an award given to the largest catfish caught in the tourney. This year's Jumbo Whiskers was a 9.07 lb. Channel Cat.
That beauty of a fish proved to be just enough to hold off a hard-charging Dan and Amber Achten of Laurel. Team "Achten a Fool" got into a mess of fish late and made a run at this year's tournament championship. "Net Man Dan" had this to stay to say to a massive midnight weigh-in crowd, "We didn't have a bite until 8:45 p.m., from 8:45 on we were busy non-stop. When that sun went down it was chaos in our boat.". The Achten's weighed in at 30.26 lbs. and took home a cool $3,060 for their efforts as they not only claimed the runner-up spot, but they were also victorious in Saturday evening's "side pot" option. Congratulations!
Third place went to a pair of veteran savvy anglers in Eddie White and Eric Braunberger out of Miles City. The two only boated eight cats on the evening, but they proved to be the right ones. Their five best tipped the scales at 26.72 lbs. and was worth $1,000 and some hardware for the wall. Eddie recalled, "We caught our two biggest fish right away, and then we struggled for four hours, and we sat baited and waited in one hole".
Fourth Place went to local anglers, Jake Aune and Shawn Wersal. This is the second time in the top four for the Glasgow duo after previously finishing third in 2014. It is the fifth Top 20 finish in the Classic for the veteran teammates as they continue to inch closer to an opportunity at the championship in future years.
Rounding out the Top five and the last team to crack 20 lbs. on the evening was another local team in Allan and Tara Harrington. The Harrington's got it done on an evening where many of the tournament's historically strong teams struggled. It is the fourth time in the Top 10 and the sixth time in the Top 20 for this accomplished mother-son duo.
Despite the relatively difficult fishing; everyone left the event already looking forward to next year. At this point the Catfish Classic has somewhat of a cult following among anglers and its fans and we are expecting to fill again next January in a matter of hours. The Glasgow Area Chamber's Milk River Catfish Days festivities has only added to an unbelievable weekend over the last four years. This year's Catfish Days included; The Friday night Live Band, Calcutta and Street Dance. On Saturday it featured the Catfish Crawl, Adult and Youth Cornhole Tournaments, Dart Tournament, School's Out Carnival, Car Show, Food trucks, vendors, Crazy Days sales, and so much more! If you haven't experienced Milk River Catfish days as a family, please mark June 2-3, 2023 on your calendars because it is going to be a memorable one! The weekend will feature the 5th Annual Milk River Catfish Days and will be highlighted by the 24th Annual Catfish Classic.
The Montana Cats tour will continue next month in Sidney with the 14th Annual Monster Cat Roundup on Saturday July, 16. This year's Angler of the Year race is heating up and it is anyone's ballgame at this point. Come join us for a fun-filled day on the beautiful Yellowstone River.
The Montana Catfish Association and the Catfish Classic staff would like to thank this year's tournament sponsors: Nemont Beverage Corporation (Busch Light), Glasgow TBID, D&G Sports, Montana Bar, Shelly George with Thrivent Financial, Hi-Line Sportsmen, Enduro Products, Marathon Oil, Montucky Cold Snacks, Easy Clips Culling System, RS Jet Boat Anchors, and BnM Poles. We couldn't make these events a reality without your continued support! Thank you!
1. James Watkins, Hubbard, NE. Ryan Johnson, Glasgow, MT. 33.08
2. Dan Achten, Laurel, MT., Amber Achten, Laurel, MT. 30.26 **
3. Eric Braunberger, Miles City, MT., Eddie White, Miles City, MT. 26.72
4. Shawn Wersal, Glasgow, MT., Jake Aune, Glasgow, MT. 23.84
5. Tara Harrington, Glasgow, MT., Allan Harrington, Glasgow, MT. 21.92
6. Steve Harris, Sidney, MT., Chad Dawson, Dickinson, ND. 19.35 **
7. Coel Stutheit, Glasgow, MT., John Grimes, Nashua, MT. 18.98
8. Corey Bushman, Billings, MT., Matthew Bushman, Billings, MT. 18.92. **
9. Bryon Armour, Lewistown, MT., Gunner Thomas, Lewistown, MT. 18.85 **
10. Storm Jackson, Glasgow, MT., Ed Sugg, Glasgow, MT. 18.64
11. Norm Braaten, Fort Peck, MT., Dustin Braaten, Fort Peck, MT. 18.49
12. Alan Bertsch, Minot, ND., Ricci Olson, Glasgow, MT. 18.41
13. Jason Flaten, West Wendover, NV., Cole Plouffe, Glendive, MT. 17.35
14. Trevor Waarvik, Glasgow, MT., Gage Waarvik, Glasgow, MT. 17.21
15. Robert Petersen, Billings, MT., Jayson Riggin, Billings, MT. 17.15
16. JD Bailey, Opheim, MT., Callahan Belling, Richland, MT. 17.14
17. William Lauckner, Nashua, MT., Colton Yoss, Glasgow, MT. 17.01
18. Ryan Dempsey, Glendive, MT., Lily Perkins, Glendive, MT. 16.49
19. Jacob Knaff, Glasgow, MT., Kelcey Knaff, Glasgow, MT. 16.28
20. Dave George, Glasgow, MT., Candy Lagerquist, Glasgow, MT. 16.00
21. Brady Flaten, Glasgow, MT., Jason Molstad, Glasgow, MT. 15.69
22. Bobby Wise, Billings, MT., Robert Wise, Billings, MT. 15.62
23. Robert Kemp, Glasgow, MT., Jodi Kemp, Glasgow, MT. 15.04
24. Brittany Johnson, Glasgow, MT., Bridger Johnson, Glasgow, MT. 14.98
25. Casey Riggin, Glasgow, MT., Tate Riggin, Glasgow, MT. 14.92
26. Brendan Waarvik, Billings, MT., DJ Elletson, Glasgow, MT. 14.42
27. Lane Thompson, Glasgow, MT., Keigan Ingram, Glasgow, MT. 12.54
28. Ty Thomas, Lewistown, MT, Jon Polich, Lewistown, MT. 11.56
29. Scott Redstone, Glasgow, MT., Macy Redstone, Glasgow, MT. 11.13
30. Brian Olson, Fort Peck, MT., Stone Tihista, Nashua, MT. 10.99
31. Carter Pedersen, Wolf Point, MT., Tyler Mix, Glasgow, MT. 10.91
32. Cody King, Glasgow, MT., Michael King, Glasgow, MT. 10.90
33. Landon Holte, Fort Peck, MT., Carter Holte, Fort Peck, MT. 10.63
34. Jim McIntyre, Glasgow, MT., Mitch Mcintyre, Glasgow, MT. 10.42
35. Rod Seder, Billings, MT., Rob Seder, Hardin, MT. 10.09
36. Pat Gay, Glasgow, MT., Ben Unterseher, Glasgow, MT. 9.26
37. Rena Todoroff, Miles City, MT., Kailey Todoroff, Glasgow, MT. 9.23
38. Chase Bruner, Glasgow, MT., Carmen Koepl, Glasgow, MT. 8.73
39. Aimee Ost-Kloeckner, Glasgow, MT., Timm Canen, Miles City, MT. 8.48
40. Jessica Riggin, Glasgow, MT., Ashliegh Knaff, Glasgow, MT. 8.09
41. Tyler George, Sheridan, WY., Clancy Harris, Glasgow, MT. 8.06
42. Kat Geer, Glasgow, MT., Gabe Hallock, Glasgow, MT. 7.98
43. Joel Smith, Glasgow, MT., Seth Ingram, Glasgow, MT. 7.60
44. James Decker, Sidney, MT., Steve Lowery, Sidney, MT. 7.54
45. Brien Norcutt, Billings, MT., Steve Norcutt, Glasgow, MT. 7.50
46. Tatum Provencher, Glasgow, MT., Brielle Partridge, Glasgow, MT. 7.47
47. Levi Sugg, Glasgow, MT., Rivers Sugg, Glasgow, MT. 7.09
48. Derek Weber, Billings, MT., Kassandra Weber, Billings, MT. 6.88
49. Curt Shipman, Glasgow, MT., Darci Sillerud, Glasgow, MT. 6.76
50. Briana Page, Glasgow, MT., Melissa Sigmundstad, Glasgow, MT. 6.54
51. Todd Lindsay, Laurel, MT., Kellie Lindsay, Laurel, MT. 6.53
52. Katie Anderson, Glasgow. MT., Cody Kuka, Glasgow, MT. 6.46
53. Patrick McCarthy, Byron, MT., Dale Borgen, Glasgow, MT. 6.03
54. Cameron Quincy, Nashua, MT., Wyatt Pedersen, Glasgow, MT. 5.26
55. David Irving, Glasgow, MT., Rod Ost, Glasgow, MT. 4.78
56. Ray Glasoe, Glasgow, MT., Shane Rhoads, Glasgow, MT. 4.64
57. Renee Sibley, Billings, MT., Sara Storkson, Glasgow, MT. 4.00
58. Shannon Ost, St. Marie, MT., Tori Gagne, Glasgow, MT. 3.86
59. Peyton Pedersen, Billings, MT., Tayler Mix, Glasgow, MT. 3.7
60. Shawn Sibley, Billings, MT., Kaise Sibley, Billings, MT. 3.39
61. Wrangler Jones, Hinsdale, MT., Dimon Jones, Hinsdale, MT. 3.25
62. Blaine White, Glasgow, MT., Parker White, Glasgow, MT. 2.35
63. Craig White, Glasgow, MT., Benson White, Glasgow, MT. 2.24
64. Pamela Gibson, Malad City, ID., Trevin Gibson, Glasgow, MT 1.19
65. Mike Merideth, Nashua, MT., Michael Hendry, Nashua, MT. 1.12
Autumn Gault, Bozeman, MT., Brien Gault, Glasgow, MT. 0
Casey Nagel, Minot, ND., Austin Bement, Sidney, MT. 0
Dan Dupea, Billings, MT., Will Goerss, Colstrip, MT. 0
Toby Mulkey, Glenwood Springs, CO., Casey Mulkey, Glasgow, MT. 0
Josh Marottek, Medicine Lake, MT., Derek Werner, Poplar, MT. 0
Casey King, Glasgow, MT., Tyler King, Glasgow, MT. 0
Erica Kimble, Billings, MT., RJ Hill, Billings, MT. 0
Tyler Johnson, Nashua, MT., Zach Watts, Nashua, MT. 0
Karl Krause, Glasgow, MT., Jake Kuka, Glasgow, MT. 0
Josh Schmitt, Sidney, MT., Terrance Harris, Fairview, MT. 0
Justin Ottun, Nashua, MT., Dinae Settoon, Nashua, MT. 0
Erik Volkman, Sidney, MT., Cole Kollman, Sidney, MT. 0
Jessica Ost, Glasgow, MT., Brooklynn Hallock, Glasgow, MT. 0
Bo Boreson, Perrysville, IN., Vance Anderson, Glasgow, MT. 0
80. Nate Lloyd, Glasgow, MT., Frank Vandall, Glasgow, MT. 0
Jumbo Whiskers Award
James Watkins 9.07 lbs.
Big Whiskers Award
Jake Aune 7.86 lbs.
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