TN River Catfish Tournaments

[McNasty]

Rules:
All state regs apply
10 fish limit per boat
$10 entry fee per person/ $5 for big fish
2 partner limit per boat/ singles are allowed
Any boat more than 10 minutes late to weigh in is disqualified
RODS AND REELS ONLY

Payout:

Depends on # of contestants
1-9 boats 1st place only
10-15 boats 1st and 2nd
15+ boats 1st, 2nd, 3rd

For questions and clarifications call John Beshires at 731-608-0423

Dates and Locations

Everyone needs to have paid entry fees at least 15 minutes before start time.

24 March 6:30am-12:30pm Mousetail State Park Ramp
21 April 6am-12pm Saltillo
19 May 6am-12pm Savannah TWRA (West) Ramp
16 June 5:30am-11:30am Saltillo
14 July 5:30am-11:30am Savannah TWRA (West) Ramp
15 Sept 6:00am-12:00pm Pickwick Landing Ramp

 

[Winchester]

10 fish limit will be hard for most to keep alive with catfish! Your talking a few hundred pounds for some guys!

 

[easy45]

10 fish limit will be hard for most to keep alive with catfish! Your talking a few hundred pounds for some guys!

Kinda what I was thinking, everything else sounds great though, I might try to make a couple of them

 

[stretch]

you can only keep 1 fish over 34 inches per person per day so that could possibly cut down on what may get weighed in. would also give a big advantage to the boats with 2 people in them versus the singles. would hate to throw back a 40 or 50 pounder in a tourney. or maybe several of them. should be fun tho.

 

[McNasty]

My understanding is that the fish do not have to be kept alive, and catch and release is not mandatory.

If you're catching "a few hundred pounds" with ten fish, then you should be fishing the World Championship in Spain instead of a $10 local tournament.

 

[McNasty]

I expect most of the top end weights to be in the 75-150lb range. This would pretty much be in line with what we had last year on the Bass Pro Big Cat Quest events in this area.

 

[JAY B]

Too bad there aren't any at Watts Bar, I think on a good day we could get 200-250 lb grabbling! Prob wouldn't fit in guidelines though!

 

[easy45]

Hey McNasty, how bout making it just 1 over 34" per boat to make it fair for the guys fishing alone, I would like to fish some of them but it would be hard to contend with two people.

 

[relocatedduckman]

Easy.. If I'm not in class.. We can partner up.. I plan on hitting a few up as well.. Looking forward to April to do some juggin. But it's no where as fun by yourself.

 

[Winchester]

Too bad there aren't any at Watts Bar, I think on a good day we could get 200-250 lb grabbling! Prob wouldn't fit in guidelines though!

Exactly! I have saw 2 of these type tournament weigh ins, both were night tourneys weighing in at daybreak as we were about to blast off in a bast tourn. Both were 2 fish limits and it took over 100 lbs to win both these, with the biggest Cat I saw caught being a lil over 60 lbs.
I have a friend here who won one of the big state or national tournaments matter of fact, Ray Ferguson.

 

[McNasty]

Hey McNasty, how bout making it just 1 over 34" per boat to make it fair for the guys fishing alone, I would like to fish some of them but it would be hard to contend with two people.

Sorry fellas. It's not me making the rules. John is a pretty reasonable guy though. Try giving him a call. He'd probably change it if you asked. I'm sure he just hasn't thought about that.

 

[McNasty]

John said to tell everyone that anyone who is catching fish that big should have no problem finding a partner. He already has a guy lined up who would love to partner up with someone.

 

[McNasty]

First event is scheduled for tomorrow. This is open to anyone who feels the urge.

 

[McNasty]

Tournament #1 (Mousetail Landing) Results

1st Place- 44lbs (Big Fish 20lbs)
2nd Place- 41lbs
3rd Place- 25lbs

Fishing was pretty tough. Alot of people were hooking up on small fish. The weather was cool and it drizzled off and on. Ironically, the top three spots all went to people who had never fished at Mousetail before. I was able to finish 2nd despite never hooking up with a fish bigger than 10lbs.

Next event on the trail- April 21st 6am-12pm at Saltillo.