Catfish Chasers Tournament sees rare back-to-back champion

Daniel Slaybaugh, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read
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Aug. 14—The Catfish Chasers Fishing Tournament reached its conclusion Sunday after hundreds of competitors took to the Missouri River with approximately 15 hours to catch the heaviest fish possible.

Contenders were allowed to catch and save a maximum of five fish, with all required to undergo a polygraph test in order to ensure catch legitimacy. Fish were returned to the river after being weighed.

The kickoff for the fishing part of the tournament began at 5 p.m. on Saturday with the competitors working against one another throughout the night. All contestants were then required to be present at the French Bottoms Boat Ramp at 10 a.m. Sunday morning.

This year, the 2021 defending champions were able to take home a back-to-back win, as well as a tie for the heaviest fish, two things which, according to Catfish Chasers' Craig Collings, are nearly unheard of.

"161 pounds was the total weight of the winning team, and it was our defending champions who won the truck last year, and now they won another truck. So, that's a phenomenal feat," Collings said. "It's pretty unheard of to have a 160-boat tournament or bigger and have the same team win back-to-back years. That's pretty amazing."

Both heaviest fish weighed in at 83 pounds, marking a spot in history with an extremely rare instance of a fishing tournament tie.

In light of their victory, champions Chase Hayes and Dustin Sturges gave their thoughts about defending their fishing crown.

"Impossible in my brain," Hayes said. "If you had asked me at the start of the tournament, I'd have said it would take at least 200 pounds to win this tournament, and the fact that our 161 pounds held up and won the tournaments, it's awesome."

The pair's victory landed them a brand-new Chevy Silverado, a few thousand dollars and some fishing equipment, the latter two of which were split due to the heaviest fish competition resulting in a tie.

While only one team could win the grand prize truck, cash prizes, starting at $1,000, were awarded to the top 16 finishers.

Contestants and spectators also held the opportunity to participate in a raffle, which netted buyers the chance at a pair of Stetson hats, catfishing rods and half of the raffle earnings, among others.

More information on the Catfish Chasers tournament, as well as how to sign up for the next season, is available at https://www.catfishchasers.com.