Grand Forks father-son duo wins Scheels Boundary Battle Catfish Tournament
Jun. 26—The team of Alan Erickson and Zach Erickson, Grand Forks, weighed in a two-day total of 68.34 pounds to win the Scheels Boundary Battle Catfish Tournament, held Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, on the Red River in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
Teams could weigh in three catfish each day, of which two could be longer than 24 inches. The father-son duo also weighed in the big fish of the day Friday, with a 17.71-pound catfish. They weighed in 35.96 pounds of catfish Friday and 32.38 pounds of catfish Saturday to win the tournament and the top prize of $2,000.
Teams fished downstream from Riverside Dam, launching at the Whopper John boat landing in Grand Forks, on day one. Teams fished upstream from Riverside Dam on day two, launching at LaFave Park in East Grand Forks.
"It was a challenging tournament with tales of great fishing but the wrong fish and the right bites at the right time to make for a great day," tournament director Brad Durick said in a statement. "We had wind and rain on day two, but it didn't dampen spirits, and a great time was had."
In an email, Alan Erickson said he and his son waited for hours to catch their second big fish on day two of the tournament, but Zach eventually landed a 15.78-pound fish to put them over the top.
Rounding out the top five teams were as follows:
* Second: Billy Cariveau and Josh Weber, East Grand Forks, 66.84 pounds, $1,500.
* Third: Jason Kalt and Cris Kalt, Alvarado, Minnesota, 66.56 pounds, $1,000.
* Fourth: Andre Fortune and Michael Pederson, Grand Forks, 63.34 pounds, $750.
* Fifth: Jeremy Snoble and Brayden Snoble, Grand Forks, 62.95 pounds, $500.
The team of Troy Weber and Dustin Casmey, East Grand Forks, had the heaviest weight after day one, with 36.33 pounds, which landed them $1,000. The $1,000 prize for heaviest weight on day two winners went to Billy Caribou and Josh Weber, East Grand Forks, with 34.46 pounds.
Other winners:
* Day 1 Big Fish: Alan Erickson and Zach Erickson, 17.71 pounds, $500.
* Day 2 Big Fish: Mike Howard and John Howard, Grand Forks, 18.15 pounds, $500.
* Day 1 Big Slot Fish (under 24 inches): Kelly Clement, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Casey Clement, East Grand Forks, 5.56 pounds, $250.
* Day 2 Big Slot Fish: Andre Fortune and Michael Pederson, 4.87 pounds, $250.
The team of Mike Howard and John Howard also won the Garden Hut "Hard Charger" award, rallying from only one catfish for 12.74 pounds on day one of the tournament to three fish for 33.1 pounds on day two. The award landed them $250.
The Scheels Boundary Battle Catfish Tournament was open to 50 two-person teams, but late cancellations reduced the tournament field to 47 teams.
