King Kat Tournament Draws Anglers to Mon

Not a Good Day to be a Catfish


Morgantown  Dominion Post
14 June 2009
By Alex Lang

Fishing enthusiasts descended on the Monongahela River on Saturday trying to catch the largest catfish and win the Cabella's King Kat tournament.

Dan and Connie Caudill, of Williamsport Ohio, pulled in the catch of the day, bringing in a catfish weighing 22.95 pounds. Only one other team caught a fish that weighed more than 20 pounds.


 Tournament winners Dan and Connie Caudill display their catch after the weigh-in. The catfish weighed 22.95 pounds. - Alex Lang/The Dominion Post

"It's great," Dan Caudill said about having the largest catch, which netted him $500.

The Caudills also finished in first place for combined weight of their fish. Their total catch weighed 49.05 pounds. They received $3,000 for the first place finish.

Fourteen teams of two people spent the day fishing for catfish to compete in the tournament, Cabella's tournament director Tanner Tabor said.

Dan Caudill said he spent Friday boating up and down the river to see where the fish were biting.

After his Friday practice, Caudill said he wasn't expecting a great catch of fish from the Monongahela River because he was only catching small fish. But that changed Saturday.

"Actually, it did surprise me," he said about his haul.

Caudill said he competes in about 40 tournaments per year, and Saturday's ranks high on his list of best tournaments. He said he loved how Morgantown had a little bit of everything.

If there were another tournament, or if he had leisure time, Caudill said he would return to Morgantown to fish the Mon River.


Tyler Straub (left) and Zach Brantley put one of the heaviest catches of the day in a display tank at Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheater on Saturday during the Cabella's King Kat catfish tournament for the benefit of the spectators. - Alex Lang/The Dominion Post


Patrick Palumbo, of Morgantown, also competed in Saturday's event. He said he fishes in the river four or five times a week. He thought this would give him a leg up on the competition.

"It wasn't as good as we wanted," Palumbo said about his catch.

Palumbo said the fish weren't in the pattern he and his boatmate were expecting, and that led to their disappointing haul.

Tabor said the turnout was a little bit lower than they were hoping for, but it was the first time Morgantown hosted a catfish tournament. Tabor said the size of the fish pulled from the Monongahela was similar to what they find in other tournaments.

The tournament also had a kids' event earlier Saturday where youngsters had a chance to fish Dixon Lake. Tabor said 83 children participated in the Saturday morning "tournament." The contest for the children was just for fun, and participants received T-shirts and other prizes.