SCA Tourney 7/29 G-ville Dam

[minner]

Yesterday was the Southern Catfishermen Association tournament out of Guntersville dam. Bprice and I had been on fish in previous weeks so we decided to give it a shot. As you all know the TVA hasn't been running much current so fishing would prove to be tough. Blast off was at 8:00a.m. but we wouldn't find our selves fishing until about 8:30ish once we covered the 23 miles of water to our first stop. There was another competitor that had the same spot in mind and beat us to the hole by about 2 minutes (faster boat). We decided to fish close by and managed to haul up a 37lb blue. After a lull of no bites, we moved on to the next spot and only managed to squeeze a 19lber out of that hole. After dodging bolts of lightening and a couple monsoons we hit a few more spots but came up empty. With only a little over 1 hour to go in the tournament, we made a run for an old cat haunt, which had been slow lately but had produced fish in the past. This particular spot is very small and I held the boat in the trickle of current over the hole hoping for the best. I told Bprice that this was the end of the line for us, and I was going to hold the boat in the "sweet spot" as long as I could. No sooner had I explained my intentions when my rod was slammed a big blue. After a valiant effort by the 49lb blue to defeat the heavy tackle, we finally put her in the boat. With only minutes to spare we made a final drift, took up our lines, secured out tackle, and headed up stream to the weigh in 5 miles away. Anxious like school girls we weighed our catch and hoped for the best, praying our 3 fish for 95lb would hold up. The lack of current for the 6 out of 8 hours proved tough for all 12 boats in the competition and the next closest weight was 64lb. WE HAD WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 bites, 3 fish, 95lb. All were released alive and well.

I know there a quite a few catters on this forum and I would encourage you to join the fun. This was my second SCA tourney, but won’t be my last. Founded and headed by Mike Mitchell the SCA is the real deal for competitive catfishing. There is a tournament on Nickajack August 19th for those interested. Check it out at www.southerncats.com

 

[Bprice]

What a tough day of fishing, but yet a great day of fishing. Catfishing without current definately takes a lot of patience. I think we really did all we could. I had a blast Allen, even if you got a little vulger during the BIG fight! emoPoke I can't wait to start getting ready for the King Kat Klassic on Wilson Lake!!!

Folks, I really want to reiterate what Allen said, SCA is a great organization and a great tourney trail. This was my first SCA tourney, and Mike ran it great. Looking forward to trying to fish SCA Nickajack and other upcoming events.

Here are some more pics:

 

[MrWiskers]

The one glaring question is where do you put 90+ lbs of cats and keep them alive for weigh in? I could fill the bottom of my boat with water and not keep big cats like that alive. This is one of the reasons we are having a CPR tourny for the Catbattle.

Sound like you guys had fun. Are you coming to the Cat Battle next week?

 

[Bprice]

MrWhiskers,

Here is a pic of the livewell, which worked very good. The only thing we need to work on is keeping the water a little cleaner. With all the catfish throw up and poop in the livewell it was some what of a task to keep the water fresh. The recirc and the intake pump worked excellent.

I don't think we'll be able to make it to Cat Battle, I really want too, but high travel costs, etc might be keeping us in North Alabama. I'm really going to miss it for sure.

 

[DHaun]

Congratulations - Looks like you all just won a Cat Battle!

 

[MrWiskers]

That would not fit in my little 17ft Nitro. It would fit in Dhaun's however. emoPoke

 

[rsimms]

First... a big congratulations of the win. emoWorthy I'm gonna be worried sick fishing with pros. emoEek

Second... How many gallons of water (or weight) are you hauling in that livewell? And pushing it with what engine? Like MrWiskers... I'm impressed. It takes a lot of work/effort to create a livewell for those kind of fish!. Is everybody in SCA running that kind of livewell... any fish mortality? I know these days I worry about some of the fish I release immediately. emoConfused

 

[Bprice]

Not pros by far! Thanks for the comment though I'm sure Phil King and them boys will humble us greatly at the Cabela's Kat Klassic.

Its a 100 gallon tank, so will 95 lbs of fish, full its about 900 lbs. Allen has a 125 HP Mercury Saltwater outboard on his Kenner. I tell you what its a big challange putting the boat on the trailer with all that weight up front.

 

[Bprice]

missed the last question.

I know Mike has a very similar set up, and most everyone has larger tanks of the such, different designs, and different uses of Redneck Engineering.

There weren't any dead fish weighed in... Dead fish can't be weighed in SCA Tourneys. That rule really makes everyone conscience of the fish.

I tell you what our fish were flat alive and kickin at the weighin~

 

[rsimms]

Impressive... I guess maybe those big blues might actually enjoy a free ride up and down the river.

 

[fishinvol]

What were you using for bait,and how about your gear(what pound testline,size of rods...) ?

Way to go!!

 

[Bprice]

We used cut skipjack.

We had a couple different set ups. We use Catfish Ugly Sticks with Abu Black Maxxs, allen uses 80 lb spiderwire, and i use 50 lb big game.

Carolina Rigged no roll sinkers with 4 or 5 oz weights and 8/0 Gammy Circle hook for still fishing.
Drop shot rig with 4 oz bank sinker and same hook for drifting.

 

[fishinvol]

Do you use bigger chnks of the cut bait? I was thinking of cutting them into quarters,you think that would be too big??

 

[Southerncats]

Congrats on the win guys.....I was really impressed on the effort put forth by everyone to keep these fish not only alive but healthy enough that I didn't even see the first fish having trouble swimming back at the ramp.....The weather was cooler, but it's still not easy to keep the fish healthy this late in the summer..........most fish were notably post-spawn (Scarred and Skinny)....I did see 2 pot-bellied females which looked like they might lay out anyday....The Big Cat which also took second by itself was 64.14 and it looked as if it would have weighed mid 70's if it was caught pre-spawn.....I'll try to get a pic up later, My batteries were dead on the digital camera, so the pics are on a disposable......Thanks for the praise guys, and I hope some of yall come out and fish with us at Nickajack, it will be a trailoring event...feel free to call me anytime 256-673-2250

 

[Bprice]

Fishinvol,

We make skipjack "steaks." I reckon most of them are about 1 - 2 inches thick. Allen's favorite part is the head, so I always use the gut sections. If you use the head cut it right behind the gills, Allen got his 72 earlier this year on a head.

As far as size, if I was able to make the cat battle I wouldn't worry about it being "too big." Remember you are fishing for the biggest fish you can find out there. Believe me when a blue is hungry and wants the bait, he'll take it. We've caught a plethora of 10-15 lb fish on the same cuts that the big mamas are caught on.

There are a few things that Allen taught me that I believe hold alot of truth. Make sure you have the bait secured, but expose as much hook as possible. Also, make sure there aren't any skipjack scales on the hook!

Looks like you are on some good fish. Good luck!!

 

[carolf29]

LOL FINALLY!!! A pic of BPrice with a big smile on his face!!!

 

[minner]

As Mike and Brandon said before, great care is taken to keep these fish alive. Not only is it for the betterment of our sport, but a dead fish can NOT be weighed. I also have a Pro Air system running in my tank, which ran constantly. The recirc pump ran about 85% of the time too.

On a side note....if you've ever seen a new boat owner try to load a boat in current and it look like a circus....well that was me on Sat, trying to get my boat on the trailer with 800+ pounds. It was a whole new ballgame, and I provided a few minutes of entertainment for bystanders at the ramp. LOL.

Thanks for the kind words guys...

 

[Bprice]

Yeah that might of been one of the more embarrassing moments of my life... but oh well, WE WON so who cares right???emoLaugh emoHoppingmad

 

[TennesseeTalker]

Guys I have to say ... those are some hunk'in fish!!! How in the heck do you get something like that in the boat without pulling you over board????

TT

 

[churly]

Congrats on the win guys! what is the entry fee on those and what did 1st pay out? Just curious.