Kerns and Kerns Set New Record in Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail Event
OutdoorHub 09.11.11
This past Saturday September 10th the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail hit the waters of the Ohio River at Henderson, Kentucky where Dale and Matthew Kerns set a new Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail record weighing in 210.9 pounds with only 5 catfish in a qualifying event. In the event over 80 of the top anglers from 10 different states were competing not only for cash and prizes, but the opportunity to qualify for the 2011 Cabela’s King Kat Classic. This year’s Cabela’s King Kat Classic will be held on the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa October 27-28-29, 2011.
Results for the Top 6 Teams
Taking first place and setting a new Cabela’s King Kat Record was the Norris City, Illinois team of Dale and Matthew Kerns with a record setting weight of 210.9 pounds and earning $2,500.00. Dale and Matthew were fishing some 25 miles downriver, targeting fish they had located in 42 feet of water using large skipjack to catch their record setting weight which averaged 42.18 pound per fish. For those of you that think catfish hasn’t become a scientific sport Dale and Matthew stated that the increase in current from .5 MPH to .3 MPH changed things drastically in the areas they had been targeting while prefishing. They focused on finding large schools of bait fish that these bigger catfish were feeding on, and boy did it ever work! They caught nearly 30 fish on the day, and mentioned that they were putting 30lb fish back in the water. They broke the previous record of 196lb that was set at Henderson back in 2008 by Greg Edwards and Dale Kerns.
In second place was Demetrius Kinnis of Fredonia, Kentucky and Aaron Wheatley of Owensboro, Kentucky weighing in 143.1 pounds and earning $1.500.00. Demetrius and Aaron were fishing below the JT Myers Dam in 40-45 feet of water using skipjack to catch a total of 10 fish for the day. Teams are allowed to weigh in their top 5 fish at the end of the day.
Third place went to Glynn Grogan of Arlington, Kentucky and Walter Hayes of Cunningham, Kentucky weighing in 127.25 pounds and earning $700.00. Glynn and Walter were fishing 20 miles downstream anywhere from 20-55 feet deep using skipjack. With just an hour to go the team caught a 60 pound blue cat which jumped the team up to third place in the event. The team caught 11 fish for the day.
The Paragould, Arkansas team of Daryl and Jason Masingale took fourth place with a weight of 89.9 pounds earning $500.00. Daryl and Jason were fishing 20-25 miles downstream in 30-35 feet of water using skipjack to catch 7 fish for the day. This 4th place finish gave the Monster Rod Holder, Tanglin with Catfish, and American Pro Catfish Pro-Staffers their 3rd finish in the top 4 and a 1 point lead in the Rippin Lips “Angler Of The Year” Points Race, with just 2 events remaining!
Fifth place went to Todd Anderson of Mason, West Virginia and Keith Sayre of Hartford, West Virginia with 87.15 pounds and earning $400.00. Todd and Keith were fishing 15-20 miles downriver in 30 feet of water using skipjack to catch 4 fish for the day including a 69.65 pounder which gave them big fish of the event earning the team an additional $500.00.
Taking sixth place was the team of Jon Land of Petersburg, Indiana and Dan Fields of Wheatland, Indiana with a weight of 84.25 pounds and earning $300.00. Jon and Dan were fishing 15 miles upriver in 25-35 feet of water using skipjack to land 7 fish for the day.
“40 teams from 10 different states participated in this event where river conditions changed drastically since the holiday as cooler weather and rain had water temps dropping to around 77 degrees and water levels were on the rise. The current had picked up from .5 MPH on Thursday to around .3 MPH Friday causing fish to be on the move. Nearly 200 spectators were on hand to witness a record weigh-in by Kerns and Kerns who recorded the first ever 200 pound, 5 fish weigh-in in Cabela’s King Kat history. We would like to thank Henderson Tourism for sponsoring this event and helping make it a huge success”, said Tournament Director Tanner Tabor. For more information on the area call: 1-800-648-3128 or visit their website at: http://www.hendersonky.org.
NATIONAL SPONSORS:
Cabela’s The World’s Foremost Outfitter , Rebel Yell Bourbon, Evinrude Outboards, Rippin Lips, Minn Kota Trolling Motors, Mustad Hooks, Monster Rod Holders, Tanglin with Catfish, Adventure Products- EGO Nets, Vicious Fishing, Humminbird Electronics, USCA-United States Catfish Association, WFN-World Fishing Network, Renegade Tackle, Go Light Inc., Ron Gooding Insurance, JR Mad’s Famous Fish Breading, American Pro Catters and Action Outdoors Products-Catfishing Dream Team.
For entry forms or information on Cabela’s King Kat Trail phone 270-395-6774, fax 270-395-4381 or visit our website at www.kingkatusa.com. For media information contact Larry Crecelius at lcrecelius@crappieusa.com or phone 812-525-2707. Be sure to check out our new website at: www.kingkatusa.com. It’s a new site with new and exciting information on our events along with special information for catfish anglers everywhere.
