82 teams join 39th Cats Incredible fishing tourney in East Grand Forks
· Yahoo Sports
Aug. 1—Anglers from across the country came to East Grand Forks on July 24-25 to try their luck in a popular catfishing tournament.
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Eighty-two teams participated in the 39th Cats Incredible event — this year, because of its title sponsor, called The RJ Zavoral & Sons Inc. Cats Incredible Catfishing Tournament. The annual competition is a fundraiser for the East Grand Forks Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 3423, which hosts the event.
Angling teams came from near and far — Alaska to North Carolina — to catch catfish along a 32-mile stretch of the Red River, from Grand Forks to Frog Point, in an effort to win cash and other prizes.
Event Organizer Kelly Clement, who has been participating in the tournament for about the past 25 years, said people seemed to have had a good time.
"The word was this was the best tournament we've held," she said, noting people mentioned they enjoyed how the event was managed. "We also had some really great prizes."
Most of the sponsors and prize donations were from area businesses, she said, and more local anglers participated than in recent years.
The top 10 teams were awarded prize money, with first place going to Ray Lee and Eric Thompson, who took home $6,560 for weighing 10 fish for a total of 79.71 pounds.
Clement and her nephew Casey Clement took second place with a total of eight fish and 74.29 pounds.
"We weighed eight fish," she said. "If we could have gotten those other two fish" things would have been different. "We were in first place that first day but just couldn't hold onto it the second day."
Like a lot of returning anglers, the tournament has become something of a tradition for Clement, who now lives in St. Paul but grew up in East Grand Forks. She used to participate in the competition with her father and over the years has developed a lot of friendships. When she heard several years ago the tournament might go away, she stepped in to help keep it going and has been organizing the event ever since.
Clement said this also was a big day for those who signed up to participate in the Red River Catmaster Series, a competition she also helped organize and that includes participation in five existing tournaments that allows anglers to compete individually for points across all events.
"This was a big-point tournament," she said.
Top 10 winners
* Ray Lee and Eric Thompson; fish: 10/10; weight 79.71.
* Kelly Clement and Casey Clement; fish 8/8; weight 74.29.
* Mason Grimes and Jamie Grimes; fish 10/10; weight 71.51.
* Tim Koski and Cory Stejskal; fish 9/9; weight 69.74.
* Jeff Jordheim and Geena Jordheim; fish 10/10; weight 69.35.
* Ethan Kringlen and Megan Kringlen; fish 10/10; weight 68.81.
* Dustin Casmey and Troy Weber; fish 10/10; weight 68.43.
* Mike Howard and John Howard; fish 8/8; weight; 68.40.
* Aaron Ouellette and Steven Ouellette; fish 10/10; weight 67.98.
* Jace Lunsky and Cody Robertson; fish 9/9; weight 66.26