Veterans Win Caftish Tourney

By KEVIN PATTON - Gleaner staff
kpatton@thegleaner.com

One set of veteran Ohio River fisherman and another set of newcomers found Saturday's conditions to their liking during the United States Catfish Anglers Tournament Series event.

Greg Edwards and Doug Kerns of Norris City, IL, who estimate that they have 25 years experience apiece of fishing on the Ohio, won the event that was staged on the Henderson Riverfront and staged in conjunction the Henderson Breakfast Lions Tri-Fest.

In claiming their first-ever US-CATS pro event, Edwards and Kerns limit of 10 catfish totaled 226.7 pounds.

Meanwhile, Jason Rath of Springfield, IL, fishing on the Ohio for the first-time ever landed the tournament's big catch & a 64-1/2-pounder.

That's what the whole Ohio River system is known for. You're chasing monsters & trophy fish, said Rath, who along with teammate Bill Parfitt compete for Team Buckethead.

Using shad gizzard for bait, Rath landed the whopper around 1 p.m. as he and Parfitt fished down-stream of Henderson. This is our first time here, so I'm not really sure where we were, Rath said.

Edwards and Kerns also headed downstream, approximately 30 miles, to find their first-place catch. The duo found the high-water conditions to their liking.

It piles those fish up with it's high like this, Kerns said. They get in the bays and eddies. It's easier to find them. At least it is for us.

Edwards and Kerns catch & all blue cats & averaged nearly 23 pounds apiece with their largest weighing in at 40.7 pounds.

The duo finished second in a similar tournament last month in Owensboro. We were getting good at finishing second, Edwards said.

The win paid $2,304 for the first-place finishers. Harold Dodd and James Noles finished second with a total catch of 174.7 pounds and earned $1,720.

Bolstered by their big catfish, Parfitt and Rath claimed third place with 139.8 pounds with five flathead, three blues and two channel cats. They took $1,152 for third and another $350 for the big fish to total $1,502 for the day.

Local anglers Marvin Scott and Jeff Buley, both of Reed, finished fourth. Scott and Buley totaled 108.7 pounds of fish & seven blues, two channel cats and one flathead & and claimed $560.

The inaugural Henderson tournament drew 36 entries & a total of 72 fishermen.

The organization will returns to town Oct. 23-24 for the US-CATS World Championship. The participants viewed Saturday's tournament as a tuneup for the main event in the fall.

We are 5-1/2 hours away from home, Rath said. It was tough for us to make this trip, but it was worth it. This was a learning experience more than anything.

This was one of the most important tournaments that we will fish in all year, Edwards said. I just hope the water is high again when we come back in October.