2024 Santee Big Cat Tourney - Catastrophic Failure Repeats

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The two-day tournament out of Black’s Camp on March 15 – 16, saw Team Catastrophic Failure defend their 2023 win at the Santee Big Cat Brawl, winning the heaviest aggregate category in back-to-back years. Captain Brad McCall and crew’s two-day total weight was 216.65-pounds, giving them the First Place payday of $15,000. Their single-heaviest catfish weighed 73.95-pounds and was also good for 2nd Place Biggest Fish. The Santee Big Cat Brawl is the local tourney that is so well run that it has the feel of a national event, with Santee Cooper Country and Mad Katz Rods as the title sponsors. 

The 136 boats fishing in the 3rd Santee Big Cat Brawl came from 14 states to compete for the braggin’ rights, with the Santee Cooper Lakes being known to hold lots of large catfish. Arkansas Blues, Flathead and Channel Cats are all legal to weigh-in, but tourney rules stipulate they must be kept alive and then released back to the lake immediately after weigh-in. The weather on Day One was warm and calm, and the format allows teams to weigh-in three catfish per day, so the Day One weigh-in was a 3-hour marathon for weighmaster Mark Coburn. Coburn is a fan-favorite and knows how to keep things rolling along with a mix of catfish knowledge and down-to-earth humor.

            

Among the very first catfish weighed in on Friday came with a boat load of anticipation since Team Larry and Evan from North Carolina had brought their monster Cat to Black’s Camp that morning, stashing it in the large aeration tanks available there. The talk on the dock had this whopper catfish being a 100-pounder, but when the scales were applied, they weighed-in an 82.85 blue cat that went on the claim the Top Spot and $6800 as heaviest catfish at the 2024 Santee Big Cat Brawl. Angler Larry Godwin was fishing with a large shad head on the bottom using a Santee Cooper rig when the big cat bit at 9:15 that morning, giving him an exciting 30-minute fight. Captain Evan Martin said they fish out of a 2007 G3 17-foot Angler V boat, and that they also won 2nd place Biggest Catfish here in 2023.

To view the entire story in Trilogy Outdoors click on April / May Issue

To view past stories from Trilogy Outdoors click on  Pheasant Tower Shoot -  Release Over 20 - 2023 Hawk Watch -  Kiawah Bird Banding -  2023 Crappie Camp -  Early Birds of September -  SCDNR Salt Fishing Clinics -  Silver King Makes Big Splash - S.C. Mahi Series - 2023 Yawkey Wildlife Center - 2023 Hammock Coast Birding Festival - 2023 Lowcountry Oyster Festival - 2022 Sea Turtle Season - Navigating an S.C. Public Draw Deer Hunt - Crappie Camp - Blessings of a Sporting Father