By AMBER PATINO
The Bad Cat Classic Catfishing Tournament returned to the Choctawhatchee River in Caryville on September 6, bringing together 27 teams from five counties to compete for top honors in three fishing categories. Hosted in partnership with the UF/IFAS Extension Holmes County, the event also welcomed more than 25 youth participants. Two young anglers were awarded the Randy Adams Memorial Lifetime Fishing Licenses after the event.
Participants competed in three categories: Two Fish Total, Target Fish, and Big Fish.
For the Two Fish Total category, teams combined the weight of their two heaviest catches:
- First place went to Seth Alday of Team All Talk with a total of 64.8 lbs.
- Second place was claimed by Lewis Nickell and Jamie Lee of Team Panhandle Katz with 50.8 lbs.
- Third place went to Marvin Rushing and Lance Pippin of Team Snake Bit, whose combined catch weighed 50.6 lbs.
- Fourth place was awarded to William Hinson and Cassy Miles of Team Dirty Hands with 50.4 lbs.
- Fifth place went to Jeremy Lewis and Ben Bradshaw of Team Long Shots, who brought in a total of 42.2 lbs.
In the Target Fish category, Brandan Sasser won with a catfish weighing 15.2 lbs—just 0.8 lbs shy of the tournament’s 16 lb target.
The Big Fish category recognized the single largest catch of the day:
- Team Panhandle Katz secured first place with a 40 lb catfish.
- Joseph Spears of Team Spears took second with a catch weighing 38.6 lbs.
- Third place went to Team Snake Bit for a 36.4 lb catfish.
- Team Dirty Hands rounded out the top four with a 34.2 lb catch.
Event organizers thanked everyone who participated and volunteered to help make the event possible.
Staff Report