ALTON - Competitors from across the country came to Alton's riverfront and the nearby Mississippi River to compete in the Annual Twisted Cat Outdoors event.
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Dan Alewelt of Pleasant Plains had the largest fish catch of 67.62 pounds, while Will Ash of Alton caught a 65.95-pounder for second place biggest fish.
Alex Nagy, tournament director of the Twisted Cat Outdoors event, said 68 teams from all over the country were fishing for some of the biggest catfish in the U.S.
"It was really exciting," he said. "We had some different weather patterns, but overall anglers brought us some big fish. What is really cool about this event is they are taking their boat and ramp and going to a couple of different ramps and catching those fish, and bringing them back here to Liberty Bank Amphitheater area and weighing their biggest three of the day. People really enjoy fishing in this area because it holds such big catfish."
Nagy said there are a lot of reasons for the big catfish in this area.
"You have the Illinois dumping into the Mississippi," he said. "You also have the confluence on the Missouri River and the lock and dam on the Mississippi here. You have big water, deep water, and lots of structure. There is no commercial fishing on the Mississippi River here, so there are a lot of reasons for the fishing getting as big as they are. We have weighed up to 103-pound fish. That is a giant fish."
The first-place team on Saturday was John Berglund, Jason Hamilton, and Eddie Henney of Adele, Iowa, with a 70.71-pound total catch for $9,066. Kevin Hoffman, Mike Kuehl, and Pete Moreland combined for a 70.50-pound total catch for second place and $4,533.
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