By John N. Felsher
After two days of fierce competition, Bruce Paulk of Michie, Tenn., and Brian Vohol of Hermitage, Tenn., won the 7th annual Cabela's King Kat Classic, held Oct. 17, 2009, in Sheffield, Ala., with a tournament limit of 10 whiskerfish weighing 277.10 pounds.
The competitors could fish either Pickwick Lake or Wilson Lake on either side of the Wilson Dam. On the Tennessee River, Wilson Lake spreads through 15,930 acres of northern Alabama. Approximately 18 miles long, the lake can drop to more than 100 feet deep in places. Several major coves dominated by rocky bluffs and forested tributaries create 154 shoreline miles.
Downstream from Wilson Dam, Pickwick Lake runs 58 miles through parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee to the Pickwick Dam at Counce, Tenn. The 50,000-acre system looks more like its original riverine self with 496 miles of shorelines. Both systems support excellent blue, channel and flathead catfish populations with some blues topping the 100-pound mark.
RIVER OF GIANTS
"This is a world-class fishery for catfish," said Darrell Van Vactor, King Kat Tournament Trail president. "In 2006, before the 34-inch rule went into effect, we set a record here by catching 12,000 pounds of fish in two days. At that time, the winning weight was 504 pounds. This year, it took 277.10 pounds to win, which equates to a 27.70-pound average for 10 fish with the rule that no more than two fish per team per day could exceed 34 inches."
Using shad and skipjack for bait, the champs fished slip rigs over structure in 45 to 85 feet of water on Wilson Lake. They caught about 50 catfish in two days, but state regulations allowed each angler to keep only one catfish 34 inches long or longer per day, so they had to release several large fish.
"We were fishing a lot of structure on the river channel ledge and right off it, but we had to move around quite a bit to find the active fish," Paulk explained. "We'd catch one here and one there and caught a whole bunch of little ones in the 1- to 2-pound range."
TAKING HOME THE LOOT
With the victory, Paulk and Vohol earned a new 20-foot SeaArk boat powered by a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard and equipped with an 80-pound thrust Max Pro Minn Kota trolling motor and a Humminbird Matrix 97, a package worth more than $26,000. The team also won $500 in the Eagle Claw bonus award program and a $1,000 Cabela's gift certificate, Van Vactor said.
At about 10:30 a.m. on the first day of the tournament, Vohol landed the event lunker, a 73.45-pound blue. They caught the big one while fishing a slip rig along the river channel. The big one anchored a 144.45-pound bag on Day 1.
"In this system, a 73-pounder is usually not even the biggest fish of a tournament," Vohol said. "This system can produce many 80- to 90-pound fish and some over 100 pounds."
For complete tournament results, see www.kingkatusa.com or call 270-395-6774. For area information, call 800-344-0783 or visit the website at www.colbertcountytourism.org.