Monsters of the Deep
Four friends come together to form CatMasters Competitions
Story by Bob Kaspar | Photos contributed by James Milto

Tournament founders pictured left to right:  Bryan St. Ama; Jeremy Busby; Ty Nall; and James Milton

In February 2016, friends Bryan St. Ama, James Milton, Jeremy Busby and Ty Nall decided to stage a catfishing tournament on Lake Possum Kingdom – and, just like that, the CatMasters competition was born.

Through large payouts, innovation and a welcoming atmosphere, CatMasters has grown into the premier catfishing tournament in the country, and it’s designed to elevate the sport of trophy catfishing and bring tourism dollars to local lakeside communities such as Graford during a typically slow off-season.

St. Ama, a tournament regular, said he had seen a gap in the market for catfishing tournaments.

“I’d fished other tournaments and wasn’t all that impressed,†he said. “I knew catfishing tournaments could be much more professional.â€

Sixty teams participated in that inaugural CatMaster tournament, and the first-place payout was $2,000. That tournament was so successful that a second one took place eight months later, this time attracting 100 teams and awarding $15,000 to the first-place finishers.

“This was the first time in catfishing tournament history that the payouts got big enough to gain attention,†St. Ama said.

Unlike many other tournaments, the entry fees at CatMasters go entirely to the payouts, which equals big money for catfish anglers. At the time the competition started, the winnings at most of the other tournaments could barely cover an angler’s expenses.

“One year, we had a tournament winner that was able to use their prize money to put a down payment on a house,†St. Ama said.

With big prize money at stake, word spread quickly – and the CatMaster team was eager to expand. Their next stop was Lake Texoma, home of the state record blue catfish. In addition to the catfishing tournament, CatMasters also conducted a successful boat show at the nearby Choctaw Casino, with $695,000 spent in the host city of Durant, Oklahoma.

“Before, industry sponsors wouldn’t return our calls,†St. Ama said. “Now we had sponsors and mayors of possible destinations calling us.â€

A third CatMasters event was set for Lake Tawakoni, another famed catfishing lake, and Milton still has fond memories of that tournament.

“We weighed 10,000 pounds of fish in two days!†he exclaimed.

The CatMasters were on a roll, and the tournament eventually spread to seven different stops before other tournaments began to emulate the CatMasters model. The tournament essentially had created its own competition, and anglers across the country were beginning to see what was possible in the world of tournament catfishing.

Part of what makes CatMasters and the other similar tournaments so successful is the buy-in from industry leaders and local sponsors alike. CatMaster tournaments usually take place in the fall and winter months, when the biggest fish typically are caught because it’s when the fish are feeding in preparation for the spawn in the spring and summer. Lake communities usually don’t have much economic activity during the cooler months, but the CatMaster tournaments bring an influx of tourism spending during the winter lull.

“We’ve had local businesses here at PK tell us they can feel the uptick when the tournament is going on,†Milton said. “In fact, an economic impact study showed that on average each team spends $2,500 to the local economy during the week of CatMasters.â€

Since CatMasters is a two-day tournament, out-of-town anglers spend some of their money on lodging, as well as in local restaurants and gas stations.

National angling industry sponsors also took notice of the tournament’s success and were eager to penetrate the underutilized catfishing market. SeaArk Boats, a renowned watercraft manufacturer, is a perennial sponsor of CatMasters and now produces boats specifically geared toward the trophy catfish angler.

As St. Ama jokingly said: “I’ve had people ask me if they’re required to fish out of a SeaArk in the tournament.â€

B’n’M Poles, another sponsor of the tournament, noted a 20 percent increase in sales after it began marketing catfishing rods.

With a steady stream of sponsorship money, CatMasters has been able to grow substantially while still offering the big payouts that initially put it on the map. Prizes are awarded for the biggest fish caught each day (often worth $1,000), as well as for a variety of categories, such as the best female, youth and veteran teams.

Big payouts aren’t the only thing that make CatMasters stand out in the fishing tournament landscape, though. The tournament also is making tremendous strides in fish conservation. It was the first catfishing tournament to regulate the size of the live wells in its events, and the first tournament in the fishing industry to mandate oxygenated live wells.

CatMasters also has developed procedures to reduce the amount of handling of a fish during weigh-in. These steps are critical in ensuring that tournament fish are released back into the lakes in the best possible condition, and other tournaments are following suit.

CatMasters also live-streams each event on Facebook, with the hope of growing the sport of trophy catfishing, which already is the fastest-growing fishing sport in the world.

So why do the CatMasters spend the countless hours preparing, filming, speaking with sponsors and weighing fish? For some of them, it’s the drive to grow a sport they’re so passionate about. For others, it’s about enjoying a sort of “working vacation†with their closest friends.

Quipped Nall: “I just want to be famous!â€

When speaking to the CatMasters, though, one word kept coming up: camaraderie. Trophy catfishermen are a close, tight-knit group, and even though tournament payouts have increased drastically, these anglers aren’t driven by money. It’s the pursuit of genuine fishing experiences and the formation of lifelong friendships that keep them going. In fact, St. Ama recently realized a childhood dream by getting the opportunity to fish with legendary fisherman Bill Dance.

Maybe someday the original CatMasters will each become household names among anglers, too. Until then, they’re perfectly content putting on the premier catfishing tournament in the country – and, when time affords, wetting a line with friends on Lake Possum Kingdom.