Number of participants up at annual East Grand Forks Cats Incredible tournament

Jul. 29—EAST GRAND FORKS — Dozens of teams tried their luck at the annual Cats Incredible fishing tournament at LaFave Park in East Grand Forks on Saturday, July 29.

Tournament director Paul Hansen said 80 two-person teams entered the competition this year, up 17 teams from the previous year. Fishing is permitted between the Riverside Dam in Grand Forks and the Buxton Bridge near Climax, Minnesota.

Teams are limited to 10 fish over the two-day competition, with the winner determined by aggregate weight. The winning team will take home $3,270, second place $1,870 and third $1,160.

Ruth Ann Schleif, who has been associated with the tournament since its inception, and previously ran its weight scales, said since anglers are each limited to only one catfish longer than 24 inches per day, strategy is essential in determining which to keep.

"Ideally, what you want to do is catch two 20-pound catfish, and then have your slot fish around 22, 23 inches," she said. "To win the tournament, you want to be in the 75-80 pound range."

Schleif said in years past demand to enter the tournament was so strong, that organizers had to hold a lottery to determine who was eligible to enter the then 150 team field.

"On the day that we'd open registration — and we used to open in February — we'd have more than 150 teams sending in applications," she said. "If you weren't in the 150-team field you'd go on a waiting list, and as people dropped out we'd replace them."

However, when regulations established by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources aimed at combating the spread of invasive species forced the closure of a popular launching spot during the tournament, Schleif said many fishermen stopped participating in the event.

"A number of years ago, you used to be able to launch on the north end of Grand Forks at the Whopper John Landing," she said. "With aquatic nuisance species and all the trouble we're having with that, they could no longer transport water from that end to here, even though it's the same body of water. When we lost the north end, we lost a lot of fishermen — there were a lot of guys who really liked fishing there."

Schleif said that while the field primarily consists of fishermen from the Greater Grand Forks region, it has drawn participants from around the world.

"We've had people come from as far away as Germany and England, and I think we had someone come from Australia one year," she said. "It was a very well-known tournament throughout the country — a lot of people wanted to come up and fish this river. It's just a wonderful river."

Schleif said the tournament has many return visitors, some teams having participated every year since its inception, and fosters a sense of community.

"Yes, it's for the fishing because they all love catfishing, but it's also to see old friends," she said. "It's nice to see all the families out here, they've done a great job with the event itself and keeping people interested in it. That's what keeps people coming back."

Schleif said she has made many personal connections during her 36-year association with the tournament. While she said she will be sad to see long time friends leave, she believes the younger generation will leave the tournament in good hands.

"For some of the folks from out of town who have been coming for 30, 35 years, it's going to be their last year," she said. "They're just not able to make the drive. The friendships I've made through this tournament, when that group of people can't come back, it's going to be a different tournament. It is what it is. There are a lot of young people coming in, a lot of really good fishermen locally, and you kind of pass the mantle."

Tournament attendees also enjoyed food from local restaurants and the DockDogs dog jumping competition.