Wayne County Catfish Tournament Won With 119.10 Pounds, 23-Lb. Average

It’s a lazy Sunday morning here, but the tension is palpable at Jaycee Landing. Trucks with trailered boats are beginning to line up nose to tail for a hundred yards as Ronnie Kent turns and says, “This is why I never like to weigh in early!”

Ronnie and his wife Melissa are fixtures at the annual Wayne County Catfish Tournament, having won it all in 2020.

As the deadline nears for final weigh-in on this steamy June 6, it’s nail-biting time, and they’re hoping an 89.25-lb., five-fish total keeps them in the money. But there’s still a lot of boats to come in over the next hour—we’ll just have to hang around and see!

Seems there’s always something going on in Jesup and Wayne County—and most of it has to do with one jewel of a river, the mighty Altamaha. The Wayne County Board of Tourism long ago recognized the river’s importance and appeal, and this is the 17th year of the catfish tournament. It follows February’s Wayne County Hog Jam and precedes the Big Buck Jamboree, coming up in October.

The Altamaha, with the hunting, fishing and boating adventures it provides, is the heartbeat of the area from Jesup all the way down to the coast to where it empties into the Atlantic at Brunswick.

When you fish an area for decades, you make a lot of friends and hear a lot of the same names over and over, folks who love the Altamaha and are proficient at utilizing its resources. Names like Jesup’s Joey and Cassandra Langley, a young couple who are among the best at hauling big catfish out of the river, with a second-place finish in this event in 2019. They, too, have already weighed in—and their five cats had heads turning.

First place and big fish winners Joe and Cassandra Langley, of Jesup.

Those five averaged just a shade under 24 pounds apiece, anchored by a 52.85-lb. flathead that was the big fish of the tournament. He was worth a $1,000 payout, added to the $7,500 first-place check the Langleys also took home.

Overall, a total of 80 boats and 202 fishermen turned out, hauling in 1,604.85 pounds of catfish on rod and reel.

As much fun as it is to see what was weighed in, equally as enjoyable is hearing the stories of the ones that got away just at the last second, that ONE fish that would have put the team over the top. Those tales abound—and whet appetites for next year’s tournament. Keep in mind that the current state flathead record happens to be shared by two fishermen—but both of those 83-pounders came from the Altamaha. And one of them was caught from a dock! Wrestled aboard without a dip net! Just think what an 84-pounder would do for your 2022 tournament total…

Kailee Lloyd

Joei McGray