The team of Jason and Daryl Masingale and David Coughlin of Arkansas is $100,000 richer after taking home the top prize in Sunday’s final competition in the Bill Dance Mississippi River Monsters Mega Buc$ Pro Series Catfish Tournament.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable,” Jason said following his team’s win. “I think I said this earlier, but this is where we’ve always wanted to go and be a part of it. It’s the experience of a lifetime, for certain.”

The team jumped from 15th place in day one of the tournament with 83.19 total pounds to finishing in the number one spot in the second and final day of competition Sunday with 115.85 total pounds.

The Masingales sat onstage following their ascension to first place and watched as the remaining boats weighed in, the last of which belonged to 2023 tournament winners Lonnie and Donnie Fountain of Georgia.

Nearly 100 teams representing 23 states took place in the weekend’s tournament. It was the second competition held in Vicksburg and included the largest recorded payout for a competitive catfish event.

“What a weekend we had (at the) Vicksburg Convention Center and Riverwalk Casino giving away over $260,000 in cash and prizes,” event coordinator George Young Jr. said. “Day one, we had 93 boats fishing that weighed in 176 fish totalling 4,036 pounds, with the big fish weighing 78.45 pounds. Day two, we had 25 boats fishing that weighed in 66 fish total, weighing 1,456 pounds.”

Vicksburg Alderman Alex Monsour said the event was also a boon to the city, adding he was proud of how highly visitors spoke of their experience in the River City.

“It was well-supported by our community and everybody loved it,” Monsour said. “The kids loved it, interacting with the fish and the anglers. They’re ready and fired up to be back here next year. The anglers said they’d never been treated so well in any of the places they had gone.”

The weekend’s events featured all 93 boats on the Mississippi River Saturday, with each team allowed to weigh-in up to three fish. The top 25 teams from Saturday’s tournament moved on to vie for the $100,000 Sunday. Teams finishing in second through 10th places split the remaining $100,000 purse.

The team of Carl Morris and Rob Parsons came in first on Saturday with a total weight of 146.37 pounds. 

Sunday’s final event’s top ten teams included: first place -115.85 pounds, Jason Masingale, Daryl Masingale and David Coughlin; second place – 106.64 pounds, Chris DeBow, Vic Shepherd and Marc Cooper; third place – 104.12 pounds, Dusty and Jennifer Tholl and Colton Brunger; fourth place – 98 pounds, Nooner Hall, Les Thompson and Trenton Thompson; fifth place – 94.06 pounds, Doug Rice, Steve Henderson and Adam Long; sixth place – 85.11 pounds, Donnie Fountain and Lonnie Fountain; seventh place – 77.10 pounds, Rob Benningfield and  Rick Eiselt; eighth place – 76.30 pounds, Chris Peyton, Jonathan Wilson and Jeff Kirkpatrick; ninth place – 71.74 pounds, Joe Rechner and Paul Hull; 10th place – 69.02 pounds, Scott Linton and Rusty Morefield.