Warsaw Trio wins Froman Memorial Catfish Tourney.WARSAW, Ill. Thirtyeight boats of two or three fishermen competed in the 35th Annual Warsaw Gun Club Ray Froman Memorial Catfish Tournament on Saturday morning, August 9th.

Randy Froman, his son Brad and friend Bob Gound of Warsaw took top honors in the overall weight of xxx for best five fish in the slot of 15 to 25. In the big fish category, unlimited size, the team of Ronnie Froman and his son Matt took top honors with a xxxx lb fish. The team of Terry Moffitt and David Alan Fenton earned second place honors for overall weight while John Koehler and Dennis Burke came in third in the overall weight category. The 2nd biggest fish was caught by the team of Mike Jungles, Louie Zinn, and Walt Sellens (also 5th place overall weight). The 3rd biggest catfish was reeled in by the team of Kent Hanan and Mike Roth. Rounding out the prize winning teams were Bud Thurman and Curt Stevens with the 4th biggest catch of the day. The Ray Froman Memorial tournament, put on by the Warsaw Gun Club, is open to two-person or three-person teams fishing from a boat in pools 19 and 20 of the Mississippi River. This was the 34th year of the annual catfish tournament, the last 12 of which have been named in honor of Ray Froman, one of the founding members of the Warsaw Gun Club. The majority of tourney entry fees are paid back. The Club runs a 50/50 drawing and several area businesses contribute prizes that are raffled off to add to the amount that is raised for the Kids charity.

Tournament co-director Randy Froman expanded on the Coachs Kids charity aspect of the tournament: The Warsaw Gun Club was founded in 1939 and the club has made donations of all kinds in the form of fish or game, man-power, or what have you to organizations over the years, Froman said. The club has a fund that we pull from each year to purchase Christmas gifts for area families that wouldnt otherwise be able to provide for themselves. Froman went on to say, We dont know who receives the gifts and we dont want to know but hopefully our contributions make Christmas better for kids who otherwise wouldnt have it very nice, we like to say Fishins toughbut the kids need stuff! The funds raised are distributed annually to appropriate organizations in the communities of Warsaw, Carthage, Hamilton and Keokuk who administer the distributions to needy families.Many of the Tournament fishermen also donated their catch to local businessman Ron Gooding who hosts an annual fish-fry to raise money to help sponsor Fishing for Freedom of Quincy; a charitable event held in June of each year that honors veterans of the Global War on Terrorism. Upcoming Warsaw Gun Club events to raise funds for Coachs Kids include a catfish Buddy Tournament and fish fry on September 14th, featuring weigh-in at the South-Side Boat Club in Keokuk. Ending out the year will be the Annual Camp Open golf tournament held at Deer Run Golf Course in Hamilton, Ill. Now in its 27th year, the Camp Open will be on Sept. 21st and is open to four-man teams using the better ball format, early registration is encouraged. For information on the golf tournament contact Deer Run Golf Course at 217-847-3623. Additional information about the events can also be found on Facebook.