King of Tillery catfish tournament returns for second year

The largest catfish tournament in North Carolina with the biggest payouts will be here before you know it! The second annual King of Tillery tournament, presented by Jamie K Outdoors, will be held on April 30 from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. at Swift Island Boat Landing in Mt. Gilead. 

With all sponsor dollars and entry fees going to tournament expenses, and to the anglers that place in the money, this is truly “the people’s tournament”. 

There were 123 boats and $17K paid out last year, and the winners took home $10K. Entry fees are $120 entry fee per boat and $20 Big Fish per team, paying out the top five teams. The tournament giveaway will include thousands of dollars in fishing rods, apparel, gear and more from our sponsors. 

Weighmaster Mark Coburn will be back bringing his great personality and tournament expertise to the event! The Boat House at Lake Tillery will be hosting a pre-tournament event with food provided on Friday, April 29, which is open to all participating teams. 

We will have the best trophies in catfishing provided by Guilford Metal Works, who is also making another trophy this year for our veteran winner. 

Thanks to donations from individuals to honor veterans and active-duty service members, plus a generous donation from Visit Stanly County, we have over $1K in our veteran winner! We will also have payouts for our top female and first responder winners.  

This year we have amazing prizes for our youth anglers.