While anglers from nine states around the country were in Selma for the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail’s event on the Alabama River on Saturday, it was a pair of local anglers who took the top spot.

Richard Stocks and his wife, Dorothy, both of Valley Grande, finished in first place in the tournament, capturing nine catfish in all for a total weight of 52.55 pounds, including the biggest catfish of the day, which was a 17.05 pounder.

The duo won $2,500 for finishing in first place, and $500 for catching the biggest catfish, as well as qualifying for the King Kat Classic in Selma on Sept. 27-29 for a shot at $60,000.

Richard said it was a complete surprise that they won, as he was just hoping to finish in the qualifying range.

“All I wanted to do was just make the classic, just finish in the top 20. I didn’t have any idea that we were even going to win,” Richard said. “We weighed in two-and-a-half hours early — I got scared my fish were going to die. Everything worked out fine.”

Dorothy, who reeled in the biggest fish, said it’s a great feeling, and once they started catching the fish, they just kept it up.

“It feels good,” Dorothy laughed. “We tried three spots where we caught the big ones. We just kept it going.”

Richard said the two used a wide variety of baits, and got a little lucky.

“Some of the spots that I fished had been pretty much beaten to death to tell you the truth,” Richard said. “We just got lucky and found some on the depth finder and caught them on five or six different things [baits], nothing in particular.”

Other top finishers included the team of Tim Haynie and Phil King of Corinth, Miss., which finished in second place with a total weight of 45.55 pounds.

The team of Johnny Jones of Martinsville, Va. and Ronnie Hughes of Madison, N.C., finished third with a total weight of 24.95 pounds.

Other finishers from the local area include the team of Clint Wilkinson III and Ray Harrelson, both of Selma, which finished in sixth place with a total weight of 11 pounds.

The team of Thomas and April Brown of Sardis finished in ninth place with a total weight of 5.25 pounds, while Ronnie Roberts and Dylan Manley of Selma finished in tenth place with a total weight of 3.95 pounds.

The team of Michael Beard Jr. and Ethan and Jeremy Beard, all of Marion Junction, finished with a total weight of 1.50 pounds.