Catfish tournament held at Milford Lake in memory of Kansas angler

GEARY COUNTY (KSNT) – A Midwest catfish tournament group is hosting a special event this weekend to honor a beloved local angler.

Josh Smith, of Baldwin City, Kansas was just 40-years-old when he passed away unexpectedly due to heart problems in August, 2022. He left behind his wife, Amber, and a community of anglers who looked up to and respected him.

“He was a very upstanding guy, didn’t have any enemies,” David Studebacker, proprietor of Catfish Chasers, said. “He’d help anybody he could, he was just a very great guy. Not only was he a great person, but he was a great fisherman as well.”

Studebacker is holding a special benefit tournament from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Milford Lake. It is in memory of Smith and to raise money for the family he left behind. He had nothing but praise for Smith, describing him as a “staple of Catfish Chasers” whose loss has been felt throughout the catfishing community in Kansas.