"sought to catch" is a correct and usable part of a sentence in written English.
It is most commonly used as an infinitive verb phrase. For example, "The detective sought to catch the murderer."
Republicans have sought to catch up.
Once upon a time, in "Bambi," Disney had sought to catch the living soul of nature on film.
There are the ever-popular Technicolor laser-beam burglar alarms, which have sought to catch thieves since the days of the "Pink Panther" capers.
There was also a crowd, though smaller, outside City Center, the site of the CW presentation, as fans and photographers sought to catch glimpses of stars of that network's shows.
The country's whaling fleet has sought to catch around 900 minke whales, and a much smaller number of fin and humpback whales, every winter after the International Whaling Commission IWCC) banned commercial whaling in 1986.
The first sought to catch, in the plump snap of the shutter, something vivid and even beautiful in its color and contour; the second aim, more realistic though in a sense grander, was to halt the flow of time.
Nor does the portrait ostensibly seek to catch her likeness at a specific moment.
The 35 havens have generally declined to cooperate with investigators who seek to catch tax dodgers.
Moreover, the deal is seen as crucial to H.P. as it seeks to catch up with Oracle and I.B.M.
Adler's prose seeks to catch the whispers and chirpings of insanity rather than the lamentations of suffering.
And then one rider has it, and he has to run away with it from others who seek to catch it and snatch it from him".
