DEL RIO, Texas (Dec. 27, 2006) - The Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia will make its first of three $226,500 regular-season stops Jan. 6-7 on Lake Amistad. The lucrative tournament will feature as many as 400 of Texas' finest bass-fishing pros and co-anglers casting for top awards of $65,000 and $44,000, respectively.
"I think this event will be a typical winter prespawn event," said pro Rob Burns of Plano, Texas, who won the 2006 Texas Tournament Trail Championship on Lake Stillhouse last month. "The fish will probably be in anywhere from 15 to 25 feet of water on deep edges with hydrilla. Guys will mainly be deep cranking and maybe even using some jigs and soft plastics. I think it will be a good event and should take 50-plus pounds to be in contention for the win."
With the daily highs being in the mid to upper 60s, the fish will not be looking to spawn right away. The spawn usually occurs in the beginning of February and goes through March. This event will likely be won on a prespawn pattern. According to Burns, the hydrilla in the lake seems to be thicker this year, giving anglers more vantage points to catch prespawn largemouths looking to feed.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Lake Amistad Marina located at Highway 90 W. HCR 3 in Del Rio. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 7. The community is invited to attend all activities.
The Lake Amistad Texas Tournament Trail event is hosted by Del Rio Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit www.drchamber.com.
The winning pro will receive a top award of $50,000, which includes a $40,000 Ranger 519VX powered by a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash. If Ranger contingency guidelines are met, the winner will also receive a $15,000 cash bonus for a top award of $65,000. Ranger will also award $5,000 to the highest-finishing pro in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and Yamaha will kick in an additional $2,500 if the Ranger Cup winner's boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. All told, the winning pro will earn as much as $72,500 if all contingency guidelines are met.
The top 50 pros and co-anglers in the TTT, based on Angler of the Year points standings, will advance to the $210,000 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship Oct. 13-14 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper. The winning pro at the championship will earn as much as $75,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger 519VX.
In TTT competition, 200 points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 for third, and so on. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points. These points determine Angler of the Year standings. Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes Saturday and Sunday with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from both days.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners' Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Awards are based on a 200-boat field.
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