GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – O.H. Ivie Reservoir will host up to 400 bass anglers March 17 when the new Texas Tournament Trail holds the second tournament of its inaugural season in Leady, Texas.
Run by Operation Bass, the nation’s premier bass tournament organization, the Texas Tournament Trail awarded $30,000 cash and a new Yamaha-powered Ranger bass boat ($35,000 value) to Carl Svebek III of Sam Rayburn, Texas, last month after he won the trail’s opening event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Svebek will also be among the pro anglers looking for a $65,000 win on O.H. Ivie, which he says is a lake that he has never fished before.
The winner of the event’s Pro Division will receive $10,000 cash and a new Ranger 518VX bass boat. Ranger Boats will kick in an additional $20,000 if the winner is a registered Ranger owner, thus boosting the potential first place award to $65,000. The top co-angler will receive $4,000 cash plus a new Ranger R91 bass boat if he or she is a registered Ranger owner for a total prize package worth $34,000.
“With $205,000 in cash and prizes on the line at each event, the Texas Tournament Trail is one of the state’s premier bass fishing circuits,” said Bill Taylor, tournament director for the Triple T. “The first tournament surpassed all of our expectations, and we are looking forward to another great event on O.H. Ivie.”
In 2001, the Texas Tournament Trail will host four one-day qualifying events and a two-day, no-entry-fee championship. Each qualifying event will feature a maximum field size of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers. The Texas Tournament Trail Championship will feature the trail’s top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers in a shootout for up to $195,000 in cash and prizes.
The Texas Tournament Trail’s format is designed to accommodate anglers of various skill levels. While pros supply the boats and control their movement, co-anglers fish from the back of the boats. Each person is fishing independently and competing against anglers in his or her own division. A 200-point scoring system ensures equitable treatment of all competitors. Under the system, an angler receives 200 points for a win, 199 points for second, 198 points for third and so on. Every angler who receives weight credit during a tournament receives points. This point system will determine who advances to the Texas Tournament Trail Championship presented by Pepsi and Frito-Lay.
The March 17 Texas Tournament Trail weigh-in on O.H. Ivie will begin at 3 p.m. at Elm Creek Marina in Leady, Texas.
Lake Travis near Jonestown, Texas, will host the third qualifying event April 21, and Richland Chambers Reservoir near Corsicana, Texas, will be the site of the fourth qualifying event May 12. Toledo Bend Reservoir near Hemphill, Texas, will host the Texas Tournament Trail Championship Oct. 20-21. Entry fees for the qualifying events are $350 for pros and $100 for co-anglers.