GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Following its highly successful inaugural season, the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Pepsi and Frito Lay will return in 2002 with stops on three new lakes and a potential purse of more than $1 million in cash and prizes.
The season will open February 2 on Lake Amistad near Del Rio, Texas, followed by tournaments on Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Jasper, Texas, March 9; Lake Texoma near Pottsboro, Texas, April 27; and Toledo Bend Reservoir near Many, La., May 11. Each regular season tournament will feature a $205,000 purse based on a full field of 200 boats with the top pro at each event winning $10,000 cash and a Ranger 518DVX. If the winner is an original Ranger owner, he will also receive a $20,000 cash bonus from Ranger Boats for a total award of $65,000 in cash and prizes. Co-anglers will compete for a top award of up to $34,000 in cash and prizes, which includes a Ranger boat for original Ranger owners.
Lake Belton near Killeen, Texas, will host the $195,000, no-entry-fee Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship Oct. 19-20 where the trail’s top 50 pros will compete for $15,000 cash and a Ranger 518DVX plus a $20,000 cash bonus for original Ranger owners. That’s a total of $70,000 in cash and prizes for the winning pro. The trail’s top 50 co-anglers will fish for $5,000 cash and a Ranger boat plus a $5,000 cash bonus for original Ranger owners. That’s a total of $40,000 in cash and prizes for the winning co-angler.
Sam Rayburn Reservoir hosted the first Texas Tournament Trail event in 2001 when Carl Svebek III of Sam Rayburn won $65,000 in cash and prizes plus a $5,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Ranger will continue its Ranger Cup program in 2002, awarding a $5,000 bonus to the highest finishing cup participant at each qualifying event.
“We are proud to continue providing this added incentive to our loyal family of Ranger boat owners,” said Randy Hopper, president of Ranger Boats. “The Texas Tournament Trail is the most significant opportunity available to tournament anglers living in Texas, especially for Ranger boat owners. Incentives like the Ranger Cup and other Ranger contingency programs make the trail extremely rewarding.”
Toledo Bend Reservoir was the site of the 2001 Texas Tournament Trail Championship where Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas, won $50,000 in cash and prizes, which includes a Ranger 518DVX boat.
The trail’s pro and co-angler format is designed to accommodate anglers of various skill levels. Pros supply the boats and control their movement, while co-anglers fish from the back deck. Each person is fishing independently against anglers in his own division. Entry fees for qualifying events are $350 for pros and $100 for co-anglers.
When the Texas Tournament Trail was introduced last year, it was the first high-profile tournament series dedicated to the nation’s largest population of bass anglers. Each year, 1.3 million Texas anglers fish for bass. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Texas ranks near the top in terms of fishing related expenditures. Nearly $2.9 billion is spent annually in Texas on fishing related accessories and activities.
Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail are Wal-Mart, Castrol, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Frito Lay, GARMIN, Kellogg’s, Minn Kota, Pepsi, Ranger, Snickers and Yamaha. Associate sponsors are Abu Garcia, Berkley, Eagle Claw, Laker, Plano and Solar Bat Sunglasses.
To enter the Texas Tournament Trail, visit our tournament registration page or contact Operation Bass at (270) 362-4880.
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