Lake O’ the Pines to host Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship
LONGVIEW, Texas – Lake O’ the Pines will host the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail’s biggest event Oct. 16-17, as 100 anglers are headed to the Longview area for the $195,000 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship presented by Lay’s. The championship will hand out Texas-sized awards to the winning anglers, with the winning pro collecting as much as $70,000 in cash and prizes and the winning co-angler earning as much as $40,000.
According to Longview pro Russ Carter, who will compete in the championship after finishing 14th in the points standings, the tournament could easily turn into a fall slugfest, as Lake O’ the Pines is one of those user-friendly impoundments where everybody will be prone to catch fish. “I really think the fishermen are going to be surprised at what they catch and what shows up at weigh-in,” he said. “This lake is full of 4- to 8-pound bass.”
Carter says competitors will likely find lightweight jigs and Texas-rigged worms productive, but he predicts that many of the better sacks are going to come on top-water baits. “Top-waters, like Pop-Rs, Zara Spooks and buzzbaits, will be the main deals,” Carter said. “And the neat thing is, they will hit them all day long.” He expects the winning two-day weight to reach as high as 40 pounds.
The 50 pros and 50 co-anglers who comprise the championship field earned their slot in the event based on year-end points standings. Competitors earned points in each of the TTT’s four qualifying events, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on. These points determined angler standings, and the top 50 in both divisions earned a trip to the championship.
The winning pro is guaranteed a first-place prize of a 519VS Ranger boat plus $15,000 cash for a prize package worth $50,000. If the winner is a qualifying Ranger owner, he will receive another $20,000 cash for a top award worth $70,000. The winning co-angler will earn a 195 Ranger plus $5,000 cash, and can earn another $5,000 cash if Ranger contingency guidelines are met for a top award worth $40,000. Cash awards are paid out through 20th place in both divisions, and the championship is a no-entry-fee event.
Anglers will take off both competition days at 7 a.m. from Lakeside Park, located at 2669 FM 726 in Jefferson. Both weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 515 E. Loop 281 in Longview beginning at 4 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend takeoffs and weigh-ins.
The entire field will compete both days, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day weight.
For more information about the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site. Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors is the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing. Other FLW Outdoors tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the EverStart Series, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League, the FLW Kingfish Tour and the FLW Redfish Series.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its eight tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.