Durham wins Wal-Mart TTT event on Lake Lewisville

LEWISVILLE, Texas – Pro Tommy Durham of Waxahachie caught six bass weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces over two days to claim $10,000 plus a fully-rigged Ranger 519VS Comanche as the winner of the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail event held Saturday and Sunday on Lake Lewisville. Durham finished first out of a field of 200 pros to claim his first TTT win in the season’s only two-day event.

The full field competed on Saturday, with the top 20 pros and co-anglers advancing to Sunday’s competition. Durham caught four bass weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to make the cut and backed that up Sunday with a two-bass catch weighing 8 pounds.

Rounding out the top five pros were Dale Witt of New Braunfels (10 bass, 21 pounds, 7 ounces, $8,000); Randy Qualls of Streetman (eight bass, 20 pounds, 2 ounces, $6,000); Keith Cullum of Corinth (nine bass, 19 pounds, 5 ounces, $4,300); and Bill Rule of Bryan (five bass, 18 pounds, 1 ounce, $3,200).

Ricky Friedrich of Houston earned a $5,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. He finished sixth with four bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces.

Ernie Paul Jr. of Longview earned a $500 gift certificate from Travis Boating Center for weighing in the heaviest bass of the tournament, a 7-pound, 12-ounce lunker. Travis Boating Center, one of the nation’s largest retailers of Ranger Boats, sponsors 2003 TTT big-bass awards.

Joe Cooper of Smithville topped 200 co-anglers to earn $4,000 cash as the TTT co-angler winner. Kessler caught six bass over two days that weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces.

Eric Wendeborn of Gatesville (four bass, 15 pounds, 2 ounces, $3,000 plus $1,650 Ranger bonus); Dwain Morgan of Grand Prairie (five bass, 14 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,000); Lyall Grant of Waxahachie (five bass, 14 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,000); and Scott Meads of Killeen (three bass, 11 pounds, 6 ounces, $800 plus $900 Ranger bonus) rounded out the top five co-anglers.

Bonuses are awarded to registered Ranger Boat owners who purchased their Ranger new from a Ranger dealer.

The $1 million Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Frito Lay will visit Toledo Bend near Many, La., June 7 for the final regular-season tournament. The top 50 pros and 50 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship Oct. 18-19 on Lake Ray Hubbard in Rockwall.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.