Curtis wins Wal-Mart TTT event on Sam Rayburn

JASPER, Texas – Pro David Curtis of Trinity, Texas, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 11 ounces to win $15,000 plus a fully rigged Ranger 519 VS Ranger boat at the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail season opener on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. A field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers competed in the event.

Curtis, who finished sixth in the TTT points standings last year, caught his bass on a Lake Fork Swebo worm. He spent most of the tournament sight-fishing.

Rounding out the top five pros were Ray Hanselman of Del Rio (10 bass, 35 pounds, 10 ounces, $8,000); David Blum of Cleveland (10 bass, 35 pounds, 1 ounce, $6,000); Shane Gibson of Kilgore (10 bass, 32 pounds, 15 ounces, $4,300); and Chris Wilkerson of Livingston (10 bass, 32 pounds, 2 ounces, $3,200 plus $2,500 bonus).

Bonuses are awarded to registered Ranger boat owners who purchased their Ranger new from a Ranger dealer. Anglers must also fish out of a Ranger during the tournament to be eligible for the contingency.

Along with the grand prize of $10,000 plus a fully rigged Ranger boat, Curtis earned $5,000 as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

Nineteen-year-old Ryan Warren of Gatesville topped 200 co-anglers to win his first TTT tournament and $4,000 cash plus a fully rigged 195 VS Ranger boat. Warren caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 25 pounds, 13 ounces by sight-fishing and flipping.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Steven Faske of Bastrop (seven bass, 24 pounds, 8 ounces, $3,000 plus $1,650 bonus); Mark Britain of Gainesville (five bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces, $2,000 plus $1,200 bonus); Jerry Eichler of Granbury (six bass, 19 pounds, $1,000 plus $1,000 bonus); and Jim Fortenberry of Conroe (six bass, 17 pounds, 3 ounces, $800 plus $900 bonus).

Britain also won the tournament’s $500 Travis Boating Center big-bass gift certificate with a 10-pound, 2-ounce monster largemouth. Travis Boating Center, one of the nation’s largest retailers of Ranger Boats, sponsors 2004 TTT big-bass awards.

The TTT’s third stop will be April 24-25 on Lake Texoma near Sherman, followed by the final regular-season event on May 22-23 on Lake Travis in Jonestown. The top 50 pros and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the $195,000 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship Oct. 16-17 on Lake O’ the Pines near Longview. The winning pro at the championship can earn as much as $70,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger boat.

The Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail is administered by FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing. FLW Outdoors also operates the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the EverStart Series, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League.

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