Texas Tournament Trail anglers gear up for final day of championship competition, set sights on share of $195,000 total purse
ROCKWALL, Texas – The final day of Texas Tournament Trail Championship action commenced shortly after 7:15 a.m. Sunday morning with anglers facing almost identical weather conditions as Saturday’s competition. With bright blue skies, calm winds and a sunny forecast slated for today’s events, 102 anglers departed Chandler’s Landing Marina with only one goal in mind – to be crowned champion by the end of the day.
However, for the majority of the field, it won’t be easy. As a result of a recent confluence of calm winds and a significant drop in water temperature, anglers could be looking at an extremely fickle bite once again in today’s competition. Those same conditions combined to give anglers fits yesterday. In fact, by the time Saturday’s weigh-in had concluded, only eight anglers in the entire field had recorded the maximum five-fish limit.
If the bite proves elusive again today, many anglers will have an extremely difficult time making up any ground on the tournament leaders. Currently, David Truax of Beaumont, Texas, sits atop the leaderboard in the Pro Division after netting a highly competitive 16-pound, 3-ounce stringer in yesterday’s competition. But with only two other pros registering catches over 12 pounds in Saturday’s events, Truax is clearly in the driver’s seat heading into today’s finals.
In the Co-angler Division, Charlie Anderson of Marble Falls, Texas, has staked out a healthy lead as well. After turning in a 14-pound, 4-ounce sack in yesterday’s competition, Anderson maintained a 3-pound, 5-ounce lead over his nearest rival. Heading into today’s events, only five co-anglers had managed a stringer weighing over 8 pounds – another fact which bodes well for Anderson’s chances.
Today’s championship weigh-in will offer up a first-place prize of up to $70,000 in the Pro Division and $40,000 in the Co-angler Division, assuming various contingency awards are met. Per tournament rules, the pro and co-angler who turn in the largest two-day combined weight will be crowned champions in their respective divisions.
Texas Tournament Trail Championship action concludes at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, located at 782 Interstate 30 in Rockwall, Texas.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 7:33 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 50 degrees
Expected high temperature: 85 degrees
Water temperature: 70 degrees
Wind: from the southeast at 6 mph
Relative humidity: 51 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny
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