TTT championship under way on shallow Lake Conroe
Hurricane Rita to blame for low-water conditions
CONROE, Texas – The top 50 pros and co-anglers from the 2005 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail took off this morning on Lake Conroe to kick-start this year’s TTT championship. Like a lot of things here in the Houston area, this week’s tournament will feel the lingering affects of Hurricane Rita.
Lake Conroe is about 5 1/2 feet low, a situation created in order to inspect damage done to the dam in the aftermath of the hurricane. Depending on who you ask, the low-water conditions are either a good thing or a bad thing.
“It’s very dangerous because we’ve got lots of sandbars,” said pro Bob Weaver of Lawton, Okla. “We’ll just keep it wet and see what we can do.”
According to pro Jacky Roberts of Georgetown, a 16-inch minimum length requirement is also frustrating anglers, who are catching a lot of short fish. For Roberts, success on Lake Conroe depends a lot on sheer luck.
“You’re either on them or you’re not on them,” Roberts said. “It’s going to be tough.”
Both Weaver and Roberts agree that one upside of the low-water conditions is the reduced number of recreational boaters to stir up the fishing holes this weekend on Lake Conroe.
“I’m hoping the low water will keep the big boats out of the water,” Roberts said. “A lot of them can’t even get their boats out of the dock.”
Pro Sean Hoernke of nearby Magnolia reiterated Roberts’ and Weaver’s assessment of this weekend’s conditions, but count him among the pros looking forward to the unusual circumstances.
“Pretty much everything they said is true,” Hoernke said. “I think it’s going to make it better.”
Indeed, it seems that on Lake Conroe, it may be tough to find the fish, but once you do, the rewards are great.
“On Conroe, you’re not going to get a lot of bites, but the ones you get are good,” Hoernke said.
“It’ll be a 9-pounder for big bass,” Weaver concurred. “There won’t be a lot of them, but there will be some good ones.”
Logistics
The 50-boat field will compete both days, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch. The winning pro at the TTT Championship will earn as much as $70,000, which includes a Ranger 519 VX powered by a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics and EverStart batteries plus $15,000 cash. If the winner meets the Ranger Boats contingency guidelines, he will receive an additional $20,000. Snickers will award $1,000 to the pro or co-angler who catches the heaviest bass during the TTT Championship. Castrol will award a $500 Wal-Mart gift card and $500 of Castrol products to the highest-finishing co-angler wearing a Castrol shirt at the Championship.
Anglers take off at 7 a.m. each morning from the April Plaza Marina and Motel in Montgomery. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 18700 State Highway 105 West in Montgomery beginning at 4 p.m.
Saturday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 7:24 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 58 degrees
Expected high temperature: 87 degrees
Wind: NE at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 48 percent
Day’s outlook: abundant sunshine