Campbell takes TTT co-angler crown
Texan bests No. 2 Loitz as the last angler to weigh in
KILLEEN, Texas – This time, they saved the best for last. The very last co-angler to weigh in on the final day of the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail Championship on Lake Stillhouse – indeed, the last angler to weigh in, period – took home the victory, as Darrell Campbell of Trophy Club, Texas, emerged as the newest TTT co-angler champion.
Like the Pro Division winner, Rob Burns, Campbell earned his champion’s belt buckle in a big way, with a margin of victory that totaled 5 pounds, 4 ounces. No. 2 Edwin Loitz took a fairly early lead and held it the rest of the weigh-in, but Campbell – the day-one leader – ultimately held on to the throne. His 11-pound, 15-ounce day-one-leading weight fell to 9 pounds, 9 ounces, but no matter. His two-day total of 21 pounds, 8 ounces was plenty enough to earn $5,000 for the win, another $5,000 Ranger Boats bonus plus a fully rigged Ranger boat valued at $40,000.
“I did exactly what I did yesterday – just got the bites,” Campbell said, adding that he drop-shotted a watermelon finesse worm with purple flecks both days of the tournament. “I had good boaters.”
Indeed, Campbell drew eventual No. 3 pro Chad Griffin on day one and No. 41 pro Gregory Reedy on day two. Today, Reedy realized he had little hope left and turned things over to Campbell – a move that won the co-angler the tournament.
“Gregory was struggling,” Campbell said. “He’s probably the best boater I ever had. I prefished four days, and I had been catching fish. Around noon, he asked me if I had any spots I wanted to fish. He took me there, and I finished out my limit and even culled one.”
Campbell caught most of his bass in 15 to 25 feet of water and says depth – and hydrilla – were the keys to his success.
“If you saw hydrilla on your graph and saw fish there, you could get them to bite,” he said.
Campbell is a TTT rookie who finished 23rd in the points race to earn a ticket to this weekend’s championship. This is his first TTT victory. His brother, Ricky Campbell, qualified for this event as a pro and finished 14th in that division.
Loitz takes a heartbreaking second
Though Campbell won it fair and square, it was hard not to feel for No. 2 Edwin Loitz after he’d sat on stage as the leader for nearly the entire weigh-in. However, the $2,000 he earned as the runner-up co-angler – plus $2,500 in Ranger contingency money – makes a nice consolation prize.
Loitz, a resident of Trinity, Texas, brought in 8 pounds, 5 ounces on day one to sit in the No. 4 spot. His day-two catch of 7-15 brought his two-day total to 16 pounds, 4 ounces and moved him up into the No. 2 position. He credits his partners – including winning pro Rob Burns on day one – with his high finish.
“On the first day, I threw a big crankbait all day,” he said. “It was kind of slow, but I caught some pretty nice fish. Today, I lucked out and caught that big fish at 7:30 in the morning, and I had to fight to get the little ones – fight all day.”
His big one weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce and was caught on a crankbait. Indeed, he reported using a DD-22 crankbait with a green back to bring in his bass the last two days. He also used plastics to catch the other two bass that he brought in today.
This is Loitz’s sixth season to fish the TTT and his third to fish it from the back of the boat. He entered the tournament by finishing the season ranked 32nd.
Rigby takes third
San Antonio’s Matt Rigby brought in 14 pounds, 9 ounces of bass over two days to take third place and $1,500. He also earned another $1,500 in Ranger contingency cash. Rigby was one of the success stories of day two, as he caught 10 pounds, 15 ounces today – in stark contrast to his day-one catch of 3 pounds, 10 ounces – to move 14 spots up the leaderboard and improve his earnings by more than $2,000.
“I just threw a lot of different baits – crankbaits, wacky worms,” Rigby said.
Rigby estimates his depth to have been between 12 and 18 feet of water and said today’s relative lack of wind contributed to his turnaround.
“When it was windy, it was harder to fish productively,” he said. “It was a lot better today.”
Rigby won the TTT’s season-opening event on Lake Amistad and finished 49th in year-end points to earn a trip to the championship.
Rest of the best
In fourth place is Jason Barton of Gatesville with a two-day catch of 13 pounds, 4 ounces. He earned $1,250 plus a $1,100 Ranger bonus. Taking fifth is Randy Brewer of Southlake with 12 pounds, 8 ounces over two days. He earned $1,000 plus $900 in Ranger contingency cash.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers at the TTT Championship:
6th: Sisto Salinas, Troy, Texas, four bass, 12 pounds, $750 plus $800 bonus
7th: Ronnie Bickham, New Boston, Texas, five bass, 12 pounds, $550 plus $750 bonus
8th: Jimmy Ballard, Powderly, Texas, six bass, 11-13, $400 plus $700 bonus
9th: Bill Rogers, Jasper, Texas, six bass, 11-4, $300 plus $650 bonus
10th: Mike Power, Canyon Lake, Texas, five bass, 11-3, $250 plus $600 bonus