Texas Team Trail Opens 2015 Season Saturday With Expanded Field, Outstanding Payouts
The Texas Team Trail, which already has the highest team tournament payouts in the State of Texas, kicks off the 2015 tournament season Saturday at Lake Sam Rayburn bigger and better than ever before, said Tournament Director Mike Hastings.
“We are building on great momentum and we are super excited about this year,” Hastings said. “We have revised our field size to accommodate more anglers. Now we consider a full field to be 250 teams and we fully expect to have 250 teams at our first event on Sam Rayburn.”
Hastings said more than 200 teams had already pre-registered by the first of the week for the series which has tremendous sponsorship and an outstanding payback.
“Like always, since year one, a fully-rigged boat is guaranteed for first place at every qualifying event and two boats will be awarded at the championship – one for first place and one for second place,” he said. “The optional Angler Advantage side pot is also 100 percent guaranteed.”
Hastings said all the bonus programs are still in place, including Ranger, Triton, Stratos, Mercury and Evinrude.
“There are a lot of ways to win. You can finish as far down as 50th place and if you are eligible for the Ranger Bonus, for instance, you can still get a check. Our payout is over 100 percent and we literally have the best payback out there.”
“We are excited, we are expecting a big tournament, a full field, and hopefully a whole bunch of fish caught Saturday,” Hastings said. “Rayburn offers the potential for some really huge sacks this time of year. Two weeks ago it took over 35 pounds for five fish to win a tournament, so we are expecting a lot of fish to be caught – a lot of quality fish to be caught.”
Typically this time of year, he said, most anglers will pattern the fish in the hydrilla, either on the edges or back inside the grass.
“The hydrilla is in good shaped this year on Rayburn,” he said. “There are a lot of different ways to catch them. Some of the staples include lipless crankbaits, Chatterbaits and swim jigs.”
Teams pay a one-time membership fee of $30 and then pay $250 entry fees for regular season tournaments. The 2015 schedule includes: Jan. 31, Sam Rayburn, Umphrey Family Pavilion (registration 3-6 p.m. Friday at Umphrey Pavilion); Feb. 21, Toledo Bend, Cypress Bend Park; March 28, Lake Ray Roberts, Elk’s Lodge/ray Roberts Marina; and April 25, Lake Texoma, Highport Marina; with the championship June 13 on Lake Palestine, The Villages.
Texas Team Trail
Sat, Jan 31, 2015
Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Umphrey Family Pavilion
Call (210) 788-4143
