DENISON, Texas (May 14, 2011) – Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Texas Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Texoma with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 44 pounds even. For his victory, Tutt earned $26,722 and a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
“I tried to catch them on a spinnerbait all week but just couldn’t do it,” said Tutt. “I threw a Gambler Giggy Head and got a lot of bites. On day two, the wind blew into my area and I had four bites and caught three and thought I had blown it.
“And today I went to a little area that I had fished and caught one small keeper,” continued Tutt. “I told myself I was already in the top 10 and that is the hard part and I got a chance to win, so I picked up the shaky head and went to brand new water. I pulled into a little pocket and all four of my fish were within 20 feet of the area and I fortunately caught them all.
“The money is awfully nice, of course, but the win is cool,” added Tutt, who won his first event since 2002. “It is so hard to win one of these things with so many good fishermen out there. It is really cool because my wife and my dad came up to see me weigh-in and it means a lot. I am very fortunate.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are:
2nd: Gary Vining, Morgan City, La., 15 bass, 40-2, $9,162
3rd: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 12 bass, 40-0, $7,635
4th: Don McFarlin, Gordonville, Texas, 15 bass, 33-11, $6,871
5th: Jerrel Pringle, Hemphill, Texas, 14 bass, 32-4, $6,108
6th: Charles Bebber, Willis, Texas, 13 bass, 31-7, $5,344
7th: Ryan Lovelace, Denison, Texas, 13 bass, 29-6, $4,581
8th: Todd Thomas, Fouke, Ark., 12 bass, 26-10, $3,817
9th: David Mauldin, Round Rock, Texas, 13 bass, 26-2, $3,054
10th: Landan Ware, Jewett, Texas, nine bass, 25-6, $2,290
Jeremy Guidry of Opelousas, La., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $200.
Daren Scott of Fort Worth, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 21 pound, 15 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
2nd: Gregg Swindle, Katy, Texas, eight bass, 18-14, $3,652
3rd: Brett Rachal, Monroe, La., 10 bass, 18-11, $3,246
4th: Russell Lohman, Pineville, La., seven bass, 16-10, $2,841
5th: Kenny Moser, Alba, Texas, six bass, 15-6, $2,435
6th: Bill Fussell, Thibdaux, La., six bass, 15-6, $2,029
7th: Stephen Francis, Brookeland, Texas, seven bass, 15-3, $1,623
8th: Lat Nichols, Deport, Texas, seven bass, 14-7, $1,217
9th: Trevor Rogge, San Antonio, Texas, six bass, 14-6, $812
10th: Aaron Towner, Anna, Texas, seven bass, 13-8, $649
Johnny Manning caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $133.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.
This was the fourth and final tournament of the Texas Division and the top 40 pros and co-anglers from the final point standings have qualified for the EverStart Series Championship.