NORMAN, Okla. (Oct. 14, 2013) – Bill Wilcox, of Burleson, Texas, and Gib Coats, of Fort Worth, Texas, brought 48.56 pounds of bass to the scales to win the two-day championship tournament of the Texas Team Trail (TXTT) on Oct. 13 at Falcon Lake. The winning anglers took home a brand new, fully rigged Ranger Z119C boat powered by an Evinrude outboard, valued at $45,000.
Running 25 miles to the lower end of Falcon Lake, the anglers concentrated in a feeder creek with chatterbaits and soft plastic trailers.
“We had a decent game plan and stuck to it,” said Wilcox. “We managed our fish real well. I felt like we could have had a lot bigger stringer the first day, but with a multi-day event, you don’t want to catch all your fish the first day.”
With a 20-pound limit by 9:30 a.m., the anglers moved to several different locations to try and upgrade their weight.
“We went to similar areas where we knew we could get a few bites,” said Wilcox. “We upgraded three times to get to 24.51 pounds. I knew that somewhere in the mid-twenties would be real respectable.”
Starting the final day in second place, the anglers returned to their most productive spot.
“It was a little feeder creek that had a couple sub-feeder creeks in the back of it,” said Wilcox. “With the lake coming up six feet in the last month, there was a lot of new growth along the edges. In one particular stretch, it was about four and a half feet deep, which seemed a key area for where we caught our big fish. “
Staying at that location all day proved vital to their win. With baitfish pushed up into the shallow water, the anglers waited for the bass to come to the edges and feed.
“I felt like it reloaded,” said Wilcox. “The fish were up in that shallow water but you couldn’t reach them. You just got to wait them out until they come out to the edge of the creek.”
Second-place finishers Mark Mueck, of Livingston, Texas, and David Curtis, of Trinity, Texas, weighed 47.45 pounds of bass to take home a new fully rigged Ranger Z118C boat powered by a 150hp Evinrude – which was upgraded to a Ranger Z119C as a result of their participation in the Ranger Cup contingency program, providing nearly $5,000 added value. In addition, the duo took home $1,000 Cabela’s “Angler Cash” contingency and another $1,178 from their participation in the Angler’s Advantage program.
With three top-five finishes, including a TXTT win at Belton Lake, Mueck and Curtis also won the TXTT Team of the Year. The anglers will receive custom Lucas Oil rings and paid entry fees for the 2014 season.
Dean Golmon, of Georgetown, Texas, and Jayson Kisselburg, of Jarrell, Texas, took home the $1,984 for their efforts. Running only one half mile to creeks near the river channel, the anglers did well despite their inexperience on Falcon Lake.
“The wind pushed the shad shallow, but it helped our spinner bait bite,” said Golmon. “This was only our second trip to Falcon so we were very pleased with our performance.”