GO FISH! With Toyota at the TTBC

Frisco, TX – 53-year-old Matt Herren of Ashville, Alabama, held onto a very slim lead on the final day of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC) to bring home the bacon at the end of the 3-day tournament. Herren’s 3 day total of 51 lbs, 12 oz. was only 8 ounces more than second place finisher Bryan Thrift. But it was enough to take the win.

The bacon, in this case, was a $100,000 cash prize, a Nitro Z20 boat with dual Power-Poles, and maybe most importantly, his first professional level win since 2007 when he took home the $100,000 prize at the FLW at Lake Dardanelle.

Meanwhile, Chris Zaldain, an Elite Series pro from California, who was also the leader after Day 1, caught the biggest bass on Friday that was the heaviest of the tournament. It won him the Big Bass Award of the tournament and its prize of a 2016 Toyota Tundra truck.

Overall, there were 38 entrants in the tournament field this past weekend.

The top 15 anglers in the 2015 Bassmaster Elites Series and FLW Tour angler of the year standings were eligible to fish on Lake Ray Roberts in the TTBC, which is a benefit tournament for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (TPWD). Eight additional top-flight anglers were granted exemptions to fish in the event.

The Toyota Texas Fest (and the TTBC, which is part of that event,) is a fund-raiser for the TPWD. In 10 years, it has contributed $2.5 million to the department, which has used that money to support youth fishing and urban outreach programs across the state of Texas.