Miller & Moore Finish Second, Miller & Stephens take Third
Many, LA (June 9, 2024) – Renowned for their success all over and especially in East-Texas anglers Stephen Johnson and Tim Reneau are the 2024 Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Texas Team Trail presented by Progressive Champions! After two days on competition against the Top-75 teams in Progressive Team of the Year points, the team finished the two-day tournament with 57-11 pounds to include a final day five limit of 30-03 pounds in their Rapala ‘Crush City’ weigh in bag on day day two.
“What an exciting week, and an exciting way to end the year for Texas Team Trail”, said Mercury angler Stephen Johnston. “This is the best lake in the country, and our history here paid off again”
The team reported staying deep throughout the entire event, hitting 15-20 spots each day, and over the course of two days caught over 100 keepers.
“This week was all about the deep diving crankbaits and a prototype jig that Tim is working on that will be available in a few weeks. We primarily caught our fish on Strike King 6XDs, 10XDs, a 6th Sense 300DD, and then we never left a spot without tossing the jig in there. It really made a difference on a few bites that anchored our bags both days”.
For winning the event, Stephen and Tim walked away with a new 2024 Nitro Z-18 with Mercury 150 Pro XS motor and Angler’s Advantage cash, totaling $44,663.00 in cash & prizes. Thanks to the win, the team ended the year finishing 8th in the 2024 Progressive Team of the Year race.
Miller & Moore End in Second
Colby Miller & Cole Moore ended their tournament in the runner-up position with a two-day total of 51-12. The young Texas team takes home $5,565.00 in cash.
“This week was a great time on our home pond, slept in on our own bed, and fish a major championship event like this,” said Colby. “This tournament organization really is becoming one of the best in the state. Texas Team Trail had the best schedule this year, the schedule next year looks absolutely amazing, and with the chance to win a boat at every event, and for [Progressive] Team of the Year you just can’t beat it for guys like us. Just want to thank you parents, friends, family, and everyone that kept us on the water all year”.
The team reported catching all of their fish on an Epic Baits jigs out deep between 15-25 feet of water. The team also finish 13th in 2024 Progressive Team of the Year points.
Miller & Stephens Round Out the Top-3
Rusty Miller & Ricky Stephens rounded out the Top-3 of the 2024 TXTT Championship with a total weight of 51-10.
“Crankbait and a Jig is how we did our damage all week, pretty much the son-and-dance in June of the Bend”, said Miller. “Our practice went really really solid, and after catching close to a 10 pounder the first day in practice, we just had a good feeling about the week”.
Finishing second in the championship this week helped the team finish 5th in TXTT Progressive Team of the Year points.
The team caught their fish using Strike King 10XD crankbaits and a V&M football head jig. One key that the team reported put more fish in the boat this week was switching the standard crankbait hooks out with Gamakatsu EWG treble hooks.
Rest of the Top-10
- JOSHUA RODGERS & CASEY BURLEIGH 49-05
- HUNTER MUNCRIEF & JD CLARKE 46-11
- LARRY BYRD & JOHN DURIO JR 45-13
- RUSSELL CECIL & TODD 44-06
- CALAN CAMERON & JAKE INDERMAN 41-02
- WILL CARSTENS & ROSS BRYANT 41-00
- MIKE PHARR & JEFF WALLACE 40-15
The Texas Team Trail also wrapped up the Progressive Team of the Year Race which was won by Brian Schott & Jim Smith. They won a 2024 Ranger Z-518 with a Mercury 150 Pro XS . Finishing in 2nd is Shane Howell & Jeff Reynolds, 3rd went to Danny Iles & Brian Shook
We will do a complete story on this early in the coming week to highlight all the teams that won prizes in the Progressive Team of the Year Race as well as highlight what’s ahead in 2025.
Some of the other great contingency and award programs the Texas Team Trail offers is the Power-Pole Big Bass goes to the team of Hunter Muncrief & JD Clarke with a 10-04! This giant bass helped anchor their 5th place finish in the championship.
Garmin contingency winner was Russell Cecil, $300 for having exclusive Garmin graphs and $200 for having a Garmin Force Trolling motor. Russell and his partner Todd Castledine finished in 7th in the Texas Team Trail Championship.
Full results can be found through the link here.
For more information about Texas Team Trail, including sponsor incentives, official tournament results and photos, visit TexasTeamTrail.com. Be sure to subscribe to the e-newsletter to receive all of the up-to-date news and announcements.
About Texas Team Trail
Texas Team Trail is a part of the Outdoor Team Works family of fishing tournaments. The OTW brand offers a wide range of fishing events from professional tournaments to grassroots fishing derbies. All events are supported by some of the top companies in the nation and include on-site activation and activities, as well as extensive media support. For additional live updates and information, follow TXTT on Facebook and Instagram
2024 Proud Sponsors
Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Progressive, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Aftco, Garmin, Power-Pole, TH Marine, Sunline, Gamakatsu, VMC, Rapala ‘Crush City”