Hurst so good!

Co-angler winner Tim Hurst (left) collects his $170,000 check from Ranger Boats founder and proud host of the Ranger M1 Forrest L. Wood (right). Photo by Jeff Schroeder. Angler: Tim Hurst.

March 1, 2002 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Alabama native wins Rangler M1 Co-angler Division title by slimmest of margins

MOBILE, Ala. – In the rarified air of professional tournament bass fishing, the old cliche is that every ounce is crucial. Well, in this case, it was just that. Using a four-fish catch of 7 pounds, 9 ounces, Tim Hurst of Oxford, Ala., fought back a late charge from fellow competitor David Millsaps to capture first place and a check for $170,000 in the Co-angler Division at the 2002 Ranger M1 competition on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta … by a mere 1 ounce.

In the closest finish ever in the storied history of Ranger M1 competition, Hurst made a miraculous comeback of his own. With no fish in his livewell with less than an hour remaining in the competition, Hurst managed to haul in four fish in a little less than 45 minutes, just enough to squeak by Millsaps.

“It feels great,” said Hurst, who has never won more than $4,000 in a bass tournament in his life. “When I came back to the weigh-in, I knew that I’d probably be in the top five. But you’re never quite sure if you have enough to win.”

Hurst, who regularly fishes the Bama Division of the Wal-Mart BFL Tour, said that he isn’t quite sure what he will ultimately do with the largest single payday of his career.

“My wife probably will want to take a cruise,” said Hurst, owner of a Glass Doctor automotive glass repair franchise back in Oxford. “But I was thinking about taking a trip to Mexico to go fishing.”

Hurst, 34, caught all of his fish on a Bandit 200-series red crankbait.

So close, yet so far

When David Millsaps of Woodstock, Ga., walked onto the weigh-in stage, he knew that he had only one fish to try and defeat Hurst’s 7-pound, 9-ounce stringer. However, Millsaps also knew one thing that no one else knew at the time – that the lone fish in his bag was undoubtedly the largest bass caught during the entire tournament. As the crowd watched in nervous anticipation, the fish was placed on the scales. In the end, however, it turned out that Millsaps’ 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth bass just wasn’t large enough.

Although Millsaps could have been excused for feeling somewhat bitter about losing $108,000 over 1 ounce of fish, the Georgia native appeared to take the disappointment in stride.

“I’ll be fine,” said Millsaps, shortly after the final weigh-in had concluded. “Am I okay with second place? I’ve got to be, right?”

Softening the blow, somewhat, was the reality that Millsaps second-place finish came with a check for $62,000.

“I thought I would probably get second place when I came off the water, so overall, I’m pretty happy,” said Millsaps. “It was a super tournament. The people were great. And I’m still grinning. This whole tournament was beyond all of my expectations.”

Deal him into the mix

Despite a gutsy performance, day-two leader Ryan Deal of Haubstadt, Ind., ultimately had to settle for third place. Deal, whose parents made an 11-hour trek from Indiana to see their son compete in the finals, took home a check for $25,000 after landing a 6-pound, 14-ounce catch.

“When I found out my parents were coming, I knew I had to catch some fish,” Deal said.

Fourth place and a check for $14,500 went to Shannon Devere of Berea, Ky., who landed a catch of 5 pounds, 3 ounces while John Howard of Alexander City, Ala., took fifth place with a catch of 3 pounds, 11 ounces. Howard won $10,000 for his efforts.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 were Art Smith (sixth) of Hector, Minn., with a catch of 3 pounds, 8 ounces; Jeff Hahn (seventh) of Atwater, Ohio, with a catch of 2 pounds, 12 ounces; Joseph Picha (eighth) of New Prague, Minn., with a catch of 2 pounds, 9 ounces; Ron Moake (ninth) of Columbia City, Ind., with a catch of 2 pounds, 6 ounces; and Bill Boyett (tenth) of Willis, Texas, with a catch of 1 pound, 2 ounces.

Tomorrow’s final takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. at Chocolotta Bay Marina, located 2 miles east of downtown Mobile, Ala., near Hwy 90/98 at the Causeway Crossing.