Hults wins co-angler title, $5,000
EUFAULA, Ala. (March 15, 2008) – Pro Randall Tharp of Gardendale, Ala., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the Stren Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Eufaula with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 64-03. For his victory, Tharp earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 198VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha. He also earned $4,500 in Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha bonuses for a total of $69,500 in winnings.
“The first two days, I swam a white jig around shallow grass on the lower end of the lake,” Tharp said. “When the sun came out, I went sight fishing and found some fish on the ledge and caught them on a green-pumpkin Zoom Critter Crawl and a watermelon seed lizard.”
Tharp changed his plan on Friday and Saturday when the weather changed.
“The wind blew, so I went up the river and swam a white jig the whole time, and I caught my better fish up there the last two days.”
Tharp opened the tournament in 29th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 13-08. On Thursday he climbed to 13th place by adding another five bass weighing 15-10. He then caught five bass weighing 17-10 Friday to make the crucial top-10 cut in fourth place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala. (20 bass, 62-05, $9,299 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Rodger Beaver of Dawson, Ga. (20 bass, 59-09, $8,370); Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (20 bass, 58-11, $7,439); and Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge, Ga. (17 bass, 55-04, $6,509).
Mike Todd of Norman, Okla. caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – a 9-pound, 7-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $280.
Overall there were 41 bass weighing 104 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included five five-bass limits.
Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $5,000, including a 198VX Ranger boat, with a four-day total of 19 bass weighing 48-10.
“I got lucky and pulled it out,” said Hults, who won the Co-angler Division of the 2007 Stren Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Eufaula. “Two years ago, I got third place here in the Stren, and last year, I won it here and did the same thing again this year. Eufaula is definitely my favorite place to fish.”
Admittedly nervous, Hults only had three fish before early afternoon, but he managed to pull in two more between 2:15 and 2:25 p.m. He caught three on a ChatterBait and two on a jig.
Hults caught five bass weighing 10-15 Wednesday while fishing with pro Richard Stevens of Galatia, Ill., to open the tournament in 11th place. He then caught four bass weighing 8-01 Thursday while fishing with pro Ira Forehand of Wewahitchka, Fla., to get to eighth place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 15-13 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing shallow water with crankbaits, jigs and ChatterBaits with pro Ron Wolfarth of Locust, N.C. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a five-bass catch weighing 13-13 while fishing with pro Travis Adams of Danielsville, Ga.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Matt Smith of Southport, Fla. (15 bass, 41-05, $3,779); Johnny Pittman of Somerville, Ala. (18 bass, 41-00, $3,071); Jay Fagan of Mableton, Ga. (17 bass, 35-15, $2,362); and Daniel Beckham of Lake City, Fla. (12 bass, 33-11, $1,891).
Kerry Partain of Elberton, Ga., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $142.
Overall there were 23 bass weighing 56 pounds caught by 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included two five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Southeast Division event, hosted by Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, will be held April 16-19 on Santee Cooper Lakes in Manning, S.C. Boats will launch from John C. Land III Landing in Summerton and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 2010 Paxville Highway in Manning.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour®, Wal-Mart FLW Series®, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League® and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
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The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
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