Hults wins Co-angler Division of FLW Series on Lake Eufaula

Home cooking keeps Eufaula co-angler titles ‘all in the family’

EUFAULA, Ala. – Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss., won the Co-angler Division of the Walmart FLW Series on Lake Eufaula with a three-day total of 44 pounds, 2 ounces to claim $20,000 in winnings.

Now, if the name Hults sounds familiar in the win column of the Co-angler Division on Lake Eufaula, that’s understandable. Chris’ older brother, Alan Hults, has won the last two Stren Series events on Lake Eufaula from the back of the boat.

But this time it was little brother’s turn in the BP Eastern Division event, and now the two brothers together have won three co-angler titles in a row on Eufaula. Oh, and as a sidebar, big brother did pretty well this week, too, finishing eighth and collecting $2,500.

Clearly, these boys have something figured out here and have turned it into a small monopoly.

“Basically it boils down to this lake fishing just like our waters back home in Mississippi,” the victorious Hults said. “The lures, the presentations, the way the fish set up in the shallow grass – it’s all identical to fishing at home.”

During the week, Hults fished with pros Matthew Wilbanks, Jonathan Newton and Tim McDonald for limits weighing 11-15, 14-5 and 17-14, respectively.

“Alan and I did not practice,” Hults said. “It’s so similar to home, and he has won here twice, so we pretty much knew what to do. I caught most of my fish on a black-and-blue jig, a spinnerbait and a green-pumpkin Brush Hog.”

Hults added that his winnings would most likely go to the purchase of a new Ranger boat.

Peek second

Tim Peek of Sharpsburg, Ga., finished second with three-day total of 40 pounds, 2 ounces.

Peek is no stranger to Eufaula, either. In fact, he won a Stren Series event here in 2005 as pro.

Peek would have liked to have fished as a pro in this FLW Series, but the entry fee was a little on the steep side for his taste, so he opted to fish as a co-angler instead, which was not a bad idea since he collected $10,000 for his finish.

“I practiced all four days and fished as much of the lake as I possibly could,” Peek said. “In fact, during the tournament, every place my pro went to, I knew where the sweets spots already were.”

Peek took advantage of his local knowledge with catches of 16-11 on day one and 17-5 on day two.

“Most of the week I used spinnerbaits and swim jigs,” Peek said. “The swim jigs were 3/8 ounce and the spinnerbaits were 1/2 and 3/8 ounce. I had four different spinnerbaits rigged up to match the water clarity, depth and grass we were fishing.”

Today Peek brought just one fish to the scales: a 6-pound, 2-ounce monster. And if there is any consolation to his one-fish catch that left him short of victory, it was that his bass was the Folgers Big Bass of the day in the Co-angler Division, earning him an extra $333.

Thurlow third

Chuck Thurlow of Auburn, Ala., finished third with a three-day total of 38 pounds, 8 ounces worth $7,500.

Thurlow spent the week fishing with a Zoom Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm, June bug in color, rigged on 3/8- and 3/16-ounce weights.

“I used the lighter weight for shallower grass and the heavier 3/8-ounce when we fished the outsides of the grass in deeper water,” Thurlow said. “The key for me was to pitch the worm into holes in the grass and swim it up to targets and stop it. I think most of the fish I caught on the worm were spawning bass; they were still on beds even though it was so muddy.”

Snavely, Stevenson round out top five

Derrick Snavely of Rogersville, Tenn., finished fourth with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 15 ounces worth $5,000.

Charles Stevenson of Albany, Ga., finished fifth with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 11 ounces, worth $4,000.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the FLW Series on Lake Eufaula:

6th: Micah Frazier of Newnan, Ga., three-day total of 33-6, $3,500

7th: Bob Blackerby of Chelsea, Ala., three-day total of 33-5, $3,000

8th: Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., three-day total of 32-15, $2,500

9th: Ryan Kidd of Wetumpka, Ala., three-day total of 32-5, $2,000

10th: Rick Barham of Southaven, Miss., three-day total of 31-12, $1,500