Welcome to the Hults Show
Fishing family from Mississippi dominates at Eufaula – again
EUFAULA, Ala. – In the day-one tournament story on the FLW Series Eastern event on Lake Eufaula on FLWOutdoors.com, there were several references to the Hults fishing family from Mississippi and how the tournament leaderboard would eventually be blanketed with the Hults name.
Well, it only took two days for all four Hults brothers to stake their claim in the top 10. So, taking it from the top, we have Alan Hults leading in the Pro Division with a two-day total of 43-15. Matt Hults is leading the Co-angler Division with 36-1. Chris Hults is in third place in the Co-angler Division with 25-9. And, finally, Paul Hults is in 10th place in the Co-angler Division with 21-4.
In just two days, the Hults brothers have hauled roughly 126 pounds of bass out of Lake Eufaula.
Coincidence? Beginners luck? Hardly.
Before this week began, the Hults’ reputation on Eufaula was pretty impressive. As co-anglers on Eufaula, Alan has won two American Fishing Series events and Chris won the FLW Series title last year.
Maybe these guys should open up a guide business here.
So you want to know the Hults’ secret fishing locations?
“Anywhere near a boat ramp,” joked Alan, after taking the Pro Division lead today. “For years we came here as family and fished the Strens (now the American Fishing Series). We were always short on time during practice, so we would just put the boat in at any of the ramps over here on the Alabama side, put the trolling motor down and just go fishing. We hardly ever even cranked the big motor. We’d just start fishing as soon as we could, and over the years we’ve learned a lot about these Eufaula bass during the springtime. I’m fishing the same locations and same baits – jigs, Chigger Craws and ChatterBaits – that we’ve used for years over here.”
Lake Eufaula threw anglers a curve ball today when the water shot up about a foot in elevation compared to yesterday. The sudden influx of water cooled water temperatures and scattered the bass, making the bite a lot different than day one.
But on the plus side: Sunny skies brought air temps into the mid-70s in Alabama today.
Many pros noted that they got fewer bites today, and the bites they did get were really weird in that they would get a bite, but the hookset produced nothing.
“They really started just nipping or pushing the bait today,” said Hults, who added 19-14 to his day-one weight of 24-1. “I don’t know if the rising, muddy water made it where they couldn’t see the bait as well or what. But they were definitely not eating it as well. Yesterday, every lure was down their throats; today, they would just nip it, and it took several casts to catch them. I did a lot more flipping today – it took more deliberate and multiple presentations to get the bites.”
Cox 7 ounces behind
In second place is John Cox of Debary, Fla., with a two-day total of 43-8. Cox added 16-11 to his leading weight of 26-13 from day one.
Cox, too, got a lot of bites today, but could not connect.
“I probably had 20 bites today – some big ones, too – but it’s like they were hitting it with their mouth closed,” Cox said. “It’s so frustrating. I don’t know why they’ve started doing that. It has something to do with the water coming up. The bad news is I could not hook them today; the good news is there are still plenty of fish in my areas if I can figure out how to catch them.”
Cox says that if he makes it to the final day, he is going south to sight-fish.
“I’ve been fishing way up north,” Cox added. “But the fish are just hours away from locking down on beds here. If it stays warm and I make it to Saturday, I’ll take a big gamble, run way south and just look for sight-fish all day.”
Pickett moves to third
Lloyd Pickett Jr. of Bartlett, Tenn., jumped into the third-place position today with a 22-7 catch that added nicely to his 20-12 from day one for a two-day total of 43-3.
For those who know Pickett, you guessed it: He’s dragging a Carolina rig for his big catches.
“This lake is unreal,” Pickett said. “During practice, I had the best fishing day I’ve ever had. I probably caught 36 or 37 pounds. I’ve never caught so many consecutive big bass in one day in my life.”
Pickett is rigging a couple of deep drops, from 5 to 27 feet. But most of his rigging spots are smaller drops in the 1- to 7-foot range.
“On this lake, I’ve always felt like the bigger females feel more comfortable on some kind of vertical drop, especially when the water is going up and down,” Pickett added. “Bucks will get up on those skinny flats because they’re fearless. But those females like the security of a little deeper water.”
Thrift fourth
Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., holds down the fourth-place spot with a two-day total of 39-10.
Thrift has been plucking a few quality fish off several offshore staging spots each morning; then he burns the bank to fill his limit.
“I’ve got a couple places out on the main river channel and then a couple places back in creeks that have a little brush or something in those staging drains,” Thrift said. “After I catch a couple doing that, I hit the bank with a vibrating jig to finish my limit. So far that plan has worked. But tomorrow I might start the day burning up my banks and then go out offshore later in the day.”
Kreiger fifth
Despite being one shy of the limit today, Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 39-6.
Some might presume that Kreiger is sight-fishing, but he claims that’s not the case.
“I caught everything on a ChatterBait today,” Kreiger said. “I went to a couple of pockets and looked around, thinking I was going to see them swimming around, but they’re not quite there yet. I found some 64-degree water this afternoon, but I think the water is going to have to stabilize some before they really start making beds.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros in the FLW Series Eastern Division after day two:
6th: Derek Hick of Rocky Face, Ga., two-day total of 39-2
7th J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., two-day total of 38-1
8th Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala., two-day total of 37-13
9th Chuck Howard of Elloree, S.C., two-day total of 37-13
10th Rodger Beaver of Dawson, Ga., two-day total of 36-15
Hults leads co-anglers
As mentioned earlier, Matt Hults is leading the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 36-1. He now enjoys a 10-pound lead going into the final day.
Today, Hults fished with David Fritts, the crankbait king. And though Hults would have rather been on the bank fishing shallow, he had little problem adapting to Fritts’ cranking pattern.
“I just threw a Carolina rig and crankbait behind him,” Hults said of his day.
Rest of the best
William Ranquist Jr. of Park Ridge, Ill., is in second place with a two-day total of 26-3.
Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss., is in third place with a two-day total of 25-9.
Kurtis Michaux of Clermont, Fla., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 25-6.
George Kapiton of Inverness, Fla., rounds out the top five co-anglers with 25-3.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the FLW Series Eastern Division after day two:
6th: T.R. Fuller of Auburn, Ala., two-day total of 24-5
7th Gene Bishop of Madison, Miss., two-day total of 23-7
8th: Wayne Hauser of Mooresville, N.C., two-day total of 23-1
9th: Dean Tucker of Hiawassee, Ga., two-day total of 23-1
10th: Paul Hults of Gautier, Miss., two-day total of 21-4
The day-three takeoff of the FLW Series event on Lake Eufaula begins Friday at 7 a.m.