Hults’ haul complete

The Hults family makes it a complete sweep at Eufaula

When the FLW Series event on Lake Eufaula concluded this afternoon, there were probably a few local tournament anglers glad to see the Hults brothers head home for Mississippi and not stick around to sample a few more local derbies over the next couple of weekends.

Because it seems like every time one of those Hults guys shows up at an FLW event on Lake Eufaula, he walks away with a pretty good chunk of the loot.

But this time the band of brothers pulled off the unthinkable: a complete Hults’ haul

Yesterday, Hults brothers Matt and Chris emptied the prize purse from the back of the boat, finishing first and second in the Co-angler Division.

And today, oldest brother Alan cracked the code from the front of the boat to win the Pro Division with a four-day total of 80 pounds, 2 ounces worth a total of $57,000 including Ranger Cup and Cabela’s bonuses.

In all, the four Hults Brothers, including Paul, who finished a respectable 13th in the Co-angler Division, hauled a combined total of 190 pounds, 12 ounces of bass from Lake Eufaula and left town with a total of about $90,000 in cash and prizes.

Today, however, the spotlight was on Alan, who stepped up from the Co-angler Division to fish the Pro Division for just this one tournament and walked away the winner.

Hults has won a total of six FLW events as a co-angler, two on Eufaula, but winning from the front made it that much sweeter this time around.

“It’s not about the money; it’s about winning,” Hults said after claiming victory. “It feels the same as winning any other tournament, except this time I was in the front of the boat fishing against some of the best pros in the country. And there is so much more pressure fishing from the front. You’re not just being hauled around fishing wherever the boat stops. Decisions are so much more critical, and you feel that pressure all day long. And one thing’s for sure – I’m exhausted. I’ve won multiple-day tournaments from the back of the boat before and have never been this tired. I’m ready to go to bed.”

Hults spent the entire tournament fishing a handful of spots near the mouth of Cowikee Creek. And though the water rose some 2 1/2 feet during the event, Hults never broke stride from his areas, hauling in limits of 24-1, 19-14, 19-5 and 16-14, respectively, over four days.

His primary lures the first three days included ChatterBaits, swim jigs and a Berkley Chigger Craw.



The ChatterBaits were 1/4- and 3/8-ounce models in black and blue, trimmed with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw and fished on 15- and 17-pound-test Trilene 100% fluorocarbon.

The first day, when the water was low, Hults noted that the moving baits like the ChatterBait and swim jig were the best. But as the water rose, he had trouble keeping big bass hooked up on the moving baits, so he had to go to flipping the Berkley Chigger Craw, which was rigged with a 3/8-ounce weight.

“By the third day, the rising water had flooded the banks, and a lot of floating scum and debris made it difficult to throw the moving baits, so I went almost totally to flipping the Chigger Craw,” he said.

Today, the high, muddy water had basically submerged most of Hults’ grassy banks, and he had to resort to an adjustment that won the tournament for him.

“Today, the water had come up so much that there was no more `bank,’ left,” he explained. “So I pulled out a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 in bull-bream color and started cranking some nearby riprap. I caught two 4-pounders doing that, and that’s what won the tournament for me.”

Thrift second

Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., finished second with a four-day total of 75 pounds, 1 ounce for $20,000.

Fresh off a top-five performance at the FLW Tour event at Table Rock, Thrift hit Eufaula with a ton of fishing confidence.

“I didn’t have a lot of practice time at Eufaula,” Thrift said. “But I committed my practice to graphing and side-scanning offshore areas, trying to find brush or stumps in those flats outside the spawning areas. I hardly spent any time practicing on the bank because I figured if I didn’t find anything offshore, I’d just burn the bank up during the tournament and catch them as I went.”

Thrift’s offshore time paid off. He found a handful of spots in 6 to 10 feet of water that produced his quality fish each day.

“During the tournament, I’d bounce back and forth between my offshore spots and the bank,” he said. “On the offshore places I’d throw a 1/2-ounce jig and a Rapala Shad Rap No. 7 in crawdad. And up on the bank I’d throw a ChatterBait and jig around docks and wood.

“The offshore places produced all my better quality fish during the week,” he added. “I usually started each day with a couple quality fish from offshore, and then I’d go to the bank to fill a limit.”

Monsoor third

Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., finished third with a four-day total of 73 pounds, 5 ounces worth $15,000.

Monsoor’s week centered on docks and lay-downs in the midlake area. He used his own custom-made 1/2-ounce spinnerbaits and 3/8-ounce swim jigs.

The spinnerbaits were white and chartreuse and beefed up with a Yamamoto grub trailer. The swim jigs were black and blue and trailed with a Zoom Super Speed craw. He fished both on 16-pound-test Sugoi fluorocarbon.

“With the water rising so fast like that, I targeted something a little more vertical, mostly docks, so the fish could move up on the cover with the rising water,” Monsoor said. “I slow-rolled that spinnerbait to a creep – slow was the key to get the bites.”

Pickett finishes fourth

Lloyd Pickett Jr. of Bartlett, Tenn., rigged his way into fourth place at Eufaula with a four-day total of 72-1 worth $10,000.



Pickett loves a Carolina rig, and he put on a rigging clinic at Eufaula this week.

In fact, Pickett used a Carolina rig in water as shallow as a foot around grass to catch bass in places where most guys were throwing ChatterBaits, swim jigs and Texas-rigged plastics.

“I use a rig even in shallow water,” Pickett explained. “I get greater casting distance so I can stay way off the fish; the big bullet weight gets the fish’s attention; and I think the hookups are a lot more secure.”

When rigging, Pickett used pretty standard stuff: a ¾-ounce lead weight, a 4- or 5-foot leader and either a Zoom Brush Hog or lizard.

Kenney rounds out the top five

J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., finished in fifth place with a four-day total of 63 pounds, 15 ounces worth $9,000.



Kenney spent the first couple of days keying on a primary spawning pocket with a Secret Lures jig teamed with a Gambler Flappin’ Daddy and a Senko. He believes the fish were coming in and setting up to spawn until the muddy, cold water hit and ruined his pocket.

But instead of rotting on that spot, Kenney pulled up the stakes and ran into Barbour Creek on the third day to cling on to his top-five qualification with a Lil’ Hustler spinnerbait fished around grass.

“I’m really kind of proud of myself for not dying on that primary area,” Kenney said. “Instead of sitting there trying to convince myself the fish were going to bite in that cold mud, I totally abandoned it and hatched a brand-new game plan on the fly, and it worked out.”