The incredible Hults
Mississippi co-angler dominates to claim Stren Southeast win on Eufaula
EUFAULA, Ala. – While a veteran was collecting a history-making fourth victory today on the pro side, a co-angler earned his very deserving first victory today at the Stren Series Southeast Division event on Lake Eufaula. Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., was the man to beat nearly all week, and he closed the deal today with a four-day, 15-bass catch weighing 42 pounds, 15 ounces.
It could be said that Hults won the tournament on day two, when he followed up his day-one catch of 13-9 with a limit weighing 16-3, opening up what proved to be an insurmountable 9-pound, 15-ounce lead in the Co-angler Division. A two-bass, 5-pound, 1-ounce stumble yesterday failed to dethrone him, and he entered the final day of a cumulative-weight tournament with a 6-pound, 12-ounce lead.
He went out in boat No. 1 this morning with day-three leader Jesse Draime and caught three bass weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces, handily defeating No. 2 Butch Zadlo, who brought in more than 16 pounds today, by exactly 6 pounds.
Don’t take that to mean Hults coasted by on his big day-two lead. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
“I knew I couldn’t just sit on the lead,” he said. “I picked up a trick worm and caught that small fish. I caught another one and then a 3-pounder, and I still didn’t think that was enough.”
Hults’ confidence also wavered when he had to throw back a fish right before check-in because it was too short by only a hair. He may have had visions of last year’s Stren Southeast tournament here, when he lost a 10-pounder on the third day.
“That hurt,” he said. “I wanted revenge.”
Well, he got it, using different baits every day – “whatever looked good at the time” – to claim his victory. His arsenal included crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps and jerkbaits. Unfortunately, he lost two baits this morning that took the wind out of his sails.
“Before 8 o’clock, I lost the two baits that I caught the biggest fish on all week,” he said. “That kind of got me down. We were flipping all day. I caught two on a Zoom Trick Worm and one on a Paca Craw.”
This was Hults’ fourth Stren Series top-10 finish, though he has several in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and one on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. He has one BFL win to his credit, but today marks the first time he has ever crossed that threshold in the Stren Series.
“I’ve been close several times,” he said, adding that he has zero plans to ever go pro. “I was worried it wasn’t going to happen. The pressure’s off.”
Hults has been newsworthy this week not just for his big leads but also because he was joined in the top 10 by his brother Chris, who ultimately finished fourth. Last season, Alan Hults finished second in the Southeast Division points standings behind their other brother Matt. Alan is currently fourth in Southeast co-angler standings.
For the win, he earned $5,000 plus a brand-new Ranger boat and trailer.
Zadlo brings in huge catch, moves to second
Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C., outfished every co-angler and even most pros today, bringing in a limit weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces, but it was still not enough to topple Alan Hults. His valiant effort, though, paid off with a No. 2 finish and a check for $3,947.
Zadlo has fished a very back-and-forth tournament this week, catching only 2-9 on day one but following that up with 13-6 on day two. He fell back on day three, catching only one worth 2-9, but trumped them all today with his 16-7 haul that brought his four-day total to 36-15.
“I had a great tournament,” he said. “I fished hard and probably caught 12 fish today. They practically jumped in the boat.”
Zadlo fished from the back of pro Chad Prough’s rig today, and the hydrilla they found was absolutely loaded with spawning bass.
“The bass were staging in there,” he said. “The hydrilla was the key.”
He was catching his bass on a brand-new Lucky Craft 1.5 crankbait, and by the end of the day, it definitely looked road-tested.
“You can see the scratches,” he said. “It got beat up.”
With his big catch today, Zadlo jumped from ninth to second.
With one bass, Roberts takes third
Like Zadlo, Donald Roberts’ fishing has been all over the map this week, and like Hults, it was likely his phenomenal day two that handed him a top-tier tournament finish.
FRoberts caught 1-15 on day one but brought in the heaviest bass of the tournament on day two, an 8-pound, 9-ouncer that was part of a 15-pound, 5-ounce catch. His 10-pound, 3-ounce catch on day four further solidified his position, so much that his day-four, one-bass, 2-pound catch dropped him only one place in the standings. The Riverside, Ala., co-angler took third place with a four-day total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 1 ounce, worth $3,207.
“The first day we weren’t around that many fish,” Roberts said. “The second day, I had the 8-pounder in the first 15 minutes. Today, I fished with Todd Auten, and he was flipping a ChatterBait under docks.”
Roberts employed a ChatterBait lookalike – the Gambler Swimbait – and earned himself enough points today to land in the top 20 in Southeast Division co-angler rankings. This is not the first time he has finished in the final round this season – he also finished third at Lake Seminole. This is his first year to fish the Stren Series.
Hults, Saucerman round out top five
Taking fourth place is Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss., with a four-day catch of 29 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $2,467.
“It’s been great,” Hults said. “I’ve drawn excellent pros, and they all got me around fish. I was fortunate to catch a few.”
Hults fished with pro winner Koby Kreiger today, and Kreiger had some kind words to say about Hults on stage.
“Chris was excellent,” Kreiger said. “He calmed me down and said, `Don’t worry about me.'”
Behind Hults in fifth is 22-year-old college student Adam Saucerman of Mill Creek, W.Va., with a four-day catch weighing 29 pounds, 2 ounces, good for $1,974.
“It was incredible,” Saucerman said of his Eufaula experience. “The first two days I was just grinding. The third day, about 1:30, things just lit up. I caught them all on a crankbait I bought at Wal-Mart the night before. It saved my butt this tournament.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on Lake Eufaula:
6th: Rob Boyer, Lawrenceville, Ga., 11 bass, 28-5
7th: Kyle Shirley, Huntsville, Ala., six bass, 24-3
8th: Joe Buchanan, Abbeville, Ala., seven bass, 23-3
9th: Wayne Frierson, Manning, S.C., nine bass, 22-9
10th: Robert Mulleins, Cumberland, Va., 10 bass, 22-6
Coming up
The next Stren Series event is a Central Division contest at Lake Amistad near Del Rio, Texas, March 21-24.
The next Southeast Division tournament is the fourth and last event of the season. It will be held at the Santee Cooper lakes near Manning, S.C., April 11-14.