BROOKELAND, Texas – Tallying an even 34 pounds for three days of fishing, Phillip Hudnall got the win on the co-angler side in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division event at Sam Rayburn. For the win, Hudnall takes home a Phoenix Boats package valued at $33,500 as well as a berth in the Toyota Series Championship this fall. The win is Hudnall’s first with MLF, after fishing 47 events over more than 20 years, and he roared up from ninth place to do it, sacking up 14-12 on the final day when no other co-angler broke the 10-pound mark. Finishing second, Justin Swayze totaled up 32-1 on the week, and David Bozarth finished third with 29-1.
Throwing a Carolina rig on Day 1, Hudnall only managed three fish, but limits on Day 2 and Day 3 earned him the win. On Day 2, he used an umbrella rig with 3.3-inch Keitech Swing Impact FAT swimbaits, and on the final day a Megabass Vision 110+1 Jr. in French pearl got the call.
After a pretty tough start to the event, Hudnall, a project manager from Oklahoma, got things in gear on Day 2.
“I was throwing the Alabama rig pretty much everywhere we went,” Hudnall said. “That was kind of my deal yesterday, letting it fall all the way to the bottom. If there was no hydrilla I was letting it fall all the way to the bottom and just creeping it on bottom as slow as I could – I got a lot of bites. If we got around hydrilla, I was letting it sink to the hydrilla and ticking it on top of the hydrilla and kind of popping it out, like a Rat-L-Trap.”
On Day 3, fishing behind Brody Campbell, Hudnall made hay with the jerkbait.
“I fished with Brody today, obviously, and, there’s this a laydown, a 45-degree log out in the middle of the pocket, and Brody’s like, ‘Dude, I caught a giant off of it yesterday,’ and he ‘Scopes it and he didn’t see anything on it,” Hudnall said. “So he didn’t even throw at it, just kept on going. And I thought, ‘Man, there might be one over there around it.’ You know, as a co-angler, you don’t get many targets out in the middle to throw at. Literally, three twitches in, right above that 45-degree log, it loaded up and it was about 3 1/2 (pounds).”
Near the very end of the day, Hudnall put together another memorable catch.
“With like 10 minutes left, I throw over next to some bushes on the outside edge,” Hudnall said. “I feel a tick, it loads up, and it comes to the surface, and it’s one of my better fish. I can see it skin hooked and the jerkbait is out of his mouth on the back hook. It comes up again, and then it tail walks literally right at the boat, right into the net. Literally, the jerkbait pops out, and he catches it right in the net. When it’s your day, it’s your day, buddy.”
As you’d expect, Hudnall was thrilled with the win.
“I’ve got a smile plastered to my face, I don’t think you can wipe it off today,” he said. “I want to give a big thanks to my fiancée, Jill, for being there and, my mom and dad, they’ve been there through thick and thin.”
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Phillip Hudnall – 34 – 0 (13) – $33,500
2. Justin Swayze – 32 – 1 (12) – $3,766
3. David Bozarth – 29 – 1 (11) – $3,013
4. Stephen Vogel – 28 – 4 (11) – $2,636
5. Jacob Smith – 27 – 9 (13) – $2,260
6. Elijah Soto – 27 – 1 (13) – $1,883
7. Errol Sigue – 26 – 0 (9) – $1,506
8. Sieg Kilby – 25 – 3 (12) – $1,318
9. Mark King – 24 – 1 (11) – $1,130
10. Lawrence Lacour – 23 – 15 (12) – $942