YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
ON TOUR
YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
WINNING TEAM
university of louisiana-monroe hunter Freeman and thomas Soileau
Winning Weight : 42-08 ( 15 fish )
details : May 30-June 1 , 2018
presented by Lowrance
hosted by Shreveportbossier Sports Commission & Red River Waterway Commission photo by Jody WhItE
YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RED RIVER | SHREVEPORT , LA .
By David A . Brown
Just as the Red River separates the neighboring Louisiana cities of Shreveport and Bossier City , it also divided the fishing approaches of the top 10 finishers in the YETI FLW College Fishing National Championship presented by Lowrance C-MAP Genesis .
Half of the leading anglers were resolutely committed to probing main-river rock and wood cover , while others near the top prospected the backwater ponds and oxbows . The rest of the field plied the main river and keyed on various current breaks , points and anomalies that differentiate a particular spot from miles of similar habitat , or explored the Red River backwaters , which are more dynamic and diverse with their laydowns , stumps , and various emergent and submerged vegetation .
Tournament champions Thomas Soileau and Hunter Freeman of the University of Louisiana-Monroe led days one and two after spending the majority of their time in a heavily vegetated backwater at the lower end of Pool 4 ( takeoff was in Pool 5 ). Known as the “ Little Jungle ,” cover there ranged from submerged grasses to floating hyacinth rafts , tall reeds and lily pads .
On days one and two , the winners did much of their damage in stump fields interspersed with grass . Soileau and
Freeman caught their fish on a mix of crankbaits , spinnerbaits and Carolina-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hogs . The latter ended up being their top producer .
On day three , the ULM teammates returned to their top area , as well as a nearby secondary spot , but experienced different results . By the time they were able to lock from Pool 5 to 4 and make the nearly hour-long run , a local boat had already gone through their juice . They ended up catching a couple of keepers , but then moved to another backwater that they had been reserving as a fallback spot .
About eight miles upriver from the Little Jungle , this area known as the “ Wagon Wheel ” is more of a walled-off section of river bend rather than an oxbow or slough . Here , the key habitat features are a small residential boat ramp with brush out front , a dock and a rock seawall .
Three casts after they arrived , Freeman popped a 5- pounder on a 1 / 2-ounce finesse ball-head jig with a black and blue Strike King Rage Craw . The ULM team would pick up another small keeper near the ramp , but they pretty much sealed the deal with Freeman ’ s second 5 , which nailed the jig a few boat lengths away on the seawall – near where he caught one of similar size in practice .
94 flWfIshIng . com I august-september 2018