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