The ULM Fishing team didn’t have to travel far for their most recent outing, which took place in their own backyard on the Ouachita River Saturday.

With a reputation of success, it wasn’t a surprise that two of the Warhawk fishermen were able to finish in first place as Tyler Stewart and Nicholas Joiner landed a total of five bass in the boat.

However, there were many other fishermen on the team looking to compete for Nationals, which is set to be at Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Alabama next May.

Prior to this tournament, ULM anglers, Hunter Freeman and Thomas Soileau qualified for nationals at  the 2016 FLW College Fishing Open where they came in fifth place.

“We’ve grown up fishing here, and it’s kind of our backyard, so we knew we had to show out here,” team member Jackson Blackett said.

Among the top five was yet another ULM pair, Tyler Craig and Slade Daniel. Craig is the President of the ULM Fishing team, and he is looking forward to taking multiple parings to Nationals this spring.

The payout for these young men was $2,000 for the first place pairing of Stewart and Joiner and $500 for the fifth place pairing of Daniel and Craig.

The Ouachita River is where some of the team’s members learned how to fish, so the advantage that they were given on Saturday was very helpful in their success of the Tournament.

Hogan Beckley and Koby Dortch, another ULM pairing in the tournament, talked about what kind of areas they like to cast towards on the river.

Dortch said that they look for shaded banks and bluff walls that are surrounded with fallen trees.

Among the top Warhawk anglers to finish high, were pairings from other schools, Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas Tech and Harding University.

Come this spring, the Warhawks will have multiple parings competing for the National Collegiate Bass Championship as they look to cast towards their second national title.