Gophers come up golden
08.Mar.2014 by Gary Mortenson
SENECA, S.C. – Throughout the first two days of competition at the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship, the University of Louisiana-Monroe team of Brian Eaton and Nick LaDart dominated nearly all of the headlines. And rightfully so. As the defending national champions, all eyes were on ULM to see if the team could pull off back-to-back titles and equal the powerhouse run of the University of Florida – who captured national championship titles in 2009 and 2010.
However, while ULM found itself atop the leadearboard on days one and two and seemed poised to sweep the most coveted trophy in all of college fishing two years running, a plucky little team from the University of Minnesota had other plans. Flying under the radar for a good portion of the tournament, U of MN teammates Austin Felix and Chris Burgan carefully plotted their strategy. After quickly analyzing the conditions – which were frigid, windy and downright nasty over the first two days of competition – Burgan and Felix opted to abandon their initial game plan and let the weather dictate their strategy.
