Kade Hillestad had the understatement of the year a few months ago when he said he and John Kyle Pearce, ULM Fishing Team members, had a good year.
Hillestad, the son of Stevie and Shannan Hillestad of Grayson, La., and Pearce, the son of Jay and Brandy Pearce of Frierson, La., qualified for three national championship tournaments in their only season (2023-24) fishing as a team. They competed in the Association of Collegiate Bass Anglers Bass Fishing Championship in May at Tennessee’s Pickwick Lake. They fished the 2024 Bassmaster College National Championship in August at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina and plan to fish Major League Fishing’s Abu Garcia National Championship next year at Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama.
“We only had that one year but it was a really good year,” Pearce said, adding he hoped he could fish the remaining national tournaments.
Future plans
Pearce, 22, recently interviewed to work for DEQ but also applied for a biologist’s position with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He’d like to eventually fish Bassmaster Opens, even if it’s after retirement, he said.
Hillestad, also 22, a pharmacy major, worked this summer as an intern at a pharmacy in Olive, before entering his second year of grad school at ULM. He’s been fishing since he was a boy.
“My dad got me out on the water at an early age,” he said. “He was a crappie fisherman. Once I started fishing with him we did more bass fishing than crappie fishing.”
Hillestad began fishing tournaments with La Salle High School in Olla, where he had some great days with Ian Williams, including state and regional championships one season. He’s looking forward to another year of ULM Fishing.
As for post-college fishing, he said, “I’m definitely going to shoot for fishing the Opens depending on how my pharmacy profession works out.”
A great season
Hillestad’s fourth year with ULM Fishing was one for the books as he and Pearce won the Louisiana B.A.S.S. Nation State Championship as well as Anglers of the Year (AOY). Their tournament finishes: 5th at Atchafalaya Basin (Doiron’s Landing, Stephensville), 2nd at Black Bayou Hosston and 3rd June 18 on Day 1 at Toledo Bend and 1st June 19 on Day 2 at Toledo Bend. Their Black Bayou Hosston limit of 23.93 pounds was anchored by Hillestad’s 12.34-pounder.
That Toledo Bend win was so sweet, both agreed. The team capitalized on pre-fishing success and came in with 16.06 pounds the first day before sacking a title-clinching 20.85 pounds on Day 2.
“We had a similar pattern for both days,” Hillestad said. “The difference between the first and second days was we didn’t lose as many fish. We fished very clean.
“We started in the morning both days on bridges and had 16-17 pounds both days between 7:30-8. We fished bridges in Lanan (Creek). Two specifically were loaded with fish. We caught 30 at each bridge. It didn’t last long,” he said, noting once the sun got higher in the sky they went offshore, then trailered over to the Texas side to fish Indian Mounds and Housen Creek.
About the bridge pattern, Pearce said, “Yessir. We had a really good early morning pattern. Toledo Bend was way high but dropping fast. We were looking for a funnel … that bridge was an opening. We had several spots to use that day.
“We were super blessed. It was a great feeling. After Day 1, we were pretty stressed going in (to Day 2). We had to beat a good buddy of mine by a spot and beat a team in the lead by four spots.”
Hillestad caught his fish around bridges on a Megabass jerkbait and a Damiki rig while Pearce used a jerkbait, Damiki rig, Bandit 300 crankbait, a 1 3/8-ounce spinnerbait and Z-Man Chatterbait Mini Max in shallower areas.
“It was a tight race between us and a few other teams, especially for AOY,” Hillestad said. “We ended up winning by four or five points.”
Bussey Brake
That 12.34-pound bass in the Bayou Black Hosston tournament isn’t Hillestad’s PB. That was a 13.22-pound hawg caught April 16, 2023, at Bussey Brake Reservoir. Luckily for him, the giant guarding a bed in buck brush bit three times.
The big fish broke off the first time on a Texas-rigged green pumpkin/blue flake soft plastic creature bait. It bit a similar bait 30 minutes later and spit the hook 15 feet from the boat. Hillestad went back two and a half hours later, around 6 p.m., and cast a similarly colored large plastic worm. He set the hook and boated the lunker.
Bussey is his favorite place to target big bass, even in September. Hillestad, who has caught at least 40 bass weighing more than 8 pounds at the reservoir, said he’ll target brushtops in 5- to 7-foot depths with plastic frogs and large plastic worms.
