Huntze Chases Down Strike King Co-Angler Title on Havasu
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – The Final Day of competition in the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division event on Lake Havasu saw even more challenging conditions for the final day field of 25 Strike King co- anglers. For the third day in a row a new name rose to the top of the leaderboard: Colby Huntze. The now two-time Strike King co-angler title winner netted a three-day total of nine bass for 27 pounds and took home a Phoenix and Mercury package valued at $33,500.
“It feels good! It was a long pre-fish, then to do this, it was cool,” Huntze said.
Huntze employed a myriad of baits throughout the tournament to catch his fish.
“The first day I caught two on a Yamamoto Senko and one on a Ned rig,” he said.
“Yesterday I caught both on a Senko,” he said of his Day 2 total. “I had to adjust. We were fishing on those cages the first two days, so I had to switch up to weedless. They didn’t want to come out of the cages really, we had to get super close to them.”
On the final day, Huntze had a little more room to work with and he took full advantage, netting four bass totaling 11-7 and moving from fourth to first.
“Today, I threw an underspin around. It was my first day throwing it and I caught two early,” said Huntze. “Then I flipped my big one towards the end of the day … and I caught one on a Senko as well.”
The victory gives Huntze his second title in less than 12 months, having also taken a victory on the California Delta. In 2021, he was the Western Division Strike King Co-Angler of the Year, and he’s already on pace to back it up in 2022. As for the new Phoenix boat?
“I might keep this one … or I might [trade] it to my brother (Toyota Series pro Logan Huntze) to upgrade so we both have a boat.”
Either way, Huntze is a force to be reckoned with in the west.
Top 10 Strike King Co-Anglers
1. Colby Huntze – 27 – 00 (9) – $33,500
2. Jordan Reidhead – 25 – 00 (8) – $3,682
3. Zack Eggleston – 23 – 08 (9) – $2,946
4. John Bitting – 19 – 14 (6) – $2,577
5. Ken Hromada – 19 – 13 (8) – $2,209
6. Matt Mealiffe – 18 – 09 (8) – $1,841
7. J.D. Blackamore – 18 – 06 (7) – $1,473
8. Tyson Christman – 18 – 06 (7) – $1,289
9. Skyler Koury – 17 – 06 (5) – $1,105
10. Teddy Snyder – 15 – 15 (7) – $1,071