Swayze tops Strike King co-angler field at Sam Rayburn
BROOKELAND, Texas – Weighing eight bass for an even 25 pounds, Justin Swayze got it done for the Strike King co-angler win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division event on Sam Rayburn. His big bass of 7 pounds, 7 ounces on Day 2 keyed his victory, and he won a new Phoenix bass boat, as well as cash for his efforts.
A longtime competitor at the Phoenix Bass Fishing League level, this is Swayze’s first win with MLF.
“I’ve never won – I’ve been second, third, fourth, I’ve never won before,” the Arkansas angler said. “It hasn’t sunk in. This is my first big tournament as a co-angler. My buddies were coming up here, so I decided to fish it. It’s crazy.”
Drawing Bradley Perkins and Brian Schott on the pro side, Swayze said he had a great week.
“They were good, we got along really well,” he said. “If I hadn’t caught any fish, I would have had a good time with them.”
The owner of a heating and air company back home, Swayze made the right moves on the water.
“I caught ‘em on a jig on Day 1, just dragging it behind the boat real slow,” he said. “Today, we got on some schoolers, I caught ‘em on an A-rig real quick, I had a limit by 8:30. Then, we ran some big fish stuff, and I caught a big one on an A-rig on a flat.”
For his umbrella rig, he used a YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with Keitech swimbaits. For dragging, Swayze went with an Arkansas staple, a War Eagle Heavy Finesse Jig with a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Craw.
After a week of making some happy memories at Rayburn, it sounds like Swayze might be back soon.
“I like Rayburn, I came here for a Regional as a boater,” he said. “But, I really like Rayburn now. It’s my new favorite lake.”
Top 10 Strike King co-anglers
1. Justin Swayze – 25 – 00 (8) – $34,150
2. Joe Garcia – 21 – 04 (8) – $5,375
3. Cedric Jackson – 20 – 12 (9) – $4,300
4. Nick Stanislaus – 18 – 03 (6) – $3,650
5. Jareb Logan – 17 – 08 (7) – $3,150
6. Chase Loden – 16 – 14 (6) – $2,650
7. Jimmy Wells Jr. – 16 – 11 (9) – $2,150
8. Cody Davis – 16 – 10 (6) – $1,825
9. Joe Lee – 16 – 09 (9) – $1,530
10. Dustin Robinson – 16 – 03 (9) – $1,290