MASSENA, N.Y. – Weighing a total of 55 pounds, 14 ounces for 14 bass, Taylor Wisniewski beat out Akira Okuyama by a slim margin for the win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event on the St. Lawrence River. Catching 23-6 on Day 1, four for 8-13 on Day 2, and 23-11 on Day 3, Wisniewski lead on Day 1, dropped to 14th, and then rocketed back up to win on the final day. For the win, Wisniewski picked up a new Phoenix boat package as well as $800 in winnings and contingency money.
“This is only my third Toyota Series, I’m just tagging along to fish,” Wisniewski said. “I traveled with Clay Reece and Brent Anderson; hats off to them for taking me along to fish, that’s about it. It’s awesome, I didn’t know I was going to win. I was sitting up there holding the trophy, and I didn’t know if I should be.”
Fishing shallow on Day 1, then deep on the final day, Wisniewski worked with a few standard St. Lawrence techniques.
“I caught them on about every different thing on Day 1,” he said. “We fished shallow, and I pulled out the Carolina rig, and a marabou jig and the Ned rig. Day 2, we scrambled; we ran all the way to the line, and we didn’t get them. I literally got two squeakers on my last two casts, right by the ramp. Today, we ran down to the line again, and I had my good ones within the first few hours. It was definitely a morning bite.”
For his Ned rig, Wisniewski used a Z-Man Finesse TRD, and he put a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Craw on his Carolina rig.
In the end, Wisniewski said it came down to good draws and a little good fortune.
“I got to take my hat off to the boaters, that’s a lot of it,” he said. “The light just shined on me.”
Top 10 Strike King co-anglers
1. Taylor Wisniewski – 55 – 14 (14) – $34,300
2. Akira Okuyama – 55 – 3 (15) – $5,375
3. Mason Chapman – 53 – 9 (15) – $4,300
4. Greg McDavid – 52 – 10 (15) – $3,650
5. Christopher Dam – 52 – 1 (14) – $3,350
6. Cooper Jett – 50 – 7 (15) – $2,650
7. Braxton Clements – 50 – 3 (15) – $2,150
8. Greg Flippen – 49 – 1 (15) – $1,825
9. Tim McGlenn – 48 – 10 (15) – $1,530
10. Christian Rich – 47 – 14 (13) – $1,290
Complete results
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