February 17, 2022

FGC Bass Fishing Wins Back-to-Back State Titles

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Florida Gateway College’s Bass Fishing Team are now back-to-back Collegiate Florida State Champions.

FGC’s Jackson Swisher and Seth Slanker brought in 34.84lbs on Lake Okeechobee for the National Qualifier/State Championship via the Florida BASS Nation College Series. The anglers made a huge comeback in Day 2 of the two-day event, overcoming a Day 1 deficit of more than 8lbs to come out on top.

“Lake Okeechobee was fishing pretty stingy leading up to the tournament,” Swisher said. “Day 1 of the tournament wasn’t the best day for us, but we kept ourselves in it by catching a decent bag of fish. Day 2 we decided to take a risk and go to the same area we won this event last year and it paid off. It felt pretty awesome to go back to back on winning this event.”

“After not performing to our individual standards in the Toyota Series on Lake Okeechobee the week prior, Jackson and I were each ready for redemption in the Florida BASS Nation College National Qualifier/State Championship,” said Slanker. “Going into Day 2 of the tournament 8lbs behind the leader, I knew we needed some big fish.

“I am so thankful for the experiences and opportunities that fishing brings me, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

Coach Rob Chapman reflected on how far FGC’s team has come since its inception: “It’s amazing in literally two years (Jackson and Seth signed two years ago to the day) we’ve gone from no program and a dream to back-to-back state titles and five Nation Championship qualifications in the first month of 2022 – and the success these young men are having in the classroom. We couldn’t be more proud.”