KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No one in this 55-man field has competed in more Bassmaster Classics than 53-year-old Gerald Swindle. The 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Classic presented by Toyota will be his 20th.
His best Classic finish was third in 2005 at Pittsburgh. He has finished in the top 10 only two other times. He was 35th in 2019, the last time the Classic was in Knoxville.
“I’ve stubbed my toe in a bunch of them,” Swindle said. “I’ve been in enough of them now that I know my mistakes.”
Every one of those three-day events has refined Swindle’s approach.
“Maybe I’ve grown up enough to win one now,” he said Tuesday during registration at the Knoxville Marriott Downtown. Registration day is one of those days off the water that can get a man to thinking, in many cases over-thinking. Unlike an Elite Series event or a Bassmaster Open, where there’s little, if any, time between practice and competition, there’s a lot of downtime between practice and Friday’s official start. The Classic schedule looks like this: practice Saturday through Monday, registration Tuesday, official practice day Wednesday, then media day Thursday. In other words, there’s more time to think than fish from now until Friday.
“Early in my career things were so chaotic at the Classic, honestly I just couldn’t handle it all,” Swindle said. “Sponsors and all the other things happening would just mentally spin me out. By the time the tournament started, I was spun out. I think I’m over that, getting in the tournament and you’re sitting in your room with all that time off and thinking what if this and what if that?”
Swindle’s approach has taken a positivity turn.
“Well, what if you weren’t one of the best anglers in the world, you wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said. “What if this is truly a gut-instinct tournament and that’s my wheelhouse.”
Swindle has indeed proven to be one of the best anglers in the world. The evidence: 309 BASS events, 215 times finishing in the money, 58 top 10 finishes, almost $2.5 million in winnings and, most importantly, two Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles. That’s what he’s done on the water. Off the water he has proven to be one of the most entertaining and engaging anglers on tour. Swindle will have a ton of people rooting for him this week.
After Jeff Gustafson won the late February 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series event here strictly with smallmouth bass, which must measure at least 18 inches long for a legal catch, it could present more things to think about in an angler’s approach to this tournament. Swindle, however, won’t be fishing deep for smallmouth bass this week. There are approximately 30,000 surface acres in the tournament waters of the Tennessee River, Fort Loudon and Tellico reservoirs. Swindle will be concentrating in depths of 10 feet or less. But that’s about as detailed as his game plan is going to get before takeoff Friday.
“Come Friday morning, I’m going all in on something,” he said. “I don’t know what. It’s whatever my gut tells me to do. I practiced by looking at a lot of water. Wherever you fish on Day 1, you can’t go back. It’s over. You’re not going to go back in that area and do it again.
“My mindset is, establish confidence in four or five areas, then have the confidence to run it when it counts. If you get off to a good start, don’t get chicken on Day 2 and say, well, I’m just going to go back in there and check it. I’ve done that every time I’ve been here and that hasn’t worked. Go somewhere new and keep fishing for new fish pulling up.
“If anybody has a chance to win this tournament in one spot, it’s (Gustafson). It’s just straight-up Gus. He’s the only one who can do that.
“But to win it shallow, you can’t do it in one spot. If you’re fishing less than eight feet, you better have some ground to cover. And you better be prepared for it, because it’s going to get fished again when you leave by locals. So, I practiced that way, to have areas to go to on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.”
Swindle believes it will take an impressive display of versatility to win this tournament fishing shallow. However, he thinks this won’t be a pure junk fishing event requiring multiple rods and lures on the deck.
“A DT 6 (crankbait), a jerkbait, a jig and some type of swimbait,” Swindle explained. “You’re going to have to work through those four to catch five every day.”
