Inside Elite Boats: Gerald Swindle

Enjoy an inside, up-close and personal look at Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Swindle’s 2020 Phoenix 920 Elite. He tows his rig with a 2020 Toyota Tundra, that is also tricked out to the hilt.

On top of the Tundra is a unique rod and gear carrier.

Having extra rods on-hand at every tournament is critical.

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Can’t have too many hats, either. And a steady supply of Lew’s reels, too.

Now, let’s jump into his Phoenix.

As you’d expect, his rig is outfitted with all the latest and greatest, technologically advanced hardware the dedicated and serious bass angler needs.

As Swindle has aged, he admitted that having these trailer steps is a very nice feature. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. I love these things,” he said.

The T-H Marine G-Force Eliminator Prop Nut is something he puts on every trolling motor.

The Minn Kota Ultrex is his trolling motor of choice.

This year he added Humminbird 360 to his electronics. It conveniently clips onto his trolling motor shaft. Beneath the 360 you’ll notice a small speaker, which is for his preferred playlist to be presented to his quarry delivered via a T-H Marine Hydrowave.

The front view of his Ultrex.

Now inside the boat, here is a view of his office. Swindle spends a great deal of time with this view at his feet.

He adds a pad to his Ultrex pedal.

His front Humminbird units consist of a Solix 12 and a Helix 12. Both state-of-the-art and critical to Swindle’s ability to locate and catch his bass.

Here’s where the Hydrowave is positioned.

Front trim switches.

Foot pedal to deploy and stow his Minn Kota Talons.

Bow nav lights switch.

And a handy kickstand to keep his Ultrex secured during windy and wavy conditions.

T-H Marine G-Force trolling motor handle.

Here is G’s front deck. His office.

Digging into the first compartment.

The famous hotel ice bucket he acquired years ago still rides shotgun in every boat he runs. It’s a great way to handle spools of line when re-spooling reels. He said there’s something about the shape and size that makes it perfect.

More line deep in the storage box.

A handy way to keep the bow nav light stowed.

Moving to the next compartment.

He keeps baits in this box based on each day on the water. It’s the easiest to get access to, so what’s stored inside depends on what they are biting on that particular day.

Moving to the center tackle storage compartment.

Inside the lid, you’ll find a collection of military patches that fans have personally given to him over the years. “It’s a daily reminder of my blessings, and how great it is to be an American.”

Phoenix placed a special piece of foam inside the lid for bait storage. Very handy.

An easy-to-access bump board.

Piles of baits inside piles of Lure Lock tackle trays.

He said he always keeps a stash of Rapala DT-6s handy. Always.

And of course replacement hooks.

Moving to the port rod locker. Swindle stores extra Ark Rods and Lew’s Reels in this handy storage container.

This one is a favorite. Rapala Demon DT-10 pulled with a Lew’s Speed Spool.

Ark rods are one of his sponsors, and he loves the rods.

He keeps plenty rigged and ready.

Moving into the cockpit, there are three smaller storage compartments that double as a step up onto the front deck.

The first one is a cooler. “Gotta keep the Mountain Dews cold,” he said.

He keeps lure dye handy.

This bread pan will blow your mind. A sign of true redneck genius, Swindle keeps the bread pan full of tools and other necessities. But how it stows is simply brilliant. Notice the magnetic strip above the pan? Move onto the next slide.

Pure genius. (He’s also proud of this one.)

Moving to the storage compartment next to the passenger seat.

Extra rear nav lights and rope. You can also see Phoenix left extra room for longer rod butts to stick through from the front rod locker. Pretty smart, really.

At his desk …

The Phoenix boat seats are also over engineered for comfort and application. If riding in big waves, you can lift the front of the seat up into a lifted position. Making it easier to see and avoid splashing.

Here you can see it being lowered into its standard position.

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Next to the captain’s chair is a storage box, and you’ll also notice the plug-ins beneath the throttle handle.

And yes, this rig has heated seats.

The main control panel beneath the steering wheel.

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Swindle writes his daily check-in times on this dial with dry-erase marker.

Here he has a Solix 12 and a Helix 12 mounted at the dash.

In between his chair and the passenger chair is another glove box.

Full of personal necessities and even VMC treble hooks.

Moving to the livewell. One of his favorite features on the boat. “There’s something very special about opening those lids and seeing your five bass swimming around.”

Plenty of room for heavy limits of bass.

A seat pedestal from Millennium Marine, a seat he said is the most comfortable seat he’s ever used on a boat.

Moving to the starboard side rear storage box.

More necessities.

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Tools. Must-haves.

He likes tools that double up, each of these ratcheting wrenches covers two separate sizes, meaning he has four wrenches in his hand. It’s all about the space.