Gerald Swindle knew it was "going to be a reach" for him to advance from Lake Shelbyville to the semifinals at Lake Decatur in the Bassmaster Toyota Trucks All-Star Week event. But with a big rally from a bad day at Shelbyville Friday, Swindle feels like the he's now the favorite.
With the two-day weights now zeroed and a new lake to fish, Swindle is all smiles.
"I didn't (practice) fish that much on Lake Decatur," Swindle said. "But I liked everything I saw. I just had that feeling that, 'Dude, if you get here, this might be a little more to your strength.'"
With a bracketed format now in effect, it's No. 1-seeded Edwin Evers vs. No. 4-seeded Swindle and No. 2 Ott DeFoe vs. No. 3 Aaron Martens on Saturday.
Evers was the only angler to catch five-bass limits both days at Shelbyville, where he totaled 23 lbs., 1 oz. It appears he's on a roll, and he's not concerned with who he's fishing against Saturday; it's always about optimizing your performance, no matter what the format.
"[Swindle] is a really good junk fisherman," Evers said. "I've got to go catch all the fish I can catch, no matter who I'm fishing against."
And Evers is fishing against "Three-Rod Todd" Saturday.
"This is my style of fishing," Swindle said about Lake Decatur. "I know that I'm not going to go out there and second-guess, where I need 30 or 40 poles. You're going to call me Three-Rod Todd.
"I'm going to get my three rods out and fish my strength. If you knock me out, you knock me out."
Both Evers and Swindle were asked who they think will advance on the other side of the bracket in the Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship.
Evers: "I'd rather fish against Martens."
Swindle: "Ott by 3 pounds. I think Ott's been so hot, and he's so cool-headed, and I think that's going to have an effect. This boat traffic here could spin Aaron out a little bit, because it's going to be thick."