PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — On the eve the second day of the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #3, Sam George got an unexpected phone call wishing him good luck. The caller told the young angler to keep a positive mental attitude.
“He told me to ‘grind it out, catch 20 pounds tomorrow,'” recalled George, who just turned 21 years old.
The caller was Gerald Swindle and his well-known personal mantra is spelled out in three letters – PMA, which stands for “positive mental attitude.”
Many anglers and followers of Swindle wear yellow bracelets bearing the PMA slogan. Some take it one step further, putting the message on their gear.
George is one of those anglers.
George wrote PMA on a strip of tape and pasted that to the inside of his windshield. He views it whenever taking a seat at the helm of his boat.
“Even after winning AOY he still remembers the little guys,” said George. “He’s a true mentor to me.”
Just last week, Swindle won his second Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
On Day 2 the PMA came into play for George, who started fishing the full schedule of Opens at the age of 17.
“All season long I thought about how I had yet to catch that bonus fish,” said George.
Bonus fish, defined, means catching a special bass that goes against a textbook tactic or pattern. George got his on Day 2. He didn’t catch the 20 pounds as suggested by Swindle, but came close.
“I caught a nearly 5-pound largemouth from a single boulder in 35 feet of water,” said George. “There is no reason why that fish should have been there, that deep, other than a gift from God.”
The bonus largemouth anchored his limit weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch put George into the Top 12 for the second time in two years at Lake Champlain. He finished fourth in the 2014 tournament.