Gerald Swindle simply ran out of time at Lake Dardanelle in 2014 when he finished second by four ounces to winner Jason Christie. He was catching bass – good ones – on almost every cast in the last 30 minutes on the final day. He’s seen that late bite be a major factor previously on the Arkansas River – in 2011 at Little Rock.
“I caught two big ones at the end of the day when Denny (Brauer) won and I finished third,” Swindle recalled Friday.
So he was fully focused in the final hour yesterday when he caught a 5-11 and a 4-pounder at Lake Dardanelle. Those two fish accounted for more than half his weight in a 16-11 bag that put him in 11th place. You know Swindle will “play ’til the whistle blows” today, as the football expression goes.
“When it got to 2 o’clock, I said, stay settled because there’s something about this lake and this river system,” he recalled. “They seem to bite late every time. So I do know the history of this river. It’s kind of a vote of confidence. It makes you stay focused and see what happens.”
Swindle needs another late flurry. BASSTrakk currently shows him with four fish weighing 6-4 today.