
Bassmaster Elite Series angler Gerald Swindle refers to a positive mental attitude as PMA. It can completely change how you fish.
It took me years to tap into PMA.
I didn’t have it back in high school when I was eaten up with golf. I just wasn’t as successful as my competitors. I’m now convinced they were better because they believed in their game and their skills more than I did.
I finally started to feel mentally positive while competing on collegiate bass teams at Drury and Montevallo universities. The more success I had, the more I believed in myself, my skills and my decision making.
I convinced myself I had what it takes to be a Bassmaster Elite angler and signed on to fish the Elite Qualifier series. Going into these incredibly competitive tournaments, I knew there were no secrets anymore.
Every angler knows everything. Everybody can flip, everybody can crank, everybody can use forward-facing sonar and LiveScope. The best way to separate yourself from such a talented group of anglers is with a positive mindset.
I can look back over my 2024 season on the Elite Qualifier tour and see many instances where a good mindset carried the day for me. That was certainly the case at the final EQ of year on Lake Martin.
After the first day of fishing, I was in the middle of the pack and sitting in 10th place in the overall Angler of the Year standings. I had to somehow bag enough weight the following day to move up one spot in the AOY, which would qualify me for the Elite Series.
My back was against the wall. The fishing was so tough that 10 pounds was a good day. I wasn’t on a solid pattern. How I performed the next day would make or break my season.
I didn’t let the pressure cause me to make bad decisions or fish too fast without focusing on every cast. When the tournament officials called my number the next morning, I took off fully confident that I was going fish well and give myself the best opportunity to succeed.
I was essentially junk fishing. I flipped docks, fished steep, bluffy banks, worked a popper over shade lines and fished anything I saw that had potential.
I didn’t get stuck on any pattern or jump from one high-percentage place to the next and overlook less obvious possibilities.
My two biggest bass that day came from a nothing bank I had never fished before. It stretched between two rows of docks that had produced bass for me and other anglers the first day.
I burned down that bank with a popper and caught one just under 3 pounds and another over 2 pounds. Those were big bass in that challenging event.
I fished hard, stayed focused and believed in every cast and every decision. I carried a 10-11 limit to the scale, which jumped me from the middle of the pack to 20th place.
More importantly, it gave me enough points to finish eighth in the EQ standings. I am now officially an Elite Series angler.
It is truly unbelievable what a positive mindset can do, not only for your fishing but for everything in life. From a fishing standpoint, never make any decision on the water you don’t believe in 100%. Otherwise, you’re just going through the motions and not really fishing.