For her birthday, Le Ann Swindle wanted to go fishing. Plain and simple. Catch some fish and relax.
“She just wanted to go fish and catch a few; she didn’t even care if she got a big one,” Gerald Swindle said. “I called my buddy up who’s got a 30-acre pond in Jasper (Ala.) and asked if I could put my boat in. He said ‘Sure!’ and off we went.”
Throughout the day, the Swindles caught plenty of bass, including a 7- and an 8-pounder. After Gerald caught the 7-pounder, he advised Le Ann to throw her Zoom Big Dead Ringer to the same spot.
“Buddy, when she tossed it in there, I saw the line moving off and knew this was a different class of fish,” Gerald said. “She couldn’t stop the thing and said, ‘I must have it hooked in the side or something!’ I told her there ain’t no way you hooked it in the side, baby, you’re throwing a worm!”
As Le Ann brought her dino-bass to the surface after a nail-biting battle, Gerald lipped it as the hook fell out.
“She said she was a nervous wreck as she fought that thing, and I said, ‘Welcome to my world; do that when it’s all on the line!’” Gerald said. “Nevertheless, she said it was a heckuva birthday, and made sure that I ordered up more Big Dead Ringers for our next trip.”
A 7-foot medium heavy Quantum Smoke rod and 6.3:1 Quantum Exo reel spooled with 16-pound Sunline fluorocarbon helped Le Ann tame the beast.
“I have no idea what it actually weighed, but I caught one about 9 pounds before we left, and that one was a whole lot bigger,” Gerald said. “It was a great day.”