NORTH EAST, Md. – The last time Trey Swindle was here on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, he did his job on the water, but made a costly mistake. He entered Day Three in a distant second place, but failed a mandatory insurance check and was disqualified from the tournament.
This week, in the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Upper Chesapeake Bay presented by SEVIIN, he’s dotting all of his I’s and crossing all of his T’s in an effort to put that error behind him.
“I came here this week to try to win this thing,” he said. In fact, at least in the moment, he said he’d rather win this Open than win a Classic. Fortunately, the former would beget an opportunity to do the latter.
The public fallout over Swindle’s 2022 error might’ve been less severe is his name had been “Trey Smith” or “Trey Jones,” but he bears both the benefit and the burden of having one of the most recognizable last names in the history of professional bass fishing. His uncle Gerald may not be as polarizing as some of his tour-level peers, but he’s a big personality, and in the current state of heightened negativity, some keyboard warriors revel in the notion that he’s been taken down a notch – even if Trey is his own man, with his own responsibility for his own actions.
When Gerald’s Day Two catch was disqualified at the 2007 Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake, plenty of haters found a way to express their joy. Fifteen years later, when his nephew made a faux pas on a smaller stage, the internet was a far more developed peanut gallery.
After the death of Tony Swindle – Trey’s father and Gerald’s brother – the two-time Bassmaster AOY promised to mentor his young nephew. That involved not just techniques on the water, but also the process of becoming a true professional.
“Man, he took his DQ like a champ,” Swindle said by phone on Wednesday. “I talked to him the day it happened and told him to be respectful and act like a champion even if he disagreed with the decision.”
As for the on-the-water portion of the tutelage, things seem to be progressing. After losing what would have been his first Opens top 10 due to the disqualification, Trey finally attained that accomplishment with a 4th place finish at Eufaula last year. After Day One this week, he’s in 10th place with 19 pounds 2 ounces, a total that included a 5-2 kicker. He’s a little over 3 pounds out of the lead, but just a pound out of 5th place. If he can survive another day and gain a little ground, another Day Three appearance would provide a huge opportunity.
Indeed, but for the 2022 disqualification he would’ve had a meaningful chance at a win that year. While he was temporarily in 2nd place after Day Two, nearly 7 pounds behind leader Chris Beaudrie, Beaudrie faltered on Day Three and JT Thompkins jumped up from 9th place to claim the win. It’s far from certain that Swindle would’ve had enough to win, but the 13 pounds or so that it would have taken sat smack dab between the 15-12 he caught on Day One and the 11-3 he tallied on Day Two.
Thompkins is two years younger than Swindle, and has started his Elite Series career with multiple solid performances. Swindle might not have qualified for the Elites that year even with the victory, but it would’ve put him far further along than he’s been able to make it thus far.
He’s happy to be back on the Chesapeake, and even though he doesn’t have substantial experience on tidal waters, he says that it sets up similarly to his home waters of Guntersville, which suits him fine.
“I try to dumb it down a little,” he said of reading the tides. “I think of it like the Tennessee River. I just want to be where they’re running current.”
While the three year delay was costly, it has allowed him to advance as a fisherman. He said that he’s a better technician and also understands the mental part of the game far better. His uncle agreed, noting that he may have inadvertently slowed Trey’s progress.
“He’s been maturing as an angler for sure,” Gerald said. “But my teaching him to be natural may have hurt him a little. Last year I told him to work more on forward-facing sonar.”
What the younger Swindle gained from his unfortunate omission in 2022 is a realization that it can’t get much worse. He’s been embarrassed. He’s been angry. He’s lost a paycheck. And still he comes back.
“I’m heading out with four rods,” he said. “If it’s my time, it’s my time. If I zero, I zero, but I ain’t going for 10 pounds.”
