Day on the lake with Gerald Swindle

Bassmaster put Gerald Swindle on a small lake he’s never seen before and gave him seven hours to locate and catch bass.

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For November/December 2015, Bassmaster’s reality series put Gerald Swindle on a small lake he’s never seen before and gave him seven hours to locate and catch bass. This is Swindle’s second DOTL challenge. The 44-year-old Hayden, Ala., pro has fished professionally since 1998 and also hosts The Hit List, a popular deer hunting show, on The Outdoor Channel. The 2004 Bassmaster Angler of the Year has qualified for 15 Classics and is regarded by his peers as both a formidable competitor and the funniest angler on the pro tour. He had his first Day on the Lake outing in November 2003, when he bagged 14 1/2 pounds of largemouth on a variety of lures. Here’s what happened during his sophomore DOTL outing on Dec. 1, 2014. <p> 7:12 a.m. Swindle catches his first bass of the day, a 1-pound largemouth, off a rock point on a Rapala Shad Rap.
For November/December 2015, Bassmaster’s reality series put Gerald Swindle on a small lake he’s never seen before and gave him seven hours to locate and catch bass. This is Swindle’s second DOTL challenge. The 44-year-old Hayden, Ala., pro has fished professionally since 1998 and also hosts The Hit List, a popular deer hunting show, on The Outdoor Channel. The 2004 Bassmaster Angler of the Year has qualified for 15 Classics and is regarded by his peers as both a formidable competitor and the funniest angler on the pro tour. He had his first Day on the Lake outing in November 2003, when he bagged 14 1/2 pounds of largemouth on a variety of lures. Here’s what happened during his sophomore DOTL outing on Dec. 1, 2014.
7:12 a.m. Swindle catches his first bass of the day, a 1-pound largemouth, off a rock point on a Rapala Shad Rap.
7:30 a.m. Swindle moves downlake to a steep channel bank, where he tries a jerkbait.
7:30 a.m. Swindle moves downlake to a steep channel bank, where he tries a jerkbait.
7:41 a.m. Swindle bags his second keeper, 1 pound, 2 ounces, off a channel bank on a Storm Wiggle Wart.
7:41 a.m. Swindle bags his second keeper, 1 pound, 2 ounces, off a channel bank on a Storm Wiggle Wart.
7:50 a.m. “The Suck-O-Meter is reading 7.5, but I bet it bottoms out to 10 before the day is over!” Swindle complains as he probes a channel bank with a jerkbait.
7:50 a.m. “The Suck-O-Meter is reading 7.5, but I bet it bottoms out to 10 before the day is over!” Swindle complains as he probes a channel bank with a jerkbait.
8:40 a.m. As rain sweeps across Lake P, Swindle battles a giant bass that hit his jerkbait on a submerged rockpile.
8:40 a.m. As rain sweeps across Lake P, Swindle battles a giant bass that hit his jerkbait on a submerged rockpile.
8:54 a.m. “This perch has an orange belly, just like my jerkbait. Wonder if he was trying to eat it or make love to it?”
8:54 a.m. “This perch has an orange belly, just like my jerkbait. Wonder if he was trying to eat it or make love to it?”
10:09 a.m. Swindle catches his fourth keeper, 2 pounds, 3 ounces, off a submerged ditch on a Smithwick Pro Rogue jerkbait.
10:09 a.m. Swindle catches his fourth keeper, 2 pounds, 3 ounces, off a submerged ditch on a Smithwick Pro Rogue jerkbait.
11:03 a.m. Swindle moves to a long point halfway down the lake and hits it with a crankbait.
11:03 a.m. Swindle moves to a long point halfway down the lake and hits it with a crankbait.
11:30 a.m. Swindle bags keeper No. 6, 1 pound, 4 ounces, off a main-lake point on a jerkbait.
11:30 a.m. Swindle bags keeper No. 6, 1 pound, 4 ounces, off a main-lake point on a jerkbait.
11:50 a.m. Swindle moves to the console to land a big bass he’s hung on a jerkbait.
11:50 a.m. Swindle moves to the console to land a big bass he’s hung on a jerkbait.
11:50 a.m. Swindle’s biggest bass of the day, a 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth, slammed his jerkbait on a secondary point.
11:50 a.m. Swindle’s biggest bass of the day, a 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth, slammed his jerkbait on a secondary point.
1 p.m. Swindle hits several marina slips with a jig. “I can’t take much more of this!<p> “This has got to be one of the fastest air temperature drops I’ve ever encountered while fishing,” Swindle told <em>Bassmaster</em>. “But in spite of the weather conditions being beyond miserable, the bass bite was fairly decent, and I was able to catch fish while drifting with vs. fighting the wind. If I were to fish here tomorrow under these same God-awful conditions, I wouldn’t! But seriously, I’d do more wind-drifting along primary and secondary points, channel banks and rocky areas while throwing a jerkbait; I’m confident this approach would eventually result in some bigger fish.”
1 p.m. Swindle hits several marina slips with a jig. “I can’t take much more of this!
“This has got to be one of the fastest air temperature drops I’ve ever encountered while fishing,” Swindle told Bassmaster. “But in spite of the weather conditions being beyond miserable, the bass bite was fairly decent, and I was able to catch fish while drifting with vs. fighting the wind. If I were to fish here tomorrow under these same God-awful conditions, I wouldn’t! But seriously, I’d do more wind-drifting along primary and secondary points, channel banks and rocky areas while throwing a jerkbait; I’m confident this approach would eventually result in some bigger fish.”