By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Gerald Swindle said there's really no comparison between his first B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year title in 2004 and the one he wrapped up on Sunday at Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota.
"The first one I'd only been fishing (professionally) for 5 or 6 years and I really didn't realize what I'd done," he said. "This was a longer, harder season and I've got a lot more respect for the award than I did back then.
"This one was pretty overwhelming."
He didn't finish with a flourish – he outfished only four of the 50 competitors in the AOY Championship at Mille Lacs Lake despite an excellent final day (22 pounds). But because his performance had been so stellar throughout the nine-event regular season, he didn't need to accomplish much in Minnesota to nail down the title.
He opened the regular season by finishing 40th at the St. Johns River, and that ended up being his lowest placement of the campaign. He ended up among the Top 12 on six occasions, including each of the last four derbies.
"The momentum just kind of kept building and I slowly started creeping up (the standings). I really didn't think about the points during the season – I just wanted to fish better and better and better and keep the whole points thing off the side.
"I never looked at the standings. I never knew how much of a lead I had until (B.A.S.S. emcee) Dave Mercer said it out loud one day at the Potomac."
Hates it for Hackney
Swindle took over the lead in the points standings after the Cayuga Lake event (the seventh of the regular season). Greg Hackney, also pursuing his second AOY after claiming the title in 2014, held a 32-point lead going into that event, but had his day-1 bag nullified when he inadvertently fished in an off-limits area.
"It was one of those situations that I hated it for him that he made that mistake," he said. "The (penalty) was handed out and that's the way it was."
Swindle's 10th-place finish in that derby was the second of his four straight Top-12s to wrap up the campaign (the streak had started with a 3rd at BASSFest at Lake Texoma, an event that Hackney won). He followed up with another 10th at the Potomac River and a 12th at the Mississippi River.
He credited a single fish that he caught en route to a 10th-place showing at Wheeler Lake for providing the impetus for his run.
"It was the third day, and I caught a 7-pounder on a buzzbait at 1:30. I'd been catching fish an entirely different way and I made the change and caught that one, and I told my marshal that probably saved my (AOY chances).
Swindle said the Zoom Z Craw in the Californiua 420 color was the key bait during his AOY campaign.
"I had five in the livewell before that, but they probably didn't weigh 5 pounds. Then I caught that big one and a 3-pounder 15 minutes later and made the 12-cut, and that pretty much saved the whole season."
A different type of bait – a soft-plastic Zoom Z Craw in the California 420 color – was his best producer for the season as a whole.
"I flipped it or threw it or used it as a jig trailer in almost every tournament and it was a key factor in most of them. It's something we came out with at the end of last year and it's the perfect bait for me – it does everything I want it to do.
"I've got a ton of confidence in it because I can use it with so many applications. It was a mainstay in my boat all year."
Winter in the Woods
The 46-year-old Swindle didn't do much celebrating on Sunday night after the final round at Mille Lacs. He stayed at the lake until dark doing photo shoots with sponsors and it was 9:15 p.m. before he and wife LeaAnn arrived at a small local restaurant for dinner with a few friends.
"We didn't do any partying," he said. "We got back to the place we'd rented at about 10:30 and went to bed."
He'll take a break from fishing for most of the fall and winter to partake in his other passion – deer hunting. He and LeeAnn will hunt frequently in their home state of Alabama and will also go on a couple of out-of-state excursions.
"As far as my goals for next year, I really want to focus on the Classic (in late March at Texas' Lake Conroe) and put my best foot forward to try to win that. Other than that, I want to continue to fish because I love it and to have fun, and I don't want my focus to be on anything except the next tournament.
"I want to play the game because I love it and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
