Gerald Swindle had his best Classic in more than a decade and, if not for a mechanical breakdown, might have fished into position to win.
The “rock star” of bass fishing finished 10th at the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina, but he did threaten to join an elite crowd with both major B.A.S.S. titles.
Swindle claimed his second Toyota Angler of the Year in 2016 — his first was in 2004 — to become the 11th angler with more than one title in the season-long point race. Hartwell was his 17th Classic appearance, and he posted his best finish since taking third at Pittsburgh in 2005.
While he’s now had five top 12 Classic finishes, he was asked at the top 6 news conference on Day 2 what it was like to get back to Championship Sunday.
“I don’t have wear that new pair of shoes I brought just in case I didn’t catch ‘em to work the show tomorrow,” he quipped before clarying his thought. “It ain’t just been the last four or five years. Ever since we went to the wintertime Classic, I have struggled. Things just hadn’t went my way. I came here with a simple goal. I didn’t want to work the show Sunday. I wanted to know what it’s like to fish Day 3.”
Swindle explained that cold-water events have been his nemesis. With water temperatures hovering around the 50s on Hartwell, it allowed him to run a pattern, he said, adding that he’s always struggled when the water is 43, 44 degrees.
“Gerald’s pretty much going to be down there where the printer starts to run out of ink on the sheet,” he said. “That’s not my style.”
He should be patting himself on the back for even staying within striking range after mechanical issues stopped him cold on Day 2, right when the fish were biting. He was ninth after Day 1 with 15 pounds, 13 ounces and climbing the leaderboard when his motor decided it wasn’t going to run anymore, leaving him stuck on a small stretch he continued to ply.
ESPN2 reporter Robbie Floyd and his cameraman caught up with Swindle during this most dire of circumstances. On Bassmaster LIVE, viewers witnessed Swindle trying hard to remain poised as he struggled to arrange for a working boat.
“I think those are things you can’t predict and you can’t prepare for,” he said. “Ethanol and fuel breaks down. It stops up filters, it stops up diaphragms. And there you are. No matter what you do to prepare your tackle, your time and your map studies, none of that prepares you for that.
“You’re in a groove and things start happening and all the sudden you’re out of the game. Honestly, there were 30 or 40 minutes where I was spinning out of control. I could feel it. I was angry. Flustrated.”
Yep, he even coins new words. But Swindle worked past the problem, pretty much keeping his cool when all about him seemed lost. His “flustration” trying to give directions to the boat fetchers was discernible. He went on to say the breakdown was at the worst possible time.
“Not only do I think I can catch a few, I think I have a longshot to win,” he said.
Once the boat came, Floyd asked if he could follow Swindle, but he was in no mood to be on TV and asked for a pass.
“Honestly, can you all just leave me alone? Robbie said, ‘I respect that.’ Just give me 30, 40 minutes to go fish where I can kind of get my head back in the game,” Swindle said.
An appreciative Swindle did recover. Not long after, he posted a catch of a 4-pounder that helped him to 15-7 and a spot in the top six. He began Sunday in fifth place, exactly 6 pounds out of the lead.
Everyone who didn’t win always has “what-ifs,” and Swindle’s include upgrading during that missed time. He might have closed more on the leader and had a better shot on Sunday. The bluebird conditions on the final day were tough on most, including Swindle, who only weighed in 10-14 to fall to 10th, 4-15 away from tying winner Jordan Lee. If he had matched his Day 1 weight, he would have tied Lee.
Ricky Bobby’s famous quote from “Talladega Nights” — “If you ain’t first, you’re last” — is appropriate for all but Lee.
“As a competitor, I’m never the guy to sit back and say I’m happy with the finish,” Swindle said.
A Classic victory would certainly cement Swindle’s legendary status, as he would become only the 13th to hold both Classic and AOY titles. Already in the upper echelon, he did close in on another landmark. Swindle’s $20,000 paycheck put him less than 4K from becoming the 15th angler with $2 million in career earnings at B.A.S.S.
Despite the missed opportunity, Swindle was in the Super Six, the final segment of the Classic weigh-in, and he once again gave a memorable on-stage interview with emcee Dave Mercer. Nobody else can rouse the fans and call himself something like a “pimp with a limp.” Classic Swindle.
Classic in South Carolina sets record
The Classic attendance record was broken in South Carolina, making it the best-attended Classic ever. There were 143,323 fans at Classic venues in Greenville and Anderson, topping the previous mark of 137,700 set in Shreveport, La., in 2009.
The weigh-ins at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and the Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods at the TD Convention Center both drew well, as did daily launches at the newly renovated Green Pond Landing in Anderson.
One new venue was the Fan Appreciation Day outside the convention center. More than 1,400 came to visit the anglers in the boatyard, see their rigs and get photos and autographs.
Also outside the convention center during the Expo was a popular family attraction, Get Hooked on Fishing presented by Toyota and Shakespeare. It drew 14,000, around 3,750 of which were youth 3 to 10, for hands-on activities introducing them to fishing.
After the Day 1 weigh-in, fans were invited by Field & Stream to stick around for a pop-up performance by country music superstar Jason Aldean, who was nominated for 2018 Entertainer of the Year as well as Male Vocalist of the Year.
Last year’s Classic in Houston drew 115,000 fans while the 2015 Classic in Greenville saw an attendance of 103,000.
This year at the Outdoors Expo, the 218 exhibitors reported that fans overwhelmed them. They said they experienced the most booth traffic ever and many sold out of their inventory.
Classic TV begins this weekend
Watch the Classic this Saturday, March 31, from 7-8 a.m. ET and 8-10 a.m. ET on ESPN2, and on Sunday, April 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. ET.
Replays will air April 28 from 7-8 a.m. ET, May 5 from 8-10 a.m. and May 6 from 7-9 a.m.