Photo by Alan McGuckin -- Dynamic Sponsorships
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala., hooked into a giant while fishing recently on Lake Wheeler for bass. Unfortunately it wasn't the green kind but rather the blue kind.
“I knew I had hooked trouble,” Swindle said. “I cranked my bait off that ledge, and it just stopped -- sort of like it hit a brick wall and fell into outer space. Then it was just a series of big, heavy, lazy pulls.
“I was pretty certain it wasn’t a bass. In fact, I turned to my outdoor writer guest Kirk Deeter and told him I had just hooked one of the big Tennessee River blue cats some of the other writers back in camp were hoping to get a glimpse of.”
He was casting a crankbait tied to 10-pound line on a Quantum E100PPT 5.1:1 cranking reel when the big kitty bit during the press event on Lake Wheeler a week or so ago.
“We worked ole Moby Blue pretty hard for the cameras, but we took good care of her, and at one point I swear I saw her smiling," Swindle said. "We had fun with the whole thing. "
