He may be the world’s funniest bass angler, but Gerald Swindle is no April Fool. As spring’s centerpiece month, April is anchored by change, and Swindle is one of the best at preparing for everything.

His adaptability stems mostly from his high-energy personality and a past filled with three-hour jackpot tourneys that taught him how to catch fish in a short period of time on a wide variety of lures.

The 2004 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year let us take a detailed look at four lures likely to be laying on his front deck in the weeks ahead.

“You gotta have a lipless crankbait like the Lucky Craft LV-500 Max. As fish are moving shallow to spawn, it’s the perfect bait for casting across a flat where ditches are present. And obviously, anytime you’ve got shallow scattered grass it’s a player,” said Swindle.

Using the same Quantum model QEC705CB rod he throws the lipless bait on, Swindle cranks everything from rocks to docks in the year’s fourth month with an RC 1.5 crankbait. “You’re always going to have fish relating to rocky banks in the springtime, and that little bait is pretty tough to beat.”

Thirdly, Swindle is sure to rely on a standard pitching jig. “You don’t leave home without a jig when the water is still cool in the spring. Big females are moving shallow and few lures in history have caught more big bass than a jig around shallow cover in the spring,” said Swindle.   The reel Swindle is currently using to pitch with remains a prototype mystery that Quantum will reveal later this summer.

Lastly, it seems the G-Man has become a believer in the swimbait craze. “If you’ve got vegetation in your lake, and it’s April, you better have a 5” swimbait tied on,” concludes the G Man.