The home turf of Gerald Swindle, Smith Lake, has something in common with Carters Lake the Alabamian is using with success today.
Swindle is fishing around the launch site, with a purpose.
“On Smith there are some boat ramps that are kind of isolated on the upper end of the lake,” he explained. “When a tournament launches from those it stirs up the baitfish activity, gets them active and they stay that way for a while.”
Swindle went on to explain that has been an ongoing activity all week, because of the morning and afternoon sessions. Launch time is 8 a.m. with the first session ending at 11:30 a.m. They leave again for the afternoon session at 12:30 p.m., returning at 3:30 p.m. Today the session ends at 2 p.m.
Based on experience, Swindle believes that is why he’s done well around the marina.
“Idling in and out each day I’ve seen a lot of bait, moving around, and that brings in the spotted bass.”
At least two of Swindle’s fish came from the area, the bass weighing 3-6 that got scored at 11:45 a.m. and a 1-2 that he landed three minutes later.