Overcoming The Pandemic
BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES anglers typically try to avoid law enforcement by obeying traffic laws and adhering to highway towing regulations. But when a police officer approached Gerald Swindle at a gas station in Knoxville, Tenn., the interaction bespoke a simple truth that even an abnormal 2020 cannot dampen: The relationship between Bassmaster fans and the anglers they follow is stronger, indeed more vital, than ever.
“Me and LeAnn were on our way back from [the New York swing] and this cop came up to me at a gas station and said, ‘I don’t want to bother you; I just want a picture,’” Swindle recalled. “He had no idea what that meant to me. I’m just coming off a rough two-week road trip and that was like taking medicine.
“For someone to want to pull into a gas station and take a picture with me, that’s like an anti-anxiety pill for me. That’s when I realized how much I’ve missed the fans. I miss that handshake, seeing that smile, hearing that story about the ones they caught. I don’t think any other professional sport offers that.”
Carefully staging an appropriately spaced photo complete with face masks was a small concession, but one Swindle wishes he could replicate a thousand times over. He’s never not enjoyed such moments, but consider this year from a fishing perspective: Do we appreciate a keeper bite more on the barn-burner days when it’s all you want or during the grinders when limits are tough?
In terms of fan interaction, 2020 quickly became a grueling gut check in which COVID-19 put its foot on the “change” button and kept it there. With social distancing forever etched in our lexicon, one of the most painful adjustments B.A.S.S. had to make was holding Elite tournaments without weigh-in crowds. Concerns over dwindling interest were valid, but Swindle’s experience speaks to the contrary.
“That lets you know that, even when they’re not at the weigh-in, Bassmaster fans are still watching,” Swindle said. “They’re going
