Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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By Al McGuckin
Geral Swindle and his wife
Team Toyota’s Gerald Swindle returned to the boat ramp Tuesday evening at Lake Fork following another long day of practice with a torn-up transducer and healthy heart for the woman he loves.
“I spent 80% of my first day of practice here staring at the sonar screen, and then 45 minutes into today, I broke off a transducer. So, I went to the bank and swam a jig, and my head’s a lot freer now,” said Swindle, as the sun slipped deep in the Northeast Texas sky.
Swindle has spent the past two years working on his forward-facing sonar game, he wants fans to know he’s not harshly opposed to the technology, but he’s also a realist and a 2-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year winner who knows you simply can’t ditch the girl who brought you to the dance to chase the popular queen.
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BFHOF Report
2024 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Zona
The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame announced today that Mark Zona will be among five inductees into the 2024 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame this fall.
Other inductees include Fred Arbogast, Mike McKinnis, Skeet Reese, and Alfred Williams. They were selected in balloting conducted by the Hall of Fame’s 30-member Selection Panel and living Hall of Fame inductees. The new additions will bring the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 100.
The new class was chosen from a 12-man ballot that included a mix of dynamic personalities, on-the-water competitors, off-the-water innovators, and trailblazers. Seventy-seven ballots were circulated to those with voting privileges and 59 were returned, the most since the Hall of Fame began allowing living members of the Hall of Fame to vote in 2022.
Zona, 51, makes his home near Sturgis, Mich. and has been one of the leading voices and personalities in bass fishing since the early 2000s, either in his role as analyst for Bassmaster tournaments or as host of the popular “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show.” Known for his spontaneity and high-energy manner, Zona will join longtime broadcast partner Tommy Sanders (2018) in the Hall.
The Class of 2024 will be honored later this year during Celebrate Bass Fishing Week, which will be highlighted by the induction banquet on Sept. 26 at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.
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By Al McGuckin
Bassmaster College Series champ, Easton Fothergill
Current Bassmaster College Series champ, Easton Fothergill has an intriguing last name, but at age 21, his life story is even better. Six weeks prior to winning the Bassmaster College bracket and a subsequent birth to the upcoming 2024 Bassmaster Classic, he had a hole drilled in his skull to drain a brain abscess that could have caused brain damage or taken his life.
The 21-year old Grand Rapids, MN native and University of Montevallo standout angler continues to thrive, and graciously took a few minutes to gives us a life update, including his plans to pack a few non-forward-facing sonar baits in his Tundra for the Grand Lake Classic.