LeAnn and Gerald Swindle - How’d You Meet Your Angler?
On the boat stands a man larger than life with a passion for fishing that knows no bounds. In the boat, on the shore or at home there stands a sweet-as-molasses, soft-spoken, warm and gentle saint.
Together GMan and Lulu are a dynamic duo, each complementing the other and there is no question that the Swindle team casts a spell on each and every one of us.
How’d they snag one another? Read on….
HPFC: Can you share the story of how you and your husband first crossed paths?
LeAnn Swindle: I met Gerald back in 1998 right after he had won his first major tournament (FLW). I worked at a local bank and my boss, who was the President of that bank, fished FLW and had been trying to convince G to start banking with us.
HPFC: What were your initial impressions of Gerald when you first met
him?
LeAnn Swindle: G used to joke with the President of the Bank, my boss, that if I were ever single, he was gonna marry me. And here I am.
HPFC: Did you know anything about fishing when you first met?
LeAnn Swindle: My Dad took us bream fishing when we were small but that is really all I knew about it.
HPFC: What, if anything, did you know about professional bass fishing before you
met?
LeAnn Swindle: One of my first mangers fished team tournaments with her husband and then my then current boss was fishing the FLW tour. I was only familiar with the travel aspect (prefishing and tournament days) and that was mainly because I helped my boss book his reservations – definitely not the ins and outs of being a professional angler. I even remember questioning G when he was applying for a mortgage loan, telling him I couldn’t list “fisherman” as a job.
HPFC: Was there a specific moment or event that made you realize your feelings
were more than just friendship?
LeAnn Swindle: You know he’s a pretty great hunter. I think he really just snuck up on me a little bit at a time.
HPFC: How long have you been married?
LeAnn Swindle: We will be married 20 years in May.
HPFC: When you met did he have another job?
LeAnn Swindle: When I met G he was right on the cusp of committing to fishing professionally. He had been in construction and winning that FLW tournament allowed him to really pursue fishing as his primary source of income.
HPFC: How did the two of you come to terms with him going out and living his dream?
LeAnn Swindle: I do sometimes wish that I had been there for the early years. Gerald had already made a name for himself by the time we started dating and I love hearing him talk about all the milestones.
HPFC: What doubts might you have had with him going on tour and how did you
overcome them?
LeAnn Swindle: On this question I can only imagine how hard it must be for families just starting out on this crazy venture. For me, I was used to him being gone for sometimes weeks on end.
HPFC: What challenges or obstacles did you have to work through?
LeAnn Swindle: One of the most extreme things we did was that I took a 6 month leave of absence from my job and that was hard for me to do (I’m very independent). Our daughter was changing schools and with his crazy travel schedule, we wanted someone to be able to be there for her. This also allowed me to be home when he was home. Another thing was I would always cherry pick a tournament or two to travel with him.
HPFC: How did you manage the frequent separation and limited time together due to his on the road schedule?
LeAnn Swindle: From early on we just made sure we had together time and family time carved out. Now in the later part of our career, with me traveling full time, we are together almost always.
HPFC: How do you adjust when you return home after being away for
weeks at a time?
LeAnn Swindle: Years ago before I started traveling full-time, G worked with a Sports Mind Coach. One of the lessons he learned touches on this. His coach advised him not to come back home full throttle parenting right away and respect the routine that our family had established while he was gone. It may be surprising as outgoing as he is, but when we return home after a long stretch, we usually go to our farm and sort of retreat. We both do love some alone time.
HPFC: Are there any activities or special events that you and your husband enjoy doing after you’ve been gone all season?
LeAnn Swindle: So even though we travel together during the fishing season, we both love spending the off season deer hunting and camping. He calls this our time to be “husband and wife.” On the road, there is just always so much to be done, the off season is when we can really re-connect.
HPFC: Do you have any pet peeves related to him?
LeAnn Swindle: LOL have you seen the meme lately about in every marriage there is always the one that likes to arrive at the airport two hours early and the other as they are calling their group to board? That’s G, waiting until the absolute last minute.
HPFC: What do you think your husband’s pet peeves are of you?
LeAnn Swindle: Anything negative. If he presents an idea to me and even if I know for a fact for whatever reason it won’t work, I have learned (took me awhile) to say “Let’s see if we can make that happen.” He never wants to hear why something won’t work.
HPFC: What are your retirement plans?
LeAnn Swindle: Hmmm, it really depends on what day you ask that question. Currently we plan to build our last home on property that adjoins my brother and sister in law. They recently started a mini farm (Mimi’s Mini Farm) and we are adding some mini highland cows to the herd. I myself would love to slow down, have some chickens and enjoy my grandbabies but G doesn’t sit too well so I’m not 100% sure what we will end up doing.
HPFC: What is something off the wall that no one knows about the two of you?
LeAnn Swindle: We have two. We are “closet snowbirds.” Never did I imagine this would be us but we both love Florida in January. We don’t advertise this but we support a backpack ministry called “Kits for Kids.” Basically this program helps feed students on the weekends when they might not have access to food. We both have a deep conviction for this.
Here’s the duo on and off the water – how does she deal?
Living the Dream with Gerald Swindle – Maintenance Wipe
Leaf Blower Powered Kayak
Sight Fishing on Guntersville with Lulu
