LEWISVILLE, Texas (June 7, 2005) –Lucky Craft Pro Gerald Swindle came into the 2005 Bassmaster Elite 50 Series with one goal in mind – make the 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Classic. His 10 th-place performance on Lewisville Lake this past week has him one step closer.

After a puzzling and frustrating end to this year’s Tour season, the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year adopted a comfortable fishing stance for E50 competition. It paid dividends on Lewisville Lake, as Swindle grabbed 13 pounds and 11 ounces of bass on Wednesday and 11 pounds and 15 ounces on Thursday to make his first E50 Series cut of the season.

“The biggest thing to winning these tournaments is to fish what you’re comfortable with,” Swindle explained. “I didn’t really care if I zeroed because what I wanted to do was fish something I enjoyed. It paid off during the first two days of the tournament because I caught what I needed to make the cut. But I have no regrets leaving this tournament because I let it all hang out this week.

“I just couldn’t quite get it to happen the way I wanted,” Swindle added. “But I did figure out a little pattern during the first two days of the tournament. I lost a six-pound fish (Thursday), but caught a five pounder right behind that one. All of that happened in about a 15-minute stretch, so I thought I had it figured out. It never really played out for the rest of the day, but it was good enough. The big fish got a little deeper today, so I was throwing a jig under docks in about 10 feet of water.”

More important than making the cut for Swindle was the fact he moved to eighth place in Elite 50 Series points. With the top-10 finishers earning automatic births into the 2006 Classic, there was plenty of importance – and pressure – on the Alabama resident to perform.

“I was really down when I left Table Rock (Mo.),” Swindle said. “In fact, it was as low as I had ever been. I just didn’t have it together because I was too focused on all the worldly things going on around me. Now, it’s coming back. I didn’t make the cut in the first two (E50) tournaments, but I felt I was getting back into the zone. I have my confidence back and that’s the key. There was a lot more on the line this week than just winning this event. I had to make this cut and I did.”

The Lewisville fans also left an impression on Swindle.

“I have never met so many courteous people on the water,” Swindle said. “This has been a great place to fish and compete. I am truly impressed with the courtesy shown by the great Texas fans out on the water.”

Takahiro Omori , who now lives in nearby Emory, Texas, also made a nice comeback this week – grabbing the 13 th slot with 23 pounds and 6 ounces of overall weight, a little less than a pound away from making the top-12 cut.

Omori was consistent throughout the tournament with 10 pounds and 6 ounces of bass on the tournament’s first day and 13 pounds of bass on day two. He talked about what turned out to be five good days on the water, including practice.

“It was a great place to go fishing,” said the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Classic champ. “I did the best I could and I really enjoy fishing in Texas. I really didn’t know what to expect coming in. Everyone talked about what they expected and how there were going to be smaller fish here, but Kevin caught an 11 pounder. I think all of the eastern Texas lakes are good.

Kelly Jordon , another Texas resident from Mineola, enjoyed fishing an impoundment a little closer to home. Jordon had a strong tournament, wrapping up the 14 th slot with 10 pounds and 9 ounces on the first day and 12 pounds on day two for an overall weight of 22 pounds and 9 ounces.

Jordon was thoroughly impressed with a lake that had always flown under professional bass fishing’s radar screen until this past week.

“I was pleasantly surprised, this is a great lake,” Jordon said. “We had 41 limits during the first day of the tournament and I think that’s pretty strong. We have a jewel of a lake right here, so we need to keep this one up. Most of our lakes around here have great fishing. Even if you go to some of the smaller lakes here in eastern Texas, they hold fish. What these guys did this week was pretty eye opening.

Skeet Reese echoed many of the comments made by the other Lucky Craft team members.

“I think it was a lot better fishery than what people led it on to be,” Reese said. “There weren’t a lot of giants, except for Kevin’s lake record fish, but there were solid bags caught in the 12- to 15-pound range - which is pretty good fishing. It may not be on par with some of the other Texas lakes, but when you look at what we fished during the Tour, I rank this one right up there.”

Reese wasn’t as pleased with his result, a 34 th with 18 pounds and 1 ounce, overall. But with Lake Wissota (Wis.) only a few days away, some of that sting should subside pretty soon.

“I really didn’t have a good tournament by any means,” Reese said. “I lost one big fish on a Carolina Rig. It would have given me another two or three pounds, but it wouldn’t have helped a great deal. I really wasn’t as motivated this week. I think the fact I had both Classics already in the bag was a big factor in that. I would have liked to have made the cut. Once I get to Wissota, I would like to finish with a bang there.