Ranger & Triton Responses on G-Man's Classic DQ 2024

Sam reply :

I sent e-mails to both Triton and Ranger regarding Gerald Swindle's disqualification this weekend at the Classic for unsafe operation of a motor boat, and here are their replies, summarized:

Triton - Gerald is part of our family; he apologized; he knows he made a mistake; and no action will be taken against him.

Ranger - Gerald is sponsored by Triton so no action will be taken against him.

This is a lot differenet from what Ranger did to Ike last year when Ike pitched his tantrum but did not place either people or assets in peril.

Triton is a class act. I would be proud to own a Triton, which will be my next boat in a few years.

KU_Bassmaster. reply :

Why would Ranger do anything in the first place??? He is sponsored by Triton. As far as I know he has nothing to do with Ranger. To me that says a lot about both companies to respond to you so quick, especially Ranger when the question did not pertain to one of their staffers.

Sam reply :

KU,

I gave you their response, not what I sent to them.

I questiioned Ranger's actions against Ike last year and told them that I was not impressed by their pulling their sponsorship of Ike.

I understood that the G-Man was a Triton guy but I just wanted to send them a note about my thoughts and beliefs.

I expected them to come back and avoid the conflict. What I was trying to do was to get them to parallel their actions against Ike against what Triton did.

I got my answer.

Thanks for your insight and input.

Now, let's do some fishing!

tritonman reply :

I think there is a big difference between what G-man did and how Ike "acted".

G-man made a mistake in his judgement of boat operation. One that I see all the time on waters that I fish.

Ike acted like a child in his tantrum he thru, destroying the light pole on the Ranger boat. This probably had some link to the drop of sponsor

squid reply :

T-MAN....IKE BROKE THE POLE ON THE TRITON....NOT THE RANGER. RANGER DID NOT LIKE HIS ACTIONS TOWARDS THE BOAT AT THE CLASSIC.

Sam reply :

Personally, I think Ranger over reacted regarding Ike.

I would think Ranger wanted to send a strong message to all of their pros that if you do not act in a proper manner at all times you will not represent Ranger, no matter who you are.

I think Ranger got the message through to everyone; but in the long run I think Ranger may have tarnished its image.

I know that I lose it when fishing; then calm down and continue on my way.

Emotions run high in tournaments and both Ike and the G-Man did dumb things. The difference is that Ike did not place anyone or their boats in danger and he loses Ranger; G-Man does something that does peril people and their boats and Triton let's it go.

I side with Triton on this one.

Captain Cali reply :

Sam, I'm with you on this one.

Swindle and Iaconelli both made judgment errors. Ike threw a tantrum and Swindle flew by boats in a very unsafe manner. Which was worse? Ike throwing a hissy fit or Swindle endangering lives? It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

I've talked to some people that understand Swindles mindset, "Time is Money". That's a load. Time is money for me too but I don't speed in a school zone when their are kids around just because I have to make some paper. And if I did, I would get cited for it. Plain and simple.

I applaud Triton for not getting trigger happy here. It was a mistake and he apologized. Lets move on.

Ranger on the other hand was very quick to throw Ike under the bus. Oh well...they lost. Ike stuck it to 'em good last year!

TheBeast reply :

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Ike stuck it to 'em good last year!

Gotta love the way he turned things around and Ranger got the short end of the stick.

I myself don't care to have either a Triton or a Ranger. I like Nitros and Pro Craft alot better. With Ranger all your doing is wasting a bunch of money on a name. I like what my local Triton dealer told me as well, (he is a good customer of mine) and he told me it was stupid to buy a new boat that getting a good 1-3 year old used boat was the only way to go.

cabela10 reply :

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Ike stuck it to 'em good last year!

I like what my local Triton dealer told me as well, (he is a good customer of mine) and he told me it was stupid to buy a new boat that getting a good 1-3 year old used boat was the only way to go.

So what your saying is that your local Triton Dealer person isn't a tournament fishermen? If he was, he wouldn't go for the 1-3 year old boats that were purchased by other people because if you are the first owner on a boat, you are eligible for the contingency money. If you don't care about the contingency money, then yes, buying a used boat is the way to go. My first bass boat will be a new boat for whatever boat company sponsors that circuit I fish.

cabela10 reply :

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Sam, I'm with you on this one.
Swindle and Iaconelli both made judgment errors. Ike threw a tantrum and Swindle flew by boats in a very unsafe manner. Which was worse? Ike throwing a hissy fit or Swindle endangering lives? It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

You could also say that Ike was endangering lives. If a huge storm came in and turned everything pitch black, how would anybody see Ike floating around with out a tall rear light? Realize he broke a light pole that is also for safety. That is a safety issue, why do you think those light poles were still in the holders? For the look? Doubtful.

Swindle motioned to everybody that he was coming through, everybody holds there place, like they should, then nobody would ever get hurt in that situation. They blocked the d**n waterway, Trip Weldon was the one to over-react on this issue. He has a quick DQ trigger, whatever happen to giving people warnings? That is the more appropriate act in Swindle situation on the water. Idle through the crowd, my a*s. Show some respect to everybody on the water and don't block the water way for other people if you are not fishing yourself. Troll around at a good distance back and get out your binoculars to view the angler you care to watch.

Captain Cali reply :

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Sam, I'm with you on this one.
Swindle and Iaconelli both made judgment errors. Ike threw a tantrum and Swindle flew by boats in a very unsafe manner. Which was worse? Ike throwing a hissy fit or Swindle endangering lives? It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

You could also say that Ike was endangering lives. If a huge storm came in and turned everything pitch black, how would anybody see Ike floating around with out a tall rear light? Realize he broke a light pole that is also for safety. That is a safety issue, why do you think those light poles were still in the holders? For the look? Doubtful.

Swindle motioned to everybody that he was coming through, everybody holds there place, like they should, then nobody would ever get hurt in that situation. They blocked the d**n waterway, Trip Weldon was the one to over-react on this issue. He has a quick DQ trigger, whatever happen to giving people warnings? That is the more appropriate act in Swindle situation on the water. Idle through the crowd, my a*s. Show some respect to everybody on the water and don't block the water way for other people if you are not fishing yourself. Troll around at a good distance back and get out your binoculars to view the angler you care to watch.

I'm not arguing why Ike was DQ'ed. I'm arguing why Ranger dumped him. Anyone who has seen the footage of both situations has to agree that what Swindle did was FAR more dangerous than what Iaconelli did.

I've been around various boats for most of my life. I have seen freak things happen like boats at high speed getting pitched to one side or the other by small wakes. What if his steering gave out? Yup...seen that happen all too many times from PWC to 30+ foot offshore boats. Anything can happen on the water. It was just very unsafe.

I don't think he should have idled through the crowd...but he shouldn't have blasted through at that rate of speed. Not that close to other boats at least.

blueranger1 reply :

Gotta love the way he turned things around and Ranger got the short end of the stick.

With Ranger all your doing is wasting a bunch of money on a name.

R1Peacock reply :

"Ride and Decide"....... Triton is mass produced -- Horrible Ride. Fish the Potomac River or Upper Chesapeake Bay where the water can get nasty you would wish you had a Champion Elite Series Boat. I've never owned a Triton but I've riden in several and all were horrible in rough water in comparison to a Champion.

Root beer reply :

r1 you need try riding in a nitro! ;D

Extremely wide deck!!

cbfishalot reply :

Ike's action was a direct reflection on ranger boats. He made it look a if the livewells were broken and didn't work which caused his fish to die. Then he attacted the boat in anger. What did G-man do show everyone that a triton boat will fly at about 60-70mph and handle like its on rails. Think of the advertizing: Trition Boats handle great and Ranger Boats livewells are undependable.

blueranger1 reply :

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Ike's action was a direct reflection on ranger boats. He made it look a if the livewells were broken and didn't work which caused his fish to die. Then he attacted the boat in anger. What did G-man do show everyone that a triton boat will fly at about 60-70mph and handle like its on rails. Think of the advertizing: Trition Boats handle great and Ranger Boats livewells are undependable.

Ike was in a Triton when he got DQ'ed

dink reply :

Ike might have retained his ride with Ranger if he had apologized in tears on TV.

P.S. Like it or not, Ranger is still the stick by which all bass boats are measured.

Glenn reply :

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Ike's action was a direct reflection on ranger boats. He made it look a if the livewells were broken and didn't work which caused his fish to die. Then he attacted the boat in anger. What did G-man do show everyone that a triton boat will fly at about 60-70mph and handle like its on rails. Think of the advertizing: Trition Boats handle great and Ranger Boats livewells are undependable.

Ike was in a Triton when he got DQ'ed

Ummm ya. Ike was in a Triton when the livewells failed. Ike was in a Triton again this year when he experienced a mechanical failure and had to get it fixed.

Nice advertising for Triton.

P.S. Ike didn't throw a fit this time, so there was no air time about it.

P.P.S.S. You didn't hear much about it because, of course that has NOTHING to do with Triton being a major sponsor of BASS. :

Redlinerobert reply :

I couldnt disagree with you more Sam.

Ike acted like a weenie that day. He threw a fit. Livewell was not working correctly. It was in a TRITON. He had issues this year also. It was in a TRITON.

Maybe it's just my luck, but I've never had issues in my Ranger.

Skidder reply :

I think a bunch of you experts better go back and look at the footage on IKE. When he opened the livewells and noticed his fish were in bad shape, he turned around to the console, hit the button and voila, the pumps came on. It was operator error, not Tritons fault. He never went in for service, he continued to fish. I was at that classic.

I was not in AL so I do not know what happened this year.

The Duke reply :

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"Ride and Decide"....... Triton is mass produced -- Horrible Ride. Fish the Potomac River or Upper Chesapeake Bay where the water can get nasty you would wish you had a Champion Elite Series Boat. I've never owned a Triton but I've riden in several and all were horrible in rough water in comparison to a Champion.

Ever been on Lake Erie or Lake Michigan?? Tritons handle rough water just fine.

Hot Rod reply :

The differnce in the reaction from Ranger and Triton was strictly due to how the two anglers reacted to being DQed. It has nothing to do with which is the better boat or better company.

G man, though upset and even mad, accepted responsiblity for his actions. He didn't really blame anyone but himself even though he disagreed with the ruling. You could tell by his attitude and expressions that he was sorry.

Ike on the other hand called out B.A.S.S and Trip for being DQ'd, took no responsiblity for his actions and looked like a whiner. It was not until all the critisism came his way did he finally apologize.

Everyone falls down, the important thing is whether you get back up.

No honest company would want to employ a spokesperson that tarnished their industry leading image. Ike's reaction via interview to his outburst and subsequent DQ didn't really leave Ranger with much of a choice.

When Gman apologized for it at the press conference many of the other pros voiced their support. That didn't happen with Ike because he didn't act professionally and alienated a lot of people, even his supporters including me.

P.S. Oh by the way, I don't own nor do I plan to own a Ranger or a Triton any time soon, though they are both great rigs.

bassmaster8100 reply :

Swindle and Ike DQd, I can kinda understand Ike being DQd , thought it was a load of crap that they DQd Swindle wasnt a big deal. Spectators shoulda got out of his way. If a fellow anglers says he doesnt have a problem with him coming thru I dont see the prob. Spectators need to stay out of the way and let them fish. Any sponsor who would drop either of these superstar anglers is the one who is at a loss.

poppyjones reply :

I'll never forget the story my dear Mother & Father told me (RIP) They lived on Lake June in Lake Placid Florida, My mother was an avid bass fisherwoman. She exclusively used the famous (Purple Rubber Worm). She told me of the day she was cast towards the shoreline and an skier went between her and the shoreline. Needless to say she hook the largest living animal she ever did. And this animal has flowered trucks and long hair. It was a catch and release. And I remember the time I was fishing on Lake June also and there was a local tournament. I was 30 ft from a weedline fishing large weedline. One of he locals went between me and the weedline and I hand to reel in my shine. Saurcasticly I said, sorry i was in your way. He said. It's ok... Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor , not a Magian... Grow up people

poppyjones reply :

Anyway.I guess what I am trying to say.SHAME on Swindle. If he did that to me I would track him down.NO excuse for that. SHAME on him.He can cry and sob all he wants......It was an unexcuseble act.

The Duke reply :

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Spectators shoulda got out of his way. If a fellow anglers says he doesnt have a problem with him coming thru I dont see the prob. Spectators need to stay out of the way and let them fish.

A comment like this only shows a lack of understanding of public property, media (Bill of Rights), and consequently gives insight to the problem between bass fishermen and property owners. This attitude has got to quit in order to eradicate problems on the water.

Michael H reply :

I think it was the right thing to do dropping ike. He is supose to be a professional and he acted like a child. What do you think would happen if tiger pulled a happy gilmore and started throwing clubs after a bad shot. G-man i don't see a reason to drop him it was a mistake and he apolgized for it.

eastkybass reply :

Ike got upset and let his emotions take over in the heat of the moment. G-man endangered other people and run the boat full out through a group of boats seemed like a real mature thing to me : Ike apologized for what he did too but still got dropped. What I want ot know is if Ike had been going to stay with FLW would they have dropped him then.

Jnamo reply :

I do believe that eastkybass finally hit it on the head. IKE fishes in the wrong trail. There may have been more going on behind the scenes that we don't know. It is all gross speculation.

The one thing that requires no speculation is...what Ricky Booby did was stupid and I really can't believe that people think that a stationary boat watching an angler needs to see some dope flying at them, start there boats and get out of the way, all in a manner of a few seconds.

I just don't get it???

Jeff

cabela10 reply :

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I really can't believe that people think that a stationary boat watching an angler needs to see some dope flying at them, start there boats and get out of the way, all in a manner of a few seconds.
Jeff

Heard of a trolling motor before? They all had them down. All they had to do was keep a gap big enough for competitors and non-competitors to pass through the canal. I'm willing to bet 49 other anglers would of done the same thing Swindle did in that situation.

blueranger1 reply :

Was he really going all that Fast? ;D

Garnet reply :

Did you hear Ike slam B.A.S.S. on day 2 for making everbody fish out of Tritons. It was on the cputer video feed and proably not on T.V..

And thats how Ikes little melt down should have been handled. GMan same deal.

Garnet

5bass reply :

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I really can't believe that people think that a stationary boat watching an angler needs to see some dope flying at them, start there boats and get out of the way, all in a manner of a few seconds.
Jeff

Heard of a trolling motor before? They all had them down. All they had to do was keep a gap big enough for competitors and non-competitors to pass through the canal. I'm willing to bet 49 other anglers would of done the same thing Swindle did in that situation.

Ever heard of idling before? Key word in your sentence is CANAL. From what I could tell,he should've been idling in that canal even if there hadnt been any spec boats in there. One other angler in that canal would've constituted an "idle thru". Thats all Swindle had to do and he wouldnt have been DQ'd. He should've known better than to BLOW thru there like that. And do you actually think that the other 49 anglers in the Classic didnt have to deal with spec boats all weekend? I didnt hear of anybody else BLOWING thru people and getting DQ'd???

Swindle's probably out on the lake right now practicing idling around.

Jnamo reply :

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I really can't believe that people think that a stationary boat watching an angler needs to see some dope flying at them, start there boats and get out of the way, all in a manner of a few seconds.
Jeff

Heard of a trolling motor before? They all had them down. All they had to do was keep a gap big enough for competitors and non-competitors to pass through the canal. I'm willing to bet 49 other anglers would of done the same thing Swindle did in that situation.

Since there only appears to be a few people on the side of Ricky Boobie I am quite aware of your tireless devotion to defending his irresponsible and dangerous actions. I applaud your effort

Yes I am quite aware of what a trolling motor is, and the way those boats were stacked up and keeping a respectful and safe distance from Randy, I really am unsure where they could have gone with the amount of time they had to react. I like you cannot be persuaded to change my opinion of this unfortunate incident. I think we should just agree to disagree concearning Mr. Boobie.

Tight lines- Jeff

cabela10 reply :

I don't believe it was actually a CANAL. I just didn't know what else to call it. Swindle didn't do anything wrong.

5bass reply :

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Swindle didn't do anything wrong.

I guess thats why he got DQ'd.

.....and lets keep the respect level up here,I edited your last post accordingly.

bassmaster8100 reply :

The Duke, Although I respect your opinion that all it is, your opinion. I expressed mine. I dont have a problem with spectator boats I just noticed in this case they were extremely close to Howell. Howell waved Swindle through thats why I seen no need for the DQ. However if Howell would have said no dont come through hear then I could see reason for the DQ. That just my opinion on the matter.

burleytog reply :

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Swindle's probably out on the lake right now practicing idling around.

Thanks, I haven't laughed that hard in a loooong time.

Glenn reply :

I haven't read this thread in a few days, but I just read the last few responses. Nothing new added, just the same rhetoric over and over.

Let's move on please. This is going nowhere.

cabela10 reply :

From Chad Morganthaler on the other forum site that I'm a member of....

Chad Morganthaler wrote this....

"Being forced to fish out of a different rig offers a lot of challenges. The boats are broke in with the minimum hours requiredusually 4 to 6 hours. They turn them over to us to drive them like we stole them. The situation just adds another layer of stress onto a very stressful tournament. Because of the sponsor dollars, fishing out of a strange rig just adds more uncontrollable factors to the one event that means everything. There's not one angler out there that has fished the Classic that's happy about the situation. Not even the guys that are sponsored by Triton/Mercury. It's not just about competing out of a possible conflicting sponsor's rig, it's about having confidence in your equipment...which would be your own rig... in what could possibly be one of the most important days of your career."

My opinion, Swindle was just stressed out to the max when he seen those boats in the way, he freaked out and kicked it down. Kinda like me when I get road rage.

llPa1nll reply :

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I don't believe it was actually a CANAL. I just didn't know what else to call it. Swindle didn't do anything wrong.

No idea what the rules of the water are in your state but in the state of NH. This was taught to me in a boaters safety course which is now standard for operators to pass to register their boats in the state. Since it is a national accreditation I am guessing its the norm in most states as well. This is just common courtesy, common sense, and the LAW.

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Safe Passage: You must operate your boat at headway speed (less than 6 mph) when you are within 150 feet of any person, place, or thing. Within most of the narrow channels and next to or between islands, it is not legal to pass or overtake another boat except at headway speed. Observing this safe passage rule is more than a matter of safety; it is the law.

Tournaments do not take precedent over public safety or boating laws and I am sure everyone on this board and even Swindle will agree with me on that one.

guest reply :

They were in the Cousa River Channel. The river is not that narrow, but the competitor was fishing the river channel edge which is the deep side of the river and natural boat lane.

I know that there are some nice drop offs on my area lakes that are right next to the bouyed boat lanes.

To me, 2 wrongs was demonstrated.

1) A competitor choose to target fish in the river channel/boat lane. We all know what kind of boat traffic may pass by at any time.

2) Swindle should have brought the boat off plane and idled through.

Swindle had just as much right to travel the boat lane, but he should have used common sense.

My advice to any one that fishes, don't set up camp on a freeway....ie.....a boat lane.

As for Ranger vs Triton. I be honored to fish from either, send invitations to Matt Fly

.......

......

Comparing Tritons to Rangers is the same as Comparing FLW to BASS, Some body had to set the bench mark for other to try to emulate.

Hookem

Matt

Ky_Lake_Dude reply :

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I think there is a big difference between what G-man did and how Ike "acted".
G-man made a mistake in his judgement of boat operation. One that I see all the time on waters that I fish.

Ike acted like a child in his tantrum he thru, destroying the light pole on the Ranger boat. This probably had some link to the drop of sponsor

It wasn't a Ranger boat because in classic competition the pros must fish out of Tritons whether they are sponsered by the company or not.

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Ranger & Triton Responses on G-Man's Classic DQ 2024

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