Entry 75-2
Life With Kevin VanDam
It’s About The Folks
Editor's Note: Thirty-five-year-old Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has had a whirlwind career and has made over $1,173,000 on just the BASS Circuit. VanDam has fished in 13 Bassmasters Classics and won the 2001 Bassmaster Classic. This three-time BASS Angler-of-the-Year has had seven first-place finishes, four second-place finishes and 45 top-10 finishes. VanDam is very intense and very focused on being a tournament bass fisherman. But this week, we’ll look at the man behind the machine, and learn who Kevin VanDam really is.
VanDam: I love to bass fish, but one of my real joys in tournament fishing is the people I get to meet. I also like to fish different lakes and bodies of water. I get to fish in some of the greatest lakes in the world, and handle some of the toughest bodies of water in the country. I wouldn’t have this kind of opportunity to see so many different fisheries if I wasn’t a tournament angler. Too, as a professional fisherman, I have opportunities to eat traditional meals in different parts of the country. For instance, having a crawfish boil in New Orleans for the 2003 Classic was a neat experience. When we go up to the Potomac River, we’ll have a crab boil and eat some of those delicious crabs up there. I like to eat, and I like to meet people from various areas of the country who have traditions different from my own.
America is truly a melting pot of people from all over the world. And so is competitive bass fishing. We have fishermen from a wide variety of nationalities and whose roots go back to many different countries. Professional fishermen who compete in the national tournaments also cross all the socio-economic classes of America. And let’s face it, tournament bass fishing is an American sport. It reflects the diversity of this country and its people as well as any professional sport does, and I like being a part of that mix. I learn from the people who attend my seminars as much as I teach them.
Contents:
- Part 1: Daddy, When Are You Coming Home?
- Part 2: It’s About The Folks
- Part 3: A Day in the Life of Kevin VanDam
- Part 4: What’s in the Future?
- Part 5: What I Want You to Know About Me
