Entry 190-1

The Tiger Woods Of Bass Fishing – Kevin VanDam

Part 1: The Boat Yard Interview

Editor’s Note: Tiger Woods is one of the top golfers of our day. Every tournament he enters, he’s always expected to win, although he’s playing against the greatest golfers in the world. The same is true of Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who’s had such a phenomenal career that he’s been called the Tiger Woods of bass fishing. Every year when VanDam makes the Bassmaster Classic, he’s expected to win. Usually the big story is why he hasn’t. This year, going into the final day of the 2007 Classic held in February at Lay Lake, near Birmingham, Alabama, VanDam had worked very hard. He’d climbed once again to the top of the leader board. However, he lost 1st place in the Classic by 3 pounds and some change to Boyd Duckett, an Alabama angler from Demopolis, and 2nd place to Skeet Reese from Auburn, California, finishing third and taking home $40,000 for his efforts. Still the big story of the Classic was, what happened to VanDam on the final day?

On the final day of the Classic when the competitors entered the arena to weigh in their fish, no one really knew who would win. Most believed it would be between VanDam and Reese with ounces deciding the victor. Few people were aware that Boyd Duckett had caught a 6-pound largemouth to add to his string. Strike King talked with VanDam in the boat yard on the final day.

Kevin VanDamQuestion: What lures were you fishing in this year’s Classic, Kevin?

VanDam: My primary bait was the new Strike King Red Eye Shad, a lipless crankbait. I was fishing a crawdad color with gold and white back on the edge of the grass at Lay Lake.

Question: Why did you choose that lure?

VanDam: When the water’s cold, as it was at Lay Lake, lipless baits like the Red-Eye Shad can really be effective for catching bass. I fished the Red-Eye Shad because when you rip it out of the grass and it shimmies and shakes as it sinks, it actually swims down, instead of dropping like other lipless crankbaits do. There’s no other lipless crankbait with the same action as the Red Eye Shad. It’s a killer bait, and I’ve caught a lot of bass on it. I caught a really-big string of bass on it the second day of the tournament. Today was the last day of the tournament, and I caught all the bass I weighed in on it. I hope I have enough weight to win the 2007 Classic.

Question: What other baits did you catch bass on this week?

Kevin VanDamVanDam: I caught some bass on the Flat Shad, a custom crankbait produced in Strike King’s Custom Shop, fishing it around isolated stumps and riprap. The Flat Shad runs a little bit deeper than the Red Eye Shad, and I was fishing that bait in the gizzard shad color.

Question: Why did you decide to primarily fish the Red Eye Shad in this tournament?

VanDam: Fish just really like a lipless crankbait in cold water. Although the air temperature was warming up, the water during the Classic was still cold. Instead of fishing with soft plastics when the water was cold, I’d much rather fish with a reaction bait like the Red Eye Shad.

Question: Why did you pick the lower end of Lay Lake to fish?

VanDam: I found some good bass down there during practice, and the area had a little bit of color in the water. It had a lot of good grass I could fish and numerous flat points, the kind of area I like to fish at this time of year.

Question: How much of the lake did you fish?

VanDam: I fished about a 10-mile section in the middle of the lake.

Kevin VanDamQuestion: Why did you decide to catch largemouth instead of spotted bass?

VanDam: I’ve been burned on this lake before when I’ve just fished for spotted bass, because I’ve been playing with the current. Those spots feed best in a current. If your fishing region doesn’t have a current, and you’re betting on spotted bass, you really can get burned. I got burned today due to another reason. The lake dropped about 8 inches last night, pulling the bass out away from the grass line. That’s why I couldn’t get any big bites. I couldn’t find the fish after they pulled out of the grass. Also, on the second day of the tournament, I lost about a 6–pounder that could have won the Classic for me. I don’t know what will happen at the final weigh-in today. That 6-pounder was the only fish I lost in the tournament.




 

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