Entry 252-3

Fishing the Most-Difficult Conditions with Kevin VanDam at Clark’s Hill Lake

Part 3: The Second Day of the Tournament

Question: Kevin, what was your game plan on the second day of the tournament?

VanDam I planned to run the same pattern I’d run the day before, except I hoped to catch more big bass early. I knew fishing shutdown at 9:00 am, so I wanted to fish as hard and long as possible until that time. Those early-morning hours were all I had in which to win the tournament. I’d have to power-fish to stay in the game and have the chance to win. I went out to the same points where I’d caught bass the previous day. We had high, bright skies and not a breath of wind. I caught nothing early, and I was really disappointed.

At 9:00 am, I had one bass in the live well that weighed about 10 ounces. I knew I was in trouble because there was no wind, and nothing was happening for me. I started running points again and caught some small bass – squeakers barely 12-inches long – on the Red Eye Shad. I finally found one point where I caught two bass weighing 2-1/2-pounds each on the Red Eye Shad. Even though it wasn’t impressive, I had a limit by noon that would have weighed about 8 pounds.

Question: It’s 11:00 am, you’re one of the most-consistent tournament professionals, and you’re struggling. How did you deal with this emotionally? How did you keep from panicking in this type of situation?

VanDam On this lake, at this time of year, the secret of a productive day of fishing is finding the right point holding fish at that precise time of day. Even later in the day, you can catch bass on these points, if you can find a magic point. I knew the bass would be biting somewhere. I had the correct bait, if I could just locate the bass. So, I kept my confidence up by believing that if I fished enough points, I’d eventually find a magic school of bass. Finally at 1:00 pm on the second day, I made a major change in my fishing. I stopped and took stock of the conditions on the lake. I said, “Okay, Kevin, think about what you’re doing. It’s 1:00 pm, you don’t have a good limit of bass, and the wind’s not blowing. You’ve got to do something different.” I decided to go fight fishing.

There were still a few fish spawning, so I went to an area where I’d seen a few bass on the bed. It took me 1 hour to catch three more 2-pound fish, fishing an 8-ounce Shaky Head jig with a Strike King finesse worm. I cast the Shaky Head through deeper stumps where I’d seen bass holding. I fished miserably for me - slowly, but when I caught those three, 2 pounders in 1 hour, I knew I had a fair limit. I returned to previous points I’d fished earlier during the last 45 minutes of the tournament to see if I could catch a real kicker bass and top off my catch. I didn’t. I had about 11 pounds of bass in my live well. When I reached the weigh-in, I discovered everyone had had a tough day of fishing, and I was still in 23rd place. After the first day, Denny Brauer was in the lead, and at the end of the second day, Edwin Evers took the lead.

Question: At the end of the second day, you knew you’d made the 50-cut, but you were a long way from winning the tournament. What were you thinking that night as you planned the next day?

VanDam I knew I’d have to catch a good limit of bass to make the 12-cut. The good news was the forecast said the area around Clarks Hill was supposed to have cloudy overcast skies and 15 mph wind. So I knew the third day should be better for fishing than the previous day. I also knew the wind would make my point pattern much better. I knew I had points that would allow me to improve my stringer and that I’d be able to run-and-gun, which is what I really like to do, and not have to slow-fish with finesse baits.

Covering a lot of water is my style of fishing and the way I enjoy to fish, so I was excited about the weather forecast and my chances of advancing to make the 12-cut on the third day of competition. That night, before bed, I tied all my power baits on my rods. I had a spinner bait, the King Shad, the Red Eye Shad and a big top-water bait. I left the Football Jig tied-on because after you catch a few bass on power baits, you often can pick up one or two more bass casting the Football Jig or the Shaky Head worm into the area where other fish have been caught.

Next: Third Day of the Tournament

Contents:

• Part 1: What I Knew and What I Learned
• Part 2: The First Day of the Tournament
• Part 3: The Second Day of the Tournament
• Part 4: Third Day of the Tournament
• Part 5: Final Day of Competition