Entry 254-2

Tournament Fishing at Lake Murray with Kevin VanDam and the New Strike King Shadalicious

Part 2: The First Day of the Tournament

Question: Kevin, what was your game plan on the first day of the competition?

VanDam: All the competitors basically fished the same pattern I fished. So, I knew that if I could draw-out early and be one of the first boats to start my day, I’d have a really-good chance of catching bass on that early bite, which would give me a chance to win. The herring came out of deep water and spawned at night. The bass generally will stay up and feed on those herring until about 9:00 am. After 9:00 am, the bite really gets tough. So, if I could draw-out early and hit one or two spots before the rest of the competitors invaded the points, I’d have a good chance to do well in the tournament.

But when I drew-out, I was in the next-to-last flight. I was really disappointed. When I finally left the launch site, the first four or five spots I planned to fish already had a contestant fishing them. Then, on the second cast, when I finally started fishing, I jumped off a 5 pounder. After that catch, I struggled the rest of the day. Finally, I caught a limit of bass that weighed 12 pounds, putting me in 47th place at the end of the first day of the tournament. That was really not the kind of start I wanted at the beginning of this tournament. However, I realized that on the second day of competition, the order of start would be reversed, making me one of the first boats out. I thought I’d have a better chance to reach one of those good points early in the morning.

Question: What lure did you catch your bass on during the first day of the competition?

VanDam: I caught all the bass I weighed-in on the Strike King Shadalicious in the blue-gizzard shad color. I threw the Shadalicious right up in the shallow water on a point, using a medium retrieve, and then sped up my retrieve and killed the bait. The Shadalicious is such a realistic-looking bait as it comes through the water that if the bass can see the bait, they’ll start following it. If I changed the speed from medium to fast, like the Shadalicious appeared to be- trying to get away. Many times the bass would strike when I changed the speed. If they didn’t take the bait when I speeded up the retrieve, then I’d have a second chance at the bass when I’d kill the bait and started the fall.

Question: Kevin, what did you think that night when you finished in 47th place at the end of the first day?

VanDam: I decided not to change my game plan. The forecast was for light winds and no cloud cover, so I knew catching bass would be harder later in the morning. To gain ground on the rest of the field, I’d catch my limit (hopefully a big limit) before 9:00 am. Because I had an early draw time and could leave the boat ramp early, I’d have an advantage. During practice, I had located schools of bass, consisting of 25 to 30 fish. I felt pretty confident that if I could reach one of those points, and no one else was fishing there, then I’d catch a pretty-good limit quickly. If I could get a limit by 8:00 am or 9:00 am, I’d have enough time to experiment with different kinds of lures and catch kicker fish.

Question: Kevin, how did you keep your head and emotions straight when you knew going into the next day that you were in 47th position?

VanDam: I knew where the fish were located and that I had had a 5 pounder on my line that would have really moved me up in the standings, if I’d landed it. I also had three or four more bass 4- to 5-pounds each, come up and hit the Shadalicious, but I didn’t get them hooked. I felt the bass but didn’t hook them. So, sitting in 47th place was just a little bit of bad luck. On the second day, if I could hook bigger bass, I’d move up in the standings. Although I was in the middle of the pack, I had a chance to move-up, if I could get the same size and number of bass to bite on the second day that had bit on the first day.

Next: The Second Day of the Tournament

Contents:

• Part 1: What I learned in Practice
• Part 2: The First Day of the Tournament
• Part 3: The Second Day of the Tournament
• Part 4: Day Three of the Tournament
• Part 5: The Final Day of the Tournament